Ignite My Soul

Chapter 6.3 - Halla at the Pope: Day 10 - Roma & Pisa

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Genesis 1

Verse 27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Verse 28: And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

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It is the last day in Rome and, more importantly, the last day of the communication blackout, or so we hope. I am well rested and have no trouble getting up to get ready for the drive to the next destination. We have been warned already that the queue to enter Vatican City is mad long, but it moves quickly.

After breakfast, we check out and take our luggage to the bus. We leave the hotel, and the bus intended to drop us off by the Vatican City entrance, but the queue is already snaking around the block. We have 4 hours to explore, then meet at the exit, where the bus will pick us up. It is a very hot day. We follow the queue and chat as we take steps forward.

Me: "I can't wait for Switzerland. Imagine having all that chocolate, playing in the snow, meeting some Hunk with a huge Swiss account to buy me a Swiss watch and some Swarovski diamonds."

Nkele: "You know Swarovski is from Austria, right?"

Me: "Yes, but we will be neighbours, so we can always fly there. He'll propose in Tuscany, and I can get my wedding shoot in Venice, and we can go on honeymoon in Paris. One big happy European dream."

Nkele: "As long as I'm the matron of honour."

Me: "Well, get married then; otherwise, you are just a bridesmaid."

We continue chit chatting until my eyes land on a truck full of bags opposite the road. There is every brand you can think of on display. I don't care; even if you buy it from Italy, a fake is still a fake. I doubt LV, Dior, Gucci, Fendi, etc, distribute to the street corners. I buy a cute, sling handbag, and we go back to the queue.

We are finally in. We each receive a set of headphones and a map. We try to keep to the group as much as possible; however, they don't call it a City for nothing. After a couple of stops, we split to cover as many of the things we really want to see as possible. We are surrounded by art, statues, tombs, relics and all things Renaissance.

Now, what's giving me a mind-fuck is that the different areas have a lot of Christ history, lots of Roman Empire history and Catholic religion background information. Why would that puzzle anyone? Well, we are not meant to worship other gods, whether in a picture or statuesque amongst other forms, but these things are everywhere you turn in here.

Unless the rule applies to things that are not Catholic or European, I say European because there are even depictions of Napoleon on the walls. This looks more like a rich man's palace. There's even a tomb-like structure in honour of Cleopatra. She was, after all, Mark Antony's girl. Girl deserves her 'Romanship'.

We keep it going and keep it flowing, and then stand outside thee famous centrepiece, that is, the Sistine Chapel. It is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope, in Vatican City. We are cautioned not to take pictures as there is a mass currently in session. We walk in quietly and move around.

The chapel is amazing from the point of entry. The energy in there is overwhelming, and there's that pleasant scent of burning incense with light smoke everywhere.

The usher boys are 🤔... never mind, we are in the house of the Lord. Stop it, Khwezi. Let me say some Hail Maries. I look up to admire the beautifully painted ceiling, and my heart skips a beat from dejavu. I had a dress with the exact same paintings, so you can imagine my excitement looking at the original.