This was on a Saturday and we decided to start our day at the Vatican again and go up to the top of St Peter’s Cathedral Dome. The first time we went we walked the 551 steps but this time for 2 Euro more you could take an elevator and walk 320 steps instead. It was a no brainer to take the elevator after I nearly died last time going up it. For reference to walk up all the steps it cost 8 Euro and to take the elevator it cost 10 Euro. It is free to go inside the Cathedral but if you want to climb the steps this is the cost. I should add we didn’t buy tickets in advance and just walked through security and headed straight to the Dome first. My logic is always to get the hardest part over with so I can enjoy the rest of it and I dreaded these steps. There was hardly anyone in line so our total wait time for buying tickets and waiting for the elevator was around 15-20 min.
I still almost died going up lolol but I am so happy they added the elevator option. Dan found the walk up to be a breeze but he works out daily and I do not so I definitely needed him to push me up a couple of steps. Once at the top it was beautiful as I remembered it and we stayed up there for awhile. Afterwards we went down the steps which of course was easier but made me a little dizzy with all the circles and we went to the gift shop up there. I bought lots of gifts for my family and we picked out some stuff for ourselves and the kids.
They added a snack shop up there so we got some drinks and split a sandwich and chips as a small snack.
We took the elevator down and I was again so happy they added it.
We then went to check out the Cathedral and it was just stunning inside! We were very fortunate to have seen the Pieta and in our excitement neither one of us took a picture lolol but it lives in our memory forever. In fact, I later realized I only took a handful of pictures inside the actual Cathedral but I think I was just so tired from all the steps that I just soaked everything in and enjoyed it.
Afterwards, Dan had bought tickets for Castel Sant’ Angelo the night before so we walked on over there and went inside. Last time we came to Rome we missed this so it was neat to go inside. I actually really enjoyed this and since I didn’t know what to expect I loved it even more!
To our surprise they added a cafe at the top and since Dan loves a good view we got some drinks and a small bite. It was nice and breezy up there so we stayed for awhile and enjoyed the amazing view.
I know we must have eaten dinner but for the life of me I cannot remember where and I think I was still recovering from the steps I just ate and didn’t take any pictures. I do remember it was somewhere in the Monti area and that it was delicious lolol
That night Dan had booked us an amazing night tour at the Coliseum! It was the first time in a long time they had opened up their Coliseum at night and we got to go in. To say this was amazing is an understatement, it was epic!!! We first met our tour guide a bit away from the Coliseum at 9pm and took a tour around the surrounding area. He then dropped us off at front and we met another tour guide that took over and took us underground. She mentioned they added a lot of stuff the past year including a lot of recreations of what things looked like back then and it was really cool to see it all. This was definitely one of my favorite tours and it was so well organized. We took a million pictures and at the end of the night we strolled back to the hotel and fell fast asleep. This day was super busy and we were exhausted.
Adventures of Janet 