Saturday morning is probably not the best time to plan to visit the Vatican. The days sort of run together here, though. What day is it today?" we ask often. I didn't think about the day of the week when ordering tickets for the Vatican Museums until we saw the lines stretching around the Vatican walls. Thankfully, by buying online in advance, we got a special "skip the line" deal. But the line to get into the "skip the line" entrance was itself very long. And then there were line-crashers who nudged their way in front of us and claimed not to understand English (or our menacing glances) when we objected. We finally made our way to the front, went through security, and entered the Vatican.
There are fourteen museums contained within the Vatican walls. Our tickets allowed us to enter all of them, and I thought "there is no way I can visit fourteen museums in one day!" It turns out that the "museums" are more like separate collections in one, vast inter-connected series of rooms. Because there were thousands and thousands of people visiting the museums at the same time as us, we had to quite literally "go with the flow" and move quickly from room to room. Making our way down the long, wide corridor that is the "Map Museum," I had the sensation of being swept down a river (a very beautiful, highly-decorated, hand-painted and gilted river.) It really was quite remarkable, and there were countless paintings, tapestries, and draped-and-fig-leafed sculptures to admire as we moved through the museums. 
The Sistine Chapel is the highlight of the Vatican Museums, and we were informed on our arrival in the Vatican that the chapel would be closed for a period of two hours coinciding with a large portion of our visit. We were determined not to miss this most-important room painted by Michaelangelo himself. As it turns out, every other person visiting the museums was just as intent on visiting the Sistine Chapel. We managed to get into the chapel several minutes after it re-opened and stood in silent awe with at least another thousand persons standing shoulder to shoulder. From the Sistine Chapel, we moved toward to museum exit, passing through no less than four gift shops and a post office before making our way back into the bright sunlight. Our next stop was St. Peter's Square and Bascilica, but unfortunately, for us, the Pope was having a meeting with the president of Italy and the whole place was shut down. We plan to return today.
The balance of yesterday was spent wandering down the main thoroughfare in the heart of Rome, taking in the sights and sounds of the city. We had panninis at a sandwich shop owned by our host, and poked our heads into some souvenir stands. One of the most popular items for sale on the street is a 2013 calendar featuring black and white photos of clergy. The Priests of Rome features one striking, collared cleric for each month of the year. Why hasn't the UCC thought of this? 
We visited the Pantheon, a domed Christian Church that began its life in 27 AD as a pagan temple dedicated to all the gods of Rome. Almost two thousand years after construction, the dome of the Pantheus remains the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. At the top of the dome, natural light is let in through a round opening called the "oculus." A large bird flew into the building prior to our visit and flew in tireless circles inside the dome as we watched. The Pantheon fronts a large square with a beautiful fountain. Beside the fountain is a one of many ancient water spigots found throughout the city that supplies clear, fresh water for overheated Romans and tourists. We gratefully filled up our water bottles.Back "home," we rested from our adventures and then walked two blocks to dinner at a small restaurant on a picturesque square. A great first day in Rome!
