"Are these underwear yours?" DIS Viking Italian Sojourn 2018 TR *COMPLETE* 10/14 New TR Link!

[khertz]

I'm apologizing in advance that this update is a bit short, but a sinus infection has been kicking mine and DD's butts this week, so I have been exhausted from lack of sleep. Hopefully this weekend I'll have time to post another one!
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Day 3: Saturday March 24th

Cruise day was finally here! Sadly, that meant it was also our last day in Rome as we had until about 2 pm before we left for the port. We were still feeling the jet lag somewhat and even though we had gone to bed later the night before than we had our first night, we were both still up early. I woke up at 4:30 and couldn’t go back to sleep, and DH wasn’t long behind me. We were both up by 5:30 so we could get dressed and head downstairs.

The last tour we had booked was an early access tour of the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica which started at 7:20 am. It was another tour booked through City Wonders, same as our Colosseum tour the day before. We had made plans to meet Phil (@TheMaxRebo) and his wife Judi down in the lobby at 6:30 to share a taxi to the Vatican.

There were several cabs waiting outside of our hotel, so we were on our way quickly and found the meeting spot, but we were still pretty early. We ran into another couple also coming for the tour and they were on the hunt for coffee, while DH wanted to go over to St. Peter’s Square to take some photos before checking in. So we split up. Judi went with the couple to get coffee, and Phil joined DH and I to walk over to a nearly empty St. Peter’s.​

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After enjoying the quiet Square for a brief time, we quickly walked back to the meeting point to check in, and the 4 of us ended up in the same smaller group with our guide, Claudia, and several other DISers who were going to be on the cruise with us! This tour had been discussed on the cruise thread on the boards, so a lot of people going on the Viking cruise had signed up for the same one.

We entered through the Vatican Museum entrance, which was busy, but definitely a lot less so than it had been for our Vatican tour on our ABD trip.​

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There’s Claudia, holding the pink flag for us to follow, and we all had our radios to be able to hear her. Speaking of the radios, I forgot to mention a funny exchange that had happened the day before when we were gathering for the Colosseum tour. Once they direct you to your tour guide and you go over to wait for the tour to begin, someone else from City Wonders would come over and bring you your radio. Another couple standing near us had just checked in, and the guy came over to hand them their radios. He walked up onto the side of the husband and tapped him on the elbow to get his attention, then held out the radio, and the husband said, “No thanks.” The City Wonders guy kind of laughed and said, “Sir, it’s for the tour.” The husband was a little embarrassed, took the radio and said, “Sorry, people come up to try to hand me stuff and I immediately say no.” It’s so true!! Everywhere you go there are people trying to hand you stuff and get your money, like the guy who got me last trip with the “free” rose that he then hounded my husband to pay for because I was stupid enough to take it from him. Lol

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Once we got inside and through security, we had to wait a few minutes in the lobby area while Claudia went to buy our tickets.​

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Then we were ready to begin our tour, which started by going through only a few rooms of the Vatican Museums. We did a more extensive tour of the Museum with ABD, but it was wall to wall people. Although we viewed less this time, it was SO nice to have such a small group and almost no one else around as we walked through the halls.

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Thought that above pic was pretty cool. It’s the tip of a finger broken off a statue. I can’t imagine how enormous the whole thing was if that’s the size of the fingertip!​

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We walked through the huge hallway of incredibly detailed, handmade tapestries that we enjoyed last time. It was so nice to have room to move back and take it all in, because some of them are absolutely enormous.

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We also went through the hall of maps of the various regions of Italy. These maps are supposedly 80% accurate, which is pretty incredible considering they were painted in the 1580’s and there was nowhere near the kind of technology we have access to like satellite imaging.

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Sicily, where my ancestors are from!


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Then it was time for what we had really booked this tour for…the Sistine Chapel!

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This was another one of those things on our ABD that was just so packed it was hard to really enjoy it. We were shoulder to shoulder with people in the chapel, so we basically were able to move through once. By the time you got to the end of the chapel, there was no turning around to weave back through all of these people! This time, there were maybe one or two other small groups the size of ours in there, so there was more than enough room to move around and look at the paintings, even to sit down and lean back to check everything out. Claudia gave us about 20 minutes to move around and enjoy before meeting back with her in the back corner of the chapel.

No photos are allowed in there, buuuutttt….

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If you’re inconspicuous, you can get one or two. Unlike the lady we saw get yelled at because she was standing in the middle holding her phone up over her head trying to take photos INCREDIBLY conspicuously. And we saw some young guy get yelled at because he decided to be an idiot and lay down in the middle of the floor!

After a nice long time in the Sistine Chapel, we were ready to head over to St. Peter's Basilica.

UP NEXT: St. Peter's Basilica

 

[amazingact21]

I wonder if they would have shown up if I had downloaded some episodes to watch off of wifi?

They do!! My husband does this all the time with his traveling. So, once you open and start the episode you have about 48 hours before it disappears. However, you have to stay off the WiFi...

 

[rdkeim]

I can't believe the beauty of the chapel and all the churches really. Your DH must be in heaven with all the photo opportunities! Our river cruise is with Lueftner, a German company. Our ship is only a couple years old and it looks very nice. Anxious to hear about your Viking experience!

 

[Sarabi's Cubs]

I'm glad your Sistine Chapel experience was not as rushed and crowded!! It looks amazing!

Laurie

 

[christannj]

Please get well... It is torture waiting for each installment of the trip report.

I'm glad your Sistine Chapel experience was not as rushed and crowded!! It looks amazing!

Laurie

I agree with Kristy, although we didn't cover as much as the ABD museum tour this part was amazing due to the small group and freedom to really see the objects up close.

Chris

 

[missangelalexis]

Wow, already sounds like this was a great tour! The photos are incredible, and so great that you could be sneaky and take a few inside! Looks beautiful!

 

[Cousin Orville]

No photos are allowed in there, buuuutttt….

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Dustin, you rebel! Great photo.

 

[skier_pete]

That seems like the same thing we got for our tour in September, except it was later in the day and more crowded. We actually had like 40 minutes in the Sistine Chapel, which was very cool, but I didn't dare to take pictures. It wasn't until later in the trip that I started breaking the rules! The biggest problem with the Sistine Chapel is you really want to get up close to those paintings yet they are so far away!

 

[pooh'smate]

Joining in. I am loving all the pictures. My dh and I really wanted to join in o the trip but we didn't have somewhere for our dd to go.

 

[khertz]

They do!! My husband does this all the time with his traveling. So, once you open and start the episode you have about 48 hours before it disappears. However, you have to stay off the WiFi...

This is great to know! I wish I would have looked into it more before our trip. I downloaded a couple of episodes to watch on the plane but we got through them quickly and I didn't have a chance to download more. lol I'm sure it will be awhile before we leave the country again, but hopefully I'll remember for next time.

I can't believe the beauty of the chapel and all the churches really. Your DH must be in heaven with all the photo opportunities! Our river cruise is with Lueftner, a German company. Our ship is only a couple years old and it looks very nice. Anxious to hear about your Viking experience!

It's hard to wrap your brain around what went into these beautiful things we are still getting to enjoy centuries later!

It will be so nice being on a newer ship! Hopefully we get to do a river cruise one of these days. They sound so amazing.

I'm glad your Sistine Chapel experience was not as rushed and crowded!! It looks amazing!

Laurie

It was so great not being crammed in sardines like we were on the ABD trip. It's much easier to appreciate with room to move around and look at everything!

Please get well... It is torture waiting for each installment of the trip report.



I agree with Kristy, although we didn't cover as much as the ABD museum tour this part was amazing due to the small group and freedom to really see the objects up close.

Chris

I've been working DH to death on editing photos so that I can keep up with typing ahead and posting. Luckily both DD and I seem to be on the back end of this sinus infection so hopefully no one else gets it and we can go back to business as usual around here.

It was so much nicer in the small group. I can imagine how incredible the usual ABD nighttime tour of the Vatican would be! Maybe one day I'll get to take that trip again and experience it.

Wow, already sounds like this was a great tour! The photos are incredible, and so great that you could be sneaky and take a few inside! Looks beautiful!

I was a tad worried that the tour being so quick wouldn't be enough, but it was really perfect and worked out so great with our plans. We got to hit the highlights and didn't have to battle the crowds we did on our ABD.

DH was so sneaky I didn't even know he was taking pictures and I was standing right next to him!!

Dustin, you rebel! Great photo.

He was super sneaky! I didn't even notice he was taking them!!

That seems like the same thing we got for our tour in September, except it was later in the day and more crowded. We actually had like 40 minutes in the Sistine Chapel, which was very cool, but I didn't dare to take pictures. It wasn't until later in the trip that I started breaking the rules! The biggest problem with the Sistine Chapel is you really want to get up close to those paintings yet they are so far away!

That is absolutely true about the Sistine Chapel. I'm sure there are so many more details that can't be appreciated from so far away!

It was nice getting to do the early stuff with less crowds, but as the morning went on, it definitely got crazy crowded really fast! Tour groups galore!

Joining in. I am loving all the pictures. My dh and I really wanted to join in o the trip but we didn't have somewhere for our dd to go.

Welcome along!!

It was really tough for us when it came to the kids, so I can understand how that would be an obstacle. Last time we went to Italy we just had our oldest and he wasn't in school yet. This time, it was tougher planning around him being in school and not wanting him to miss because we were out of town. It was a headache at times, but thankfully it all ended up working out fine. My MIL graciously agreed to stay with him the time he still needed to get to school because my mom (who usually keeps my kids) couldn't miss that much work.

 

[khertz]

Day 3 Continued: Saturday March 24th

Before I move along with the tour, here’s a couple videos DH took inside the Gallery of Maps in the Vatican Museums and inside the Sistine Chapel that I forgot to post last time.

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After our time in the Sistine Chapel, we moved over towards the Basilica.

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Claudia warned us that there was still Mass happening, so access to some things would be a bit restricted. One of those things was the Pieta, unfortunately. We could only see her from a distance.

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Claudia pointed out a few things to us, but we were mostly on our own inside the Basilica. We had about 30 minutes to explore before we would be meeting back together for the last part of the tour, which went down into the crypt.

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We stopped to see St. Peter’s statue, where it’s tradition to touch or kiss the right foot.

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After enjoying the beautiful details everywhere we turned, we met back one last time with Claudia to go down into the crypt. This was something we hadn’t done last trip, so I was excited to check it out.

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Heading down
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It was another one of those places you weren’t supposed to take pictures, buuuuuutttt…

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That was a fairly quick portion of the tour, and then it was complete. Claudia showed us where the gift shop was located, and let us know we could go back inside St. Peter’s if we wanted to as access was included with the tour as long as we didn’t leave the secure area. She also showed us where you could go up to the top of the Cupola. DH, Phil and Judi were all interested, but after hearing there were 551 stairs, I was decidedly NOT interested. There is a fee for climbing up, and for a little more you can take an elevator to the terrace level which skips a bunch of the stairs, but the three of them decided to take on all 551 steps. I made a bathroom stop, then went inside St. Peter’s to find the place where they would exit and wait for them.

As soon as I got back inside, I noticed they had removed the barrier keeping you back from the Pieta, so I was able to get an up close view with hardly anyone else around.

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I was also able to get into the chapel of St. John Paul II.

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Then I crossed over to the area where they would be exiting and just people watched while they climbed. It was getting more crowded with tour groups and tourists by the minute! And unfortunately, the spot where they would be coming out was directly in the path of the cold wind blowing in from the doors they kept open for people to exit from.

Continued in next post...

 

[khertz]

Day 3 Continued: Saturday March 24th

So while I was trying to find places to stand that were out of the way, but in a spot where I wouldn’t miss seeing them when they came down, and a spot that was somewhat away from the cold air blowing in, this was what DH, Phil & Judi were experiencing.

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No handrail here, just a rope to hold on to!

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When they came down, I let them know we could go up closer to see the Pieta before we left, so we went back over to that side. It was a LOT more crowded than it had been when I’d come back in, so I stayed behind the crowd while they maneuvered their way forward to see it. Then DH went over to get a pic of the St. John Paul II chapel as well.

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We decided we were about ready to go, so we exited the Basilica, but on the way out we all wanted to stop at the gift shop, so we backtracked to that before exiting the secure area. It was right next to the area where you can line up to climb up to the top of the dome, and there was actually a decent wait by this time, so they had luckily managed to make the climb before it got too busy!

In the gift shop, DH and I ended up buying only a couple of things. I got a rosary for my mom, and found a small reproduction of the Pieta that I got for myself.

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Swiss Guard winterwear


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We walked down into the square which was also much busier than it had been when we walked down there prior to the tour at 7 am.

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We stopped in one more gift shop for Judi to look for a Sistine Chapel puzzle she had seen. It was right there on the counter display, so after she got one of those, we went down to the taxi stand and got a ride back to the hotel. We still had some time before we’d have to be back for our ride to the port, but it was time to check out. We split up into our rooms to finish packing and brought our bags downstairs to leave with the concierge. Then the 4 of us decided to stick close to the hotel and look for some lunch.

After just a 5 minute walk, we ended up at this little restaurant called Josephine Bistrot, and it was a real hidden gem!

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DH, Phil and Judi all got pizzas. DH ordered the diavola (spicy sausage) pizza.

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He enjoyed his pizza, but we both thought I picked with winner with the Cascio e Pepe pasta, which is the cheese and black pepper pasta dish that we enjoyed so much on the Trastevere food tour. Every last bite of this was absolutely delicious. A week or so ago we made this at home, and while it didn't taste as delicious as this one, it definitely brought me back to Italy for a brief moment!

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Phil & Judi were interested in the Capuchin Friar crypt we had visited last time, so since it was close by the hotel and on the way back from the restaurant, we stopped there as our last bit of sightseeing in Rome.

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No photos allowed in there, and DH complied for the first time that day.

By the time we finished there, it was time to make the quick walk back to the hotel to catch our ride to the port!

UP NEXT: Welcome Aboard!

 

[SorcererHeidi]

Continuing to be utterly breathtakingly beautiful, and I continue to be grateful to you and your hubby for sharing! I'm surprised that they let you touch the foot of that statue to St. Peter, and that there is any of a foot left, just thinking of the kabillions of people who have touched it over the years! Seeing the Pieta made me emotional, I'm not ashamed to admit. And oh yeah - slobbering looking at the food photos. Again.

 

[rdkeim]

What a wonderful tour and the pictures are just so beautiful. Good decision to take an early tour and avoid the worst of the crowds. Anxious to hear about boarding your cruise ship!

 

[christannj]

While looking at Dustin's pictures, I couldn't help but wonder.... Does he enjoy the tours looking through a viewfinder and trying to find the perfect shot or does he focus on the pictures at the time and then relive the experience later when looking them over. I remember times when I was video recording an event like a child's event and not feeling like I was there taking part in it because I am confined to looking at it through a viewfinder.

Chris

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Thanks for sharing all the amazing pictures - and I am glad that the tour we took worked out well, I think. While I am sure I would have loved to see all of the museum, I think we hit up at lot of the key things and getting to experience the Sistine Chapel with very few people was really a special experience - I know I got pretty emotional during it (for the religious element but also one of those "I never thought I would ever actually be physically here" moments)


Just thought I would point out that in these pictures where you see the line of people that crosses the entrance to the square and basically looks like a long line of ants - that is the line of people waiting to get in that didn't do a tour ... so I think for what we paid it was worth every penny!

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Oh, and you sort of left off the key point of the Capuchin Friar crypt - in that it is a crypt entirely decorated in human skeletons/remains ... it's beautiful in the patterns they made with pelvises and stuff, but also a tad creepy!

If anyone wants, a quick google image search of "Capuchin Friar crypt" will bring up a bunch of images - didn't want to scare anyone!

 

[skier_pete]

While looking at Dustin's pictures, I couldn't help but wonder.... Does he enjoy the tours looking through a viewfinder and trying to find the perfect shot or does he focus on the pictures at the time and then relive the experience later when looking them over. I remember times when I was video recording an event like a child's event and not feeling like I was there taking part in it because I am confined to looking at it through a viewfinder.

Chris

I can't speak for Dustin, but as someone that takes a LOT of pictures (I think I took around 1500 pictures in Italy last September) I personally take a lot of shots but try not to take a lot of time on the set-up, sticking mostly to wider shots that I can crop later. I remember when we were walking down the statue/tapestry/map hall I was snapping pictures of EVERYTHING - like probably took 50 - 75 pictures just walking down that one hall - but I was making sure to look around as well. Then later I can study the details of the pictures, which you just don't have the time to do. At least when we were in that hall, the guide moved continuously, so you just didn't have time to stop and shoot. When I take videos, the same thing I try very hard to pay attention to the event and have the video recording be secondary - though it sometimes means my shots drift. Or if it's like at Disney - like HEA - the first time I see something I keep the camera down completely, and only shoot a bunch of pictures the second time. In the end though I generally don't obsess about getting pictures of everything. I respected the photo rule in the Sistine Chapel not for any moral high-ground reason, but simply because I can go online and see MUCH better images of the Sistine chapel than what I can take. The pictures I take are more to inform my memories than to be the best pictures I can possibly get. (After I wrote all that I realize it's pretty irrelevant since you are asking about Dustin.)

 

[amazingact21]

Beautiful pictures from the basilica. Alex wanted to climb to the top of the copula, too, but when I saw that I had to pay to climb 500+ steps I politely declined. Looks like the view was amazing, though. Glad Dustin got the opportunity to experience it while you got an uncrowded view of the Pieta. Such a breathtaking statue.

Your lunch sounded like it was delicious, glad you guys stumbled upon the place and found some great dishes!

 

[missangelalexis]

I don't know if I'd be up for climbing all those steps either! But looks like a stunning view once they made it.

Glad this was a great tour for you all!

 

[DDuck4Life]

While looking at Dustin's pictures, I couldn't help but wonder.... Does he enjoy the tours looking through a viewfinder and trying to find the perfect shot or does he focus on the pictures at the time and then relive the experience later when looking them over. I remember times when I was video recording an event like a child's event and not feeling like I was there taking part in it because I am confined to looking at it through a viewfinder.

Chris

This is something I always struggle with. I've gotten better but it was a conscious effort to do so. When I first started and really got into taking pictures I was looking at everything through the lens of the camera and was fine with that. But as more and more events came and I was watching everything through the lens I just got tired of it and for some things would just leave the camera at home so I wouldn't have the temptation to just take 1 picture that would spiral into 100's.

There has been a plus side to that though. in living through the lens and taking a ton of photos I can now relax a bit more. At this point I'm a lot more selective in what I'm photographing. before I wanted pictures of everything I've cut back and am going for quality or quantity. I've also developed an eye for what my camera can do. Now instead of doing everything through my camera I take it all in and enjoy the moment of what I'm see and can conceptualize my shots in my head before even picking up the camera. Visually I can see a scene and know what I want to take a picture of and how I want it framed and know where I need to be with my camera to capture that based off the focal lengths of the lens on my camera at the time and the setting the camera needs to be on. So I can do all of that now and just point and shoot and move on. Previously I would do all that in the camera. Frame the shot adjust my setting and get everything dialed in while the camera was in front of my face, not so much anymore so it allows me to live in the moment and just have the camera as an extension of my eyes instead of being my eyes.

And with that I also take a lot less pictures than I used to. Where before I would take pictures of anything and everything and end up junking over half of them, now I'm more selective and end up keeping the majority of them. 80-90% of the pictures I took on this trip are here in this trip report. Not many of them were junked and not used. Efficiency has also helped in not always being stuck behind the camera.

Now that's just a long winded way to say no I don't always like touring looking through my camera and I've taken steps to help stop that. Experience first, photos second. unless of course the experience is taking photos. Like with my night time photo shoots but with the long exposures there is enough downtime while the shot is happening to be able to take everything in.