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Day 45 - This morning was our first ride on the Italian underground railway system. We had to travel about 7 stations to get to the nearest station to The Vatican, where we were to join a group of about 12 for a 3 hour walkabout tour. Fitted up with similar devices that we had for the Colesseum the day before, we joined the crowds to firstly visit the Vatican museum. During the summer months an average of 25,000 visitors a day come to the Vatican so you can imagine how slow it was at times to move through the main attractions. Pope Francis was away visiting Rio de Janerio at the time of our visit. The museum contained hundreds of priceless sculptures, tapestries and paintings dating back 6 centuries. Our next main attraction on the tour was the Sistine Chapel, famous for its ceiling that Michelangelo took 5 years to paint. An amusing part of the visit to this attraction was that we were told by our tour guide before we entered the chapel that complete silence was required at all times whilst inside. As we entered, the security staff also reminded us that silence was required. We spent about 15 minutes inside and during this time the staff kept calling for "complete silence please" and repeatedly announced this over the pa system. It was impressive to see the attention to detail and the story told by this famous artist. We next moved on to St Peters Basilica, famous for its 98 metre high dome and works of art (mainly sculptures) over 2000 years old. The basilica itself took over 120 years to complete. From the basilica it was on the bus and across the city to the Aventino Rose gardens located not far from the Colesseum. Unfortunately for us the gardens are only open in May & June. Another attraction close by in the Piazza del Coavelleri di Malta involves looking through a keyhole of the door which is the garden entrance to the Embassy of Malta. The huge dome of St Peters basilica some distance away is perfectly aligned at the end of a long garden avenue inside the embassy. Very difficult to get a camera shot through a keyhole. It was late in the afternoon before we left the Piazza. Time to head back towards our hotel for dinner, as the flight to Mykonos left at 6am the next morning.
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