Rome, Capri and Amalfi

April 2009

Day 10, Rome:

This was a long and busy day.  It began with a two-hour guided tour of the Vatican Museums.  I booked these tickets online through the Vatican website several weeks prior to the trip at 30 euros per person.  The fee included the ticket, reservation fee, guide and audio headset and, best of all, no waiting in long lines.  The guide spoke into a microphone and each of us had a device with an earpiece; I liked that as I would lag behind and I could still hear what she was saying.  The museums are vast and amazing, and two hours went by quickly.  Throughout the tour I did not see people using their camera flashes until we got to the Sistine Chapel.  We were told that no cameras were permitted to be used in this last section of the tour.  Lo and behold, we walk into this very crowded room to people flashing their cameras like crazy (not us, of course).  They were also using video cameras.  I saw a guard standing there, aware of what people were doing, but he made no effort to stop them.