Exploding with Happiness!: Vatican Museums, St. Peter's, Caravaggio, Evan, and Dinner with Mary!

Today our main activity was a guided tour of the Vatican museums. Laura, Steve and I met Sara as planned near Castel Sant' Angelo, and Sara lead us to the entrance to the Vatican museums. Because we had pre-purchased our tickets, we by-passed the long line of people waiting to get in and walked right up to meet our tour group. All went as planned, although our tour guide had the most annoying voice and had to move us rapidly from gallery to gallery in shoulder-to-shoulder crowds. The collections are VAST - far too much to absorb - and the crowded circumstances less than ideal, but we were able to see and enjoy many highlights of the museums. Favorites included the ancient Laocoon statue that had such an impact on the Renaissance, the Raphael rooms and, of course, the Sistine Chapel.

From the Sistine Chapel at the end of our tour, we went straight into St. Peter's basilica. It is of a scale that is hard to fathom, with putti that are three times the size of a real man and columns so huge that it is hard to see around them. There are paintings, mosaics, sculpture, gilt and marble everywhere, yet somehow the many, many decorative elements created by so many masterful artists hang together to form an enormously impressive whole. Michelangelo's Pieta was especially moving.

After St. Peter's we parted company with Sara, who had to return to her host mom's apartment and pack up her things. Laura, Steve and I walked back to the apartment, but Laura and I soon ventured out again to the nearby church of San Luigi dei Francesi and its wonderful paintings of St. Matthew by Caravaggio. We loved seeing these revolutionary works of art in the chapel for which they were commissioned and created (about 1599-1600). They are very moving. Laura and I also ducked in for a quick look at the courtyard and Borromini's cupola at Sant' Ivo della Sapienze and stopped to listen to a marvellous jazz band in Piazza Navona on our way back to the apartment.

By then we were expecting Evan's arrival from the airport. Sara's host mom, Mary, had invited us for dinner at her apartment this evening. When Evan pulled up, we persuaded his driver to wait while we carried Evan's bags up to our apartment and changed our clothes. The driver then took us to Mary's apartment, which was a godsend, since all of us were a little tired to gear up for the 30 minute walk.

Dinner was amazing! Mary is a charming host and a great cook. She made us all feel completely at home. She has been a huge part of Sara's wonderful semester in Rome. She is a lively and interesting conversationalist, switching off between Italian and English with ease and sharing with us her perceptive and amusing observations on Sara, her housemate Gabby, and life in general. Mary is also a terrific cook. She had prepared a wonderful meal for us, including homemade "scrocchiarelle" lasagna (crunchy and made with smoked salmon, pesto and bechamel - unusual and delicious!), two types of roasts with vegetables, and a fruit tart for dessert - plus plenty of wine for toasting and drinking throughout the meal. It was a real privilege to dine in Mary's home and spend the evening with her. She is a wonderful, wise and warm person.

Sara had indeed packed all her belongings, so when it was time for us to say our goodbyes, we loaded Sara's bags into a cab. Steve and I took baggage duty and rode back to the apartment and carried Sara's (heavy!) bags up the four flights while Sara, Laura and Evan walked through Rome on a lovely, warm, cloudless night. The five of us are now relaxing and looking forward to another full day tomorrow.