Today the post is written by Val with her birthday tomorrow.
We had tickets for a Vatican tour. As usual, we set off walking from the hotel, leaving at 7 a.m. allowing plenty of time for our 8.30 check in. It was just as well as our rendezvous-vous was at the museum entrance, at the opposite end of the Vatican City to St Peter’s. Once we knew where we were going, we enjoyed a pleasant coffee stop.
We arrived at the museum entrance and there were long queues everywhere. Thankfully as ticket holders, we were able to bypass most of them.
The tour began with an extensive tour of the gardens. Our young guide was excellent and the tour informative. We then had a talk about the art of The Sistine Chapel and a guided tour along the galleries approaching the chapel. After spending a short while in the chapel we took a brief snack break then looked at some of the museum exhibits: art then ethnology.
We wanted to view something else in the afternoon, and it began to pour with rain so we were pleased that the queues for the Parthenon weren’t too long. It was truly awe-inspiring.
Finally it was time for lunch and after checking out somewhere that risked disappointment, we decided to return to our favourite Taverna in the Jewish Ghetto. We were welcomed back like old friends and greeted with a glass of bubbly.. After taking our time over a satisfying meal, we were ready to head back to the hotel and reflect on our day.
We’re now up to 150km of our 160km target……. With a big birthday tomorrow we’ll smash it……
See our pictures at
https://photos.app.goo.gl/CEFu5jF4XxVGo1eQ8
and our fund raise at
https://walkforwater.wateraid.org/fundraising/peters-fundraising-page76
Val and Peter Ball are ....... 