Sistine Chapel | Adam | tour guide

You mentioned history. Were any of the historic churches particularly inspiring to you? The Basilica di San Pietro is at the top of this kind of hill. You get this unbelievable view of the entire city, a view of the chaos, all the cars and everything. It's really peaceful and stunning. The Vatican to me, of course, is unbelievably beautiful, but I tend to respond to things that are smaller, that I can absorb more. I get overwhelmed when the museums are too big. I don't know how to articulate this. I just respond to things that are more boutique in nature and in size. It allows me to make more connections. Otherwise, with too much, I become overwhelmed.

Did you go to the Vatican? I did go to the Vatican. There were tons of people going through the Vatican, and it was really kind of an intense experience. I felt a little bit bombarded with so many people around. But what was really neat is that they let certain groups into the Sistine Chapel at different times so it does not get too crazy. So somebody who was working for the museum recognized me, and he actually snuck me into the Sistine Chapel when one group was leaving. He had the other group wait about five minutes, so I had another one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It was just me, lying on the floor of the Sistine Chapel, looking up and staring at one of the most popular images of our time, which is Michelangelo's Creation of Adam. I'm lying there on the ground, looking up in tears. I just wanted to absorb it as much as I could in the few minutes alone with nobody else in that room with me, besides the tour guide who brought me in. I just wanted to absorb it, and I decided to lie on the ground and just take it all in. I grew up seeing the Creation of Adam; you see that image everywhere. When you see it in person, you realize why it is such a spectacular piece of art. That was kind of the highlight for me. I was like, "Okay, I can go home now."