Eurojournal - 6 November 2006

Today we had a few hours to see the Sistine Chapel before boarding a train to Venice at lunchtime. Byron decided he would rather go into the Roman Forum than see the Sistine Chapel. I was committed to the chapel as the younger children have been on this journey exploring the artwork of ceilings. They love lying down and looking at everything happening in a painting. This was the one we had all waited for. So we let Byron go on his own knowing that we may end up meeting him there if there is a long line to get into the chapel.

We arrived at The Vatican to a very long line. A friend of Byron’s in Spain warned him that it would take 3 hours. We planned for 2 and had to leave to get the train if it went longer. Arriving an hour before opening, we stood in line. The kids tried to haggle with people selling scarves. Luna and Liam offered their 30 Euro cents for a scarf. The seller thought about it and then realized how absurd it would be to sell a 10 Euro scarf for 30 Euro cents. It was so funny though watching them. They did this with al the sellers passing. It was cute. They have been getting free candy and toys since the beginning of Spain everyday. I think they decided to up the odds now.

We made it in even bout 10 minutes ahead of my schedule. Great! We went tot eh chapel and saw some of the works along the way. The chapel was crowded but there was some room on the floor for the children to lie down. They saw “Creation” and I was explaining things tot them I never dreamed I would. They look at the rest of the work along the walls. Liam interpreted one as people making a big pot of stew and having a party.

We attempted to get more gelato after and they only had cappacino. We ran out of time and had to get our bags ofrm the hostel and go. I grabbed some samosas for lunch on the train and Byron and James brought the bags down. We made it on time.

We had a 5 hour ride to Venice. We saw Italy’s countryside. The children made friends with al little girl named Lily from Colorado. We enjoyed talking with her mom who was visiting Europe for a month. They rode their bikes everywhere. That is what I want to do next time. The ride went fast and we arrived after dinner. We came out from the train station and it was magnificent. The station was at the grand canal. The buildings were lit up. Again our jaws dropped. Venice at night is gorgeous and quaint. Quite the opposite of the grungy Rome we just saw.

We walked to our room and got lost few times. I enjoyed going into shops and asking directions. Everyone was so nice. We made it to our place in Campo Santa Margarita which is the student area. There were fruit stands still open at 9pm. It was vibrant yet quiet. We looked around and went to bed excited to see this city in the morning.