Up and at 'em!  Another early day on the bus - this time a short 4 hour ride to Rome.  We had a substitute bus and driver, so that Peter could have a well deserved (and legally required) break.  It started raining really hard just outside of Rome, and didn't stop. We didn't have far to walk to the Hotel Smeraldo, but the rain soaked through my bags and got things damp inside.  I had an apple and some nuts for lunch, while I spread things out to dry.

 

Lucky for us (or so I thought) we would be inside at the Vatican Museum this afternoon - it was packed:  seems that every tourist in Rome had the same idea.  More than once, our petite tour guide got bumped in the head and we would hear her say over our head sets, "Mama mia, please don't hit my head!"  It was a very uncom-fortable experience being jostled along in such a dense crowd, and, unfortunately, I really was unable to enjoy the museum this way. The Sistine ChapeI was crowded as well, but at least I was able to see the artwork above the heads of all the people.  St. Peter's Basilica was not as crowded, and beauty is every where you look. The most moving thing (for me) was the music being sung for some religious event - not being Catholic, I don't know what it was for, but it was the most enjoyable part of my day.

 

Three of us shared a cab back to the hotel, opting out of the night walk through Rome - it was still raining, so kudos to those brave (or maybe crazy) walkers from our group!  After a quiet dinner with one of the other single gals, I was glad to call it a day.  I just hoped the sunny forecast for the next day would be accurate.