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Eeyore on Tour
After a good nights sleep and a half decent breakfast we're out of the hotel by 8:30.
The sun is out and it's already starting to get hot.
A ten minute walk to the Piazza Barberini and two stops on the Red Metro line and we're at Ottaviano, From there a walk down via Ottaviano and across the Piazza del Risorgimento and through the very very annoying ticket touts ('ar yu inglish!!!) and tacky selfie stick salesmen and we're in St Peter's Square or should I say Piazza San Pietro.
I have seen this Square (well more circle) many times on the telly but actually being here is not preparation to how calm and beautiful it is. The two long white colonnades seem to hug the square with the fatherly St Peter's Basilica in the centre of them. Once inside the hug all the hustle of the touts and city noise seem to drop to a gentle hum and your in peace!
Before we can go any further it's over to the ORP office to pick up our Roma Cards and Vatican passes. We book ourselves in for the 10:00 Vatican tour and the 13:30- Basilica tour. Jaq and I put our orange time stickers on and wait for our guide. These little Orange stickers are wonderful, they let all the touts know you have tickets so they can b***** right off!!
Our guide arrives, he's a friendly looking priest dressed in grey, he's holding up what looks like a selfie stick without the phone holder and it's got an orange handkerchief tied to it. Handy as there's about 30 of us waiting for his guidance.
It's quite a walk from the Square to the Vatican Museum Entrance, and so far our guide has not said a word.
After about 15 minutes we arrive at the entrance to the Museum, there's crowds there and the queue is long but with our Flash ORP passes we snake our way past and inside. through the Security Scanners and we're in. Strangely, our guide now smiles happily at us all and leaves us. We're on our own from here.
The sun is out and it's already starting to get hot.
A ten minute walk to the Piazza Barberini and two stops on the Red Metro line and we're at Ottaviano, From there a walk down via Ottaviano and across the Piazza del Risorgimento and through the very very annoying ticket touts ('ar yu inglish!!!) and tacky selfie stick salesmen and we're in St Peter's Square or should I say Piazza San Pietro.
I have seen this Square (well more circle) many times on the telly but actually being here is not preparation to how calm and beautiful it is. The two long white colonnades seem to hug the square with the fatherly St Peter's Basilica in the centre of them. Once inside the hug all the hustle of the touts and city noise seem to drop to a gentle hum and your in peace!
Before we can go any further it's over to the ORP office to pick up our Roma Cards and Vatican passes. We book ourselves in for the 10:00 Vatican tour and the 13:30- Basilica tour. Jaq and I put our orange time stickers on and wait for our guide. These little Orange stickers are wonderful, they let all the touts know you have tickets so they can b***** right off!!
Our guide arrives, he's a friendly looking priest dressed in grey, he's holding up what looks like a selfie stick without the phone holder and it's got an orange handkerchief tied to it. Handy as there's about 30 of us waiting for his guidance.
It's quite a walk from the Square to the Vatican Museum Entrance, and so far our guide has not said a word.
After about 15 minutes we arrive at the entrance to the Museum, there's crowds there and the queue is long but with our Flash ORP passes we snake our way past and inside. through the Security Scanners and we're in. Strangely, our guide now smiles happily at us all and leaves us. We're on our own from here.
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