MichelNinja-lo

So Vatican day. I personally had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. I was not personally prepared for this kind of tourism. The Colosseum is different because it's really big, and all of the tourists are spread out. The Pantheon is different because compared to some of the other Roman monuments, it's relatively small... That feels weird to say. But basically it doesn't have miles of winding halls, so you can see pretty much everything in under 45 minutes at the most. The Vatican however is huge. Really, really big. But its halls are... not big enough for... everyone that goes there. Everyone that goes there includes.... basically everyone in the whole wide world. Not kidding. It felt like there were all 7 billion of us in one big building. Just so you know, they are all heading for one thing. The Sistine Chapel.

Amazing. Holy cow.

But how the people swarmed.

Me and Carrie were trying to go at a relatively normal pace, but apparently, that was absolutely unacceptable. While we were trying to enjoy the massive art marathon that the Vatican is, we were being continuously run over by tourists... in a major hurry.As in, any of the times where there were amazing art gallery, we had the whole thing to ourselves. Everyone else was just hustling and bustling by to the Sistine Chapel. I mean, I see why, but the things you walk by are amazing too. People were just walking by the Van Gogh. I mean, we were included in that. We heard that there was a Van Gogh in the Gallery, so we looked, and we never found it. But the stuff we walked by was cool. It just wasn't cool how people were killing each other to get to the Chapel. And once we were in there, My oh my. I mean, Michelangelo. They guy was a beast. He had to design and build his own scaffolding, any materials had to be pulled up on pulleys. And the whole concept of a Fresco? you paint into the plaster of the wall. So the painting is the wall. And plaster dries fast, so he had to do it a little bit at a time. And if he messed up, he had to scrape all that plaster off again, and start from scratch. I mean... really? just throw paint on the ceiling and call it abstract.I mean, the guy painted the equivelent of a football field. And contrary to popular belief, he wasn't painting comfortably on his back. He was standing up. He was standing up with his arm in the air. How tired does your arm get when you raise your hand in class for 30 seconds? Well how does your arm feel after four years of painting six stories up in the air? Um.... Ninja. That's all he is. Just... a Ninja. MichelNinja-lo.

So then we found ourselves at St. Peters Basilica. How long was the line? quarter mile. Did we stand in it?

No. We got ice cream. Then we went to go stand in it. Then we got there. It still boggles my mind thinking about it. I mean...two football fields long. From  the top of the dome to the floor is another football field. and the lettering around the top is 7 feet high. I couldn't even take it in the first time. Or any other time I tried. But here's a picture.

    Blows my mind.
any way. We have business to attend to. So... Pizza boom.

The readers digest form of the story of Pizza Boom.

Pizza Boom is a Pizza place by our hotel that sells pizza. its really good and really inexpensive. And we love it. We go... every day? Ya. we are pretty much BFF's with the guys that work there. For all of you who know what Ernie's is, it's like that, but with Italian pizza and pastries and guys who give you the extras for free. I love them. So much. MMMhm. Well, good night.