Needless to say that after the excitement of last night (pub crawl and epic lost-ness) we slept in a little. By a little I mean we were still up by 8am and out the door by 930ish...
It's Sunday and we're in Rome. Where would any good Catholic go on a Sunday in Rome? CHURCH of course! Or at least the Vatican... Only problem is that it's not only Sunday, but it's the last Sunday of the month and the only Sunday that the Vatican Museum is open and free entry at that. I'm sure you can imagine the insanity that follows. The Vatican Museum on the last Sunday of every month is only open from 10am-2pm but is free access to everyone. I can't walk much anymore between blisters and feet cramps and my lower back giving me grief and the Vatican is across the city from us anyways so we hop on the metro and head over. 
Eventhough we expected crazy amounts of people and a lineup up, we never for a second could have anticipated the queue that we took part in. We could not see the beginning and we couldn't seem to find the end either. We did finally find the end at the entrance of St Peter's Square and there we started the pilgramage. I came all the way to Rome and I will be damned (literally and figuratively) if I don't see the Sistine Chapel! I will wait if I have to wait all day! We started the queue at 945 am and although it seemed endless, every 15 minutes we would take pictures to see how far we had moved and happily we were moving along nicely. We optimistially guestimated it would take us 1 hour to get in and nailed it! We walked through the doors of the Vatican Museum at 10:44. Not bad considering the line was over 1km long. No tickets to buy though so it was just the process of going through the security and getting in. Once you're in, it's MASSIVE and you would never know how many people are actually in there. Not wanting to spend too much time in the museum, we beelined for the Sistine Chapel (Short Itinerary) and admired the art etc along the way. The Sistine really is something to be seen. The Last Judgement is breathtaking. They ask for silence in there we with several hundred people in there at once it's not an easy request so a guy just stands there and Ssshhhhh's people. What a job!
After the Sistine we walked the miles of corridors of the museum and checked out the Carriage exhibit - aka the room of Popemobiles! This was also a highlight! From the horse and buggy style to the full out bulletproof beast from the JP2 days. Too cool! We were out of there by 1230. Not bad at all! It looked alot more intimidating than it was. We stopped for lunch before heading back to St Peter's. Good thing because as much as we expected St Peter's Square/Basilica to be beautiful, I don't think either of us had any anticipation of it being EPIC. The Colosseum was cool and definitely a highlight but walking into St Peter's makes your jaw drop! It is beyond words. It is HUGE and it is mind blowing. We just stood there in awe and gawked at our surroundings for a good 5 minutes just soaking it all in. So far probably one of the most amazing things I've ever seen (and I've seen some pretty amazing things...). After taking a pile of pictures outside it's time to head into the Basilica. Cue queue #2. This line looks just as long as the one for the museum... GREAT! Robyn asks if I have my heart set on going in...uh... YES! I didn't come here to not see it. Besides I think the line looks longer than it is. I figure it shouldn't take us more than an hour and it doesn't. It was well worth the wait. The Basilica is just as impressive as the square and is absolutely MASSIVE. There are so many people but it's so big it doesn't even feel that crowded.
By 4 we were on our way back stopping for a little shopping and Robyn decided to go back to the room and relax and go for a run while I went to do another tour. Sadly I couldn't find the guide and so I had to make my own tour. Moo and I are used to it anyways... legs and feet throbbing we made the best of it. Went to see the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and the Spanish Steps and little things in between. What's another 2 hours on my feet? I made it back by 730pm needed to rest the feet for an hour before heading out for dinner. Our last real dinner in Rome we found a lovely rooftop garden restaurant and watched the sunset. It was perfect.
If you're going to be a tourist you need to be prepared to wait in line and if you have patience and perserverance it all works out. It was a fabulous final day in Rome.
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