We decided not to attempt to take a metro to our 9:15 tour of the Vatican today. Because few information points in Italy give an English translation, it’s very difficult to understand what to do and how to do it. Also, very few speak English so that it is understandable.

Because we had used Uber in other cities on our journey, I assumed Uber would work in Rome. However, my search revealed that the taxi association has won a lawsuit against Uber. While one can still use Uber, what you get is a very expensive large vehicle costing upwards of 150 euros. I asked the clerk at our hotel the best way go get a cab and he said a taxi stand was right next to the hotel.

Sounds easy enough so we took off. I remember as a child that I was told if you put salt on a bird’s tail you could catch it. Naturally you could never get close enough to a bird to put salt on its tail. I say that to say this. If there was a taxi stand next to the hotel, there were no taxis there. We have to be at our tour stop no later than 9:05. We started looking for a taxi at 8:30.

After waiting around for no taxi to come. And by the way, you can’t hail a taxi like you do in New York City. Karen approached one that pulled up across the street from us and all she got was, “No, no, no” and it drove away.

A little kiosk near our hotel opened and we asked where to get a taxi. We were directed to about 5 blocks away and off we trod. It’s getting close to 8:40. At the spot where we were to find taxis, there were none. I got on the internet, found an app for calling taxis in Rome, downloaded it and called for one. On the first try the app said there were no taxis available. I tried again and was told one would be by in 9 minutes.

We had discussed walking to the Vatican. It was only 2.3 miles from our hotel but my phone said it would take an hour to hike it because of the hills of Rome.

Finally, our taxi arrived. It was 10 to 9. We took off as he flew and swerved through the streets. And, he got us there right at 9:05. We were the last of the tour group to arrive but we made it.

TOURING THE VATICAN

We were issued devices with an ear plug so we could hear our guide no matter how far we were away from her. She was interesting but had a man’s voice. Just to hear her one would think she was a man.

She explained that we were entering another country, Vatican City, which was not really created until early last century. It only has about 900 full time residents. But it does have its own army and police force. She mentioned that Vatican City is not a democracy. It’s a theocracy, ruled by the Pope. They are citizens until they move out of the city and thus are no longer citizens. And, no citizens are born in Vatican City because it has no hospital. Those who are sick or birthing go to Rome hospitals.

We did have to show our passports to enter the country and our bags were examined at two different security checks on the tour. Our tour was scheduled for two and a half hours. Our guide warned us as we were about to enter the Vatican proper, the only toilets were at the beginning of the tour and at the end. Most everyone availed themselves before the tour began.

Most of the tour consisted of walking us through the Vatican museums, of which there are 30 combined, which had hundred of statues. The guide had stories about some of them and seemed really excited about them. However, so far during our travels we have seen so many statues that they all begin to look alike. She said many statues in Italy had been lost because builders found that to grind them up made very good mortar for building.

And, the Vatican museums did not start out to be a museum. It just sort of morphed into one over the years as popes collected more and more stuff. Our guide did not speak highly of some of the popes. She said some were power hungry and actually fielded armies centuries ago to conquer more land.

Our guide said the highlight of everyone’s tour is the Sistine Chapel. It was the very last part of the tour. We were glad we purchased a guided tour because we rarely had to stand in any lines. We were ushered through. The problem was there were many, many guided tours.

Before we arrived into the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican had a court yard with many photos of the inside. Our guide gave us the background on the paintings in the chapel and some things one would not catch just walking through. Michelangelo, who painted the chapel, was not a painter. He was a sculptor and did not want to paint. But, to quote our guide, “popes can be very convincing.” She said he hired assistants but soon fired them and did all the painting himself. It took him four years. Our guide said he used some of the faces carved in the statues on the faces of the figures in the paintings.

When we finally arrived into the chapel some pretty strict requirements were in place. First no bare arms for shirts and no other inappropriate clothing, especially with slogans or messages. The instructions said people should be dressed as though they were attending church because the chapel is a church.

It was a real cattle herd inside. Our guide said if she could move her arms it wasn’t that crowded and today she said she could move her arms. But, it seemed crowded to us. Also, repeated often was that photos or videos were not to be taken, although this was routinely ignored by many. One woman on our tour had her iPhone set on video and videoed the entire time.

It is a beautiful chapel with the paintings picturing much of the Bible. I think it would be distracting to worship there because there is so much to look at. The chapel is also where the cardinals assemble when they are electing a new pope. We saw the window used where chimney is inserted to alert the world when a pope is selected. After ballots are cast, they are burned. Black smoke means no pope is selected. White smoke means one has been selected.

After the tour, we were on our own to walk through the basilica, the place where the pope comes out on the balcony to greet the cheering crowds. The courtyard in front of the basilica is massive. Chairs were set up in much of it but we have no idea what had or was to happen.

And, finally, we decided not to try to find a cab back to the hotel. We decided to walk back to the hotel. Along the way, we stopped for lunch at about 1:30 and had one of the best meals of our stay in Rome. The restaurant was not in the street and the tables were not so close together that we could eat off the plates on the next table. Our waiter was outstanding and we thoroughly enjoyed him. His name was Kevin and had family in New York and had worked in an Italian restaurant there.

The walk back took more than an hour and it felt good to get back to our room. We walked over 14,000 steps for 5.9 miles.