On tap for today was a morning tour of The Vatican. Rome is in the midst of a early morning thunderstorm. Its pouring rain, and for the first time since I've been in Italy, its cold. If there was going to be a day to get struck by lightning for prior sins, today would be it.
While trying to appreciate the symbolic beauty of the Vatican's numerous artifacts, I'm sadly reminded of how cheesy the place is. Firstly, the tour I'm on. I'm not a fan of tours. I'm more of a fly by the seat of my pants type of tourist, moving along at my own pace, going wherever with whomever I please. The only reason why I signed up was because I didn't want to wait in line for three hours in the pouring rain.
Another thing that bothered me was the lack of security. Thousands of people are quickly scanned by "laser beams" and welcomed into one of, if not The holiest of holy places in the Catholic world. People in the Sistine Chapel were being loud and disrespectful, snapping photos while an extremely large stationary security guard shouts "Quiet, No Photo" over and over again. They should seriously hire someone like Brother William, one of my old High School teachers. He'd be happily dragging each of the culprits out the door by the earlobe.
Stepping outside into Saint Peter's square, we were swarmed by shady people selling umbrellas, cheap silk scarves, and others begging for money. How the heck did they get through security, and why are they allowed to harass people? Am I a big a-hole for even thinking this?
I hate to sound like a big complainer, but the whole experience was a huge disappointment. While our guide did spend a good amount of time explaining the frescoes and Michaelangelo's Judgement in the Sistine Chapel, we spent an even greater amount of time in the souvenir shop before getting back on the bus.
By the time the tour ends, the sun begins to break through the clouds and it's actually becoming a beautiful day. I had thought about scheduling a tour to Pompeii for tomorrow, but after today, I think I'm better off "winging it" by myself in Rome.
