After a 5:45am wakeup call, the tour group departed the hotel at 7am to head to the Vatican Museums. We left this early so that our group would be near the front of the line before it opened. After we arrived outside the museum's entrance and got in line, our local guide in Rome, Francesco, gave us radio receivers with an earpiece called Whispers so that we could hear what he said. These Whisper devices were used throughout the tour and were much better than the alternative (the guide yelling).
Although you can take pictures in the rest of the Vatican Museums, you can't in the Sistine Chapel. Supposedly, this is because the Japanese company that did the restoration of the frescoes currently have sole rights to the images. Despite the prohibition, I stealthily took some pictures with my SLR anyways (aimed from the belt level). I noticed someone else in the tour group had his camcorder in a bag with it opened and pointed upward.
From the museum, we entered St. Peter's Basilica and then had some free time to look around St. Peter's Square. We then boarded the motorcoach and headed to the Roman Forum to see the ruins. Unfortunately, we couldn't go inside the Colosseum because of electrical problems.
In the late afternoon, we skipped the optional "Roman Highlights" excursion and dinner, and instead took a taxi to the Spanish Steps. After we arrived, it started raining very heavily. From the Spanish Steps, we walked down Via Condotti and then headed to the Pantheon (which looks like a Roman temple on the outside, but is now a church in the inside). Next, we walked to Piazza Navona and had dinner at Tre Scalini. This restaurant is known for it's tartufo (chocolate coated chocolate ice cream, cherries, and whipped cream). I had pasta (lasagna and tortellini), veal, and the tartufo.
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