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Our plan today was to climb climb to the top of the dome on St. Peter's Basilica. After that, we wanted to start buying souvenirs for everyone at home, so we slept in for a little longer to rest for the big climb. We got up around lunchtime, finished the meat we bought at the supermarket a couple days ago, and took off to conquer the dome.
Compared to the first time we stood in line in St. Peter's Square for the Basilica, this line was quite a bit longer. Once we got through the security check, we made our way to the Basilica and asked a security guard where to go for the dome. The guard pointed us in the right direction and we followed the signs marked for the Cupola. We could have paid a couple extra euros to take an elevator, which would have saved us 171 steps, but Sophia and i chose to walk up the full 491.
After entering the elevator tower, we walked up an incline, then the stairs started. The first set of stairs wrapped around the elevator and the first 171 steps seemed to last for longer than I had expected. At the top of the elevator tower was the flat portion of the roof of St. Peter's Basilica. It made for a good resting point and the view of Rome and the Vatican was breathtaking, but it was only a preview of what we would see at the top of the dome.
After a short rest, Sophia and i entered the actual dome staircase and continued our climb. Before ascending much, there was a doorway and an entrance to the inside of the Basilica and Sophia and I found ourselves looking down at the interior of the Basilica. We were quite high, probably at least a hundred feet up, and I was getting pretty nervous. Thankfully, a fence separated us from the interior.
We entered the staircase again and continued our journey to the top. Sophia started getting exhausted during the first portion of these steps and I started getting exhausted about halfway through this portion. But we both knew it would be worth the climb. The stairs themselves actually changed shape as we climbed higher up the dome. The hall narrowed to be just wide enough for 1 person as we traveled around the dome, then the stairs turned into a spiral staircase. Once we got to the top of the spiral, we were at the top of the dome.
The climb was definitely worth the view, because the view was magnificent, and that is an understatement! We could see all of Rome and we had an awesome view of St. Peter's Square and the rest of Vatican City. I'm typically afraid of heights, but I wasn't nervous to be at the top of the Dome. I felt very relaxed (or exhausted is probably more accurate) and along with the hand rails and the cooling wind, I was at the top of the world with my lovely wife.
I don't know how long we stayed, but after getting some nice wide shots, it was time to leave and make room for more people. The trip down the stairs was, not surprisingly, a breeze compared to the climb up. Once again, there was a stop on the flat roof of the Basilica and there was even a souvenir shop and refreshment stand this time. Sophia and I bought some souvenirs, then finished our trip down the descending elevator tower. We exited the stairs just inside the entrance to the Basilica.
On our way out of St. Peter's Square, we stopped by a post office to mail some cards. After that, we walked down the main street from the square to check out the souvenir shops. Both sides of the street were lined with souvenir shops and we were bombarded with lots of the same things: icons, rosaries, crucfixes, statues, etc. We bought more souvenirs as we made our way through our souvenir list.
Around 6:30, the shops started closing, so we decided to call it a day and catch the subway to come back to our hotel room. But before coming back to the hotel, we decided to mix things up a little and try a Chinese restaurant we had seen near by the Spanish Steps. It was quite an interesting experience hearing the Chinese folks speaking Italian. Their menu was even catered towards the Italians, with fried gelato being an item and the rice noodles being called spaghetti. Sophia ordered chicken with cashews, I ordered beef with mushrooms and bamboo, we both got the wonton soup, and for desert we tried the fried gelato and fried nutella. It was all very good and the portions were not too big, unlike the portions we have become used to in the States. The taste of the food was even different and it seemed that there wasn't much sauce or spices added, which brought out the flavor of the ingredients.
After stuffing ourselves with the Chinese food, we came back to the hotel and made and appointment for meeting a Monsignor Charles Mangan the next day to drop off some more of Sophia's mother's music items.
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