WOW!

Greetings to All,

I have just returned from the Vatican Museum and the only word I have is...WOW! I wandered the halls for over three hours and loved every minute of the crowd infested trip!

I begged and pleaded and looked through Maribeth's "Rick Steve's" guide and so we began with the Egyptian Rooms! I love mummies and all those old statues. It was fascinating to read the little plaques and consider how old the displays were and wonder how they decided who they had discovered. The next stop was down the long hall of bits of Roman statuary. I found more than a few goddesses to bring home in case I can use them in a future classroom. And I must confess, I didn't only take the pictures of the four muses of tragic & comic theater and epic & lyric poetry; I also said a little pagan prayer for their assistance in my job search. We wandered on and on and until we saw what we thought was the final direction sign for the Sistine Chapel.

However, you all raised us well; Maribeth, Erin and I stopped for a lunch break and rest before tackling such a final stop on our museum tour. The best blessing of the lunch break was that it was AIR CONDITIONED! Refreshed and ready to go we continued on to the Sistine...hallway? We had forgotten the miles of hallway depicting maps from history. Hmmm...wandered slowly, but since I didn't know any ancient names for cities, I kept moving along. Finally, We arrived at the Sistine Chapel and amid the crowd and announcements of "Silencio", we agreed on a meeting place. I enjoyed the final judgment and the corner story of Judith, but quickly found a spot on the bench surrounding the room and sat to take it all in. At the appointed time, we met and snuck out through the side door.

This let us bypass to the side of St. Peter's Basilica! After a few stairwells and some ramps, we arrived on the front porch of the Church. Now I was able to find the statue of Benedict...he really does look right at you from his perch on the pedestal and pray at the toes of Peter's statue! This bit of touristing was enough and I found my way to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel to pray. I spent about 30 minutes in the quiet Adoration Chapel. Much of this time was praying for my being able to accept God's will in seeking work...I hope this balanced out the short pagan stint. Overall, it was an amazing day.

Blessings,