Day 12 – Monday 13th May 2013
Today was a more leisurely start at 9.30am. However, we were not travelling by Mini today, they were staying safely parked-up at the hotel, we were transported by bus! We were dropped off outside the Vatican, and we were then, eventually(!!!), given a 2+ hour guided tour of the Vatican. The number of people there was beyond ridiculous, apparently they get around 25,000 people visiting every day, and I can absolutely believe it! Our guide was very informative and had excellent English, and she certainly seemed to know her stuff. After learning much about the Vatican and its various parts, paintings and sculptures, etc, we were escorted around, eventually ending up at the Sistine Chapel. From there, we eventually managed to re-meet up with Geoff and Carole, and after spending a little time in St Peter’s Square, we walked down towards the river, hoping to go to the Castel Sant’ Angelo, only to find it’s closed on a Monday! So we purchased some lunch, sat in a pleasant park and ate it, feeding our leftovers to the pigeons, then had a walk around the area. There were some incredible live ‘statues’ that were perfectly still in the baking sun, until someone either started taking pictures of them, or dropped some coins in their tins, when they came to life! Very spooky, but amazingly impressive! We walked further along the river banks, eventually arriving nearby where the hotel bus collects, after stopping for a coffee and some biscuits in a local cafe, we got aboard the bus and returned to the hotel. This evening’s meal also included a quiz by the service crew guys, which we unfortunately didn’t win, but didn’t disgrace ourselves, well done Ian! After a drink in the bar, we retired to bed, after a very cultural day!
