Day 4 & 5: The Vatican, Rome in Review, and the Louvre

St Peter's Dome

We started Tuesday with a tour of the Vatican Scavi, which is the necropolis below St Peter's. Loved this part, especially as we walked the original ancient street that ran the length of the site. It was our first official tour of the trip. We saw Saint Peter's tomb, his alleged bones, the shrine above it, and a full history of how the  basilica came to be. Interestingly, as we explored the Vatican we began to piece together such things as why the Vatican "logo" has two keys (learned from a painting in the Sistine that Jesus handed Peter and another apostle the keys to his church), and what the inscription around the dome meant ("You are Peter and upon this rock I build my church", upon Peter's tomb).

The Rough Guide Rome had an incredibly detailed map and description of every panel painting in the Sistine Chapel so we spent some quality time in there as well, practically laying on the floor to look up. I had to make my share of "Life of Brian" and Mel Brooks references. The rest of the Vatican was impressive as you may imagine, but I still felt uncomfortable with the degree of opulence and pomp devoted to worship.

Stairs at Vatican Museum exit

After lunch we returned to the hotel for a nap. Well, I needed to nap. I hit my wall around lunch and as much as my brain wanted to continue sightseeing, my body was screaming in resistance. A quick doze later and we were headed out to our final dinner in Rome. On the way, a couple of Italian tourists stopped to ask me directions to the Spanish Steps, in Italian. Oddly, 1) they took me for a local (I credit the new coat for this), and 2), I knew where to direct them, and the fact that I understood their Italian. The city was surprisingly easy to navigate, but we also had good maps. Despite all I heard about the insane traffic, it wasn't bad and drivers actually stop for pedestrians on crosswalks.

Vatican City

We had our final dinner at a restaurant called Al Duello which came highly recommended on TripAdvisor.  I thought it was delicious, that is, as much as I could taste it since I lost most of my sense of taste except for acidic and salty. This is fine considering I love red sauce and wine, so I fared okay. The eggplant pie with crispy bacon hit the spot.  When I sampled a portion of Carrie's tiramisu, I could have just as easily eaten a rice cake. My taste for sweet is gone during this cold, but since I don't have a sweet tooth, no major loss.  We decided to take a taxi to the airport instead of the 1.5 hour transit by train or bus, since it would have been much earlier to wake up, and me lugging our bags and not at 100% would be misery.  It was expensive but worth it.  The nap on the flight to Paris made me feel much better and I arrived to the City of Lights in much better condition. I think I need a Rome redo. The snow and my cold just took a toll and I'd love to come back in warmer weather to experience other parts of the city. This was by no means a bad trip, but I could use a reset. I appreciated what we still managed to do. And Carrie for being a trooper. Today in Paris my cold is drying up and I only fear a cough, but am trying to keep it at bay with liquids... Tea, water, and hey, wine.

It took us a few to get our bearings on the Metro, but once we figured out the system we were moving quickly. On the train, an older gentleman boarded with an accordion and started playing. Classic. We checked into our hotel, changed clothes, headed back out, and found a small tea cafe outside the Louvre. where I finally caught my second wind and was more myself today than I have been in days.  It's as though I finally "woke up" after hibernating for a long winter. We decided to see the museum at night (open until 10pm) when the crowds were thinner. Immediately we headed to the Mona Lisa and there was a small crowd but no line, and we got perfect pictures. We decided to hit some basic hot spots: Venus di Milo, Liberty Leading the People, Winged Victory, the Wedding Feast at Canaa, Consecretion of Napoleon, and a few others. To know we were in the world's most famous museum, I admit I almost choked up a bit to see all this famous art in person. Next, we decided to head to the Egyptian wing. Aaaaand...  Evacuate.

Inside the Louvre

An announcement played repeatedly in a few languages. And kept playing. Head for the nearest exits, collect your belongings later once the situation has been cleared. We tried to ignore it and soldier on since the curators weren't shuffling anyone to the doors. Except some of those doors started closing. We got into the beginning of the Egyptian wing when we reached a dead end. People really did start heading for the exits. We were confused. Did we really have to evacuate? What was going on? Nerd that I am, I really didn't want to leave without seeing Hammurabi's Code. That was in the other wing. Egypt could wait, I've been there, I could miss it. We just started to laugh. Arrived in Rome during an historic snowstorm, I got sick in Pompeii, now this?

 As we followed the crowd out, we ducked down a side stairwell and found ourselves eventually in the Medieval basement where there used to be a moat. We started passing through galleries with no one in them. We made it discreetly into another wing and there was silence.  No announcements.  No people. But nothing stopping us. So we stayed. We found our way to the Mesopotamian galleries and spotted Hammurabi's Code. Mission accomplished. While we were on that side, and it was still quiet with just a few lingering people, we made our way into Napoleon's Apartments. This is when Carrie best described it as "it's good to be the king."

Napoleon's Apartments

 We took a later dinner at a bistro down the street and topped off a long day with wine, cheese, cured meats, onion soup, and frog legs. We have not yet experienced the French stereotype of the locals being rude. Far from it, the staff at both cafes were very nice, especially the waiter at the bistro. A stranger talked to us on the Metro. The hotel staff is pleasant. No issues at all. Is it because we greet those we meet with a "bonjour/bonsoir" and "merci"? We're trying. So far I like Paris, but I have to reserve judgment for the equal time that we gave to Rome. They are so different cities.  Tomorrow we sleep in for the first time, then hit a few more sights, perhaps statring with the Eiffel Tower, which we saw lit up tonight. For now, I rest. Bonsoir.