Papal Power
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Vatican City,
Vatican City
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
The Pope was out and about today, blessing all and sundry as it's All Saints Day. We missed Benny 16 though as we had made an early start to get to the Vatican Museum. The most notable exhibit here is the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michael Angelo, but also excellent are the Raphael rooms. I don't think anyone could deny that these were by far the two most talented turtles. The style was kind of Raphaelite and has inspired me somewhat - check out the ceilings next time you come round to our house!!
The papal presence had ensured a big crowd of expectant Catholics, so the museum was busy, but nothing compared to the crush experienced to get St Peter's. We suashed and squeezed our way to the front, forgiving people for their occasional elbows in the ribs and treading on our toes and finally managed to enter the centre of Roman Catholicism. Sadly, the volume of visitors affected the visit and the whole experience felt more like Disneyland than some kind of holy land. But we are on holi day, so we carried on, walked down Reconciliation Way and back into Italy.
