Whoops

Reason #47 for everything to be stored properly: you'll know which batteries are fully charged and which aren't. Normally I store the two differently, but apparently got sidetracked at some point and forgot to to that. My batteries died on me today at St. Peter's, so I popped in a backup set... which also died about 5 minutes later. Backup set number two did the same thing. Luckily it was at a decent break point (I had already been through the Vatican Museum and most of the Church, and it was lunch time), but it still threw my day off. I had been planning on going straight to Castel Sant'Angelo from there since it's only about a five minute walk, but I had to come back to the hostel to recharge at least one set of my batteries... the others can wait until tonight.

Other than the early morning today has been pretty good. My reservation for the Vatican Museum wasn't until 8:30, but I got there early enough that I was able to get in with the 8:00 group... hooray for less time standing around! The museum itself was actually fairly odd; the first several sections were all Egyptian stuff (which I had just seen a bunch of at the British Museum a few weeks back), and most of the rest was random statuary. They did have a few rooms in the old papal apartments that had been painted by Raphael though, and those were cool too see. After wandering through all of that, it was on to the main attraction: the Sistine Chapel. It's not actually as big as I imagined it, but that might just be due to the zillions of people who were crammed in there, looking up at the ceiling. But despite the crowds, and the heat, and the dim lighting, it was simply amazing. It's one of those things I've been reading about since I first learned about Rome and the Renaissance, and I was standing right there in the middle of it. Note: if you ever plan on visiting the Vatican, make reservations online first! I'm very glad I did. The only reason I had to wait at all was because I got there before it opened; when I came out a couple hours later, the non-reservation line must have been at least four people wide and close to half a mile long, if not more than that. The reservation costs you an extra 4 euro, but I personally found that well worth it.

After finishing at the Vatican I walked down to St. Peter's Basilica, which is ridiculously huge and impressive. First goal: climb to the top! Stood in line for a bit, then paid my 5 euro to climb the 551 steps to the top. For an extra 2 euro you could take an elevator, but it only saved you about 230 steps, and it's just not quite the same experience. There aren't really many places to stop and rest, but one of them is on the inside, right at the base of the dome. It provides a great (although not very complete, due to the size) view of the church. Climbing up the rest of the way was a strange experience... until they cut into the middle when you're most of the way up, a good section of that last stretch of the climb has the outer wall leaning in towards you, making it feel like you've got to lean in while you're climbing the stairs. That was a really awkward sentence, but I can't really think of a better to write it. Hiking back down was a bit easier, but still not fun. When I got to the bottom I wandered around the main section of the church (which is free to enter) until my camera batteries died, then went down to see some of the papal tombs... they won't let you take pictures down there anyways, so I wasn't really missing anything. Didn't really see many I recognized (but some sections were closed off), although supposedly the Apostle Peter is buried there, and there was a pretty good sized group around the tomb of John Paul II.

Here's a link to some more pictures while I'm waiting for my batteries to charge. Castel Sant'Angelo is open until 19:00 so time shouldn't be an issue, but I'd still like to make it back here at a decent time, and preferably while it's still light. The drivers here are insane, and I'd like them to be able to see me as well as I can see them.

Also! Italian pizza = awesome. Italian spaghetti/ravioli/lasange = pretty alright... I've had better at home. I probably should have waited until I'm out of Italy to say that, but oh well; if I disappear, you know what happened.