Vatican City

Rome!!! Italy!!! So much to say, too bad I am writing this like a month late. I probably won’t even remember half of the stuff we saw… but in my defense there was so much to see I honestly don’t even know if I knew what I was looking at half the time!

Well as I said in my last blog we left for Rome Thursday late afternoon and arrived Thursday in the evening with plenty of time to find our hotel, which was really close to the bus station luckily and someplace close by to eat. The first Italian food I had had in a long time! It was delicious. First night was pizzas mmm… so good. Anyway then it was to bed for us because we were getting up early to be the first in line to get into the Vatican tomorrow.

We weren’t the first in line but we only had to wait a little while. I was kinda chilly just because I have gotten used to the warmer temperatures of Valencia. (Bad news since I will be in snow covered WI in a week.) Anyway, soon we were entering into the Vatican museum which was amazing. So much history there it was amazing. It started with Egyptians and such and just kept getting more and more recent. It was really amazing! Anyone traveling to Rome I recommend it highly it wasn’t interactive and fun like other museums I have visited but there was just so much cool historical ancient stuff there. There was so much to see and walk through I can’t even remember it all. Raphael’s room was great and of course the Sistine Chapel was INDESCRIBABLE! I have a couple illegal photos from in there but really you have to see it in person to get the full feeling of awe! Everything about the room is ornate the painting and everything. That is where the cardinals elect new popes, it was crazy to be standing in a place like that and just looking around thinking of it.

Well after a full morning and most of the early afternoon in the museum we decided it was time to eat and then head outside to St. Peter’s Square and visit St. Peter’s Basilica. The queue for that was also rather long but as they are accustomed to massive amounts of tourist it was moving pretty quickly. We actually met and chatted with another American couple waiting in the line that had just finished a biking trip in Northern Italy (I think). They said it was beautiful which I don’t doubt.
Before we knew it we were through the line and walking up and into St. Peter’s Basilica. The inside was HUGE with so much to see. We walked around looking at all the art, crypts, statues, and just everything. The structure itself is also amazing. Gigantic columns, huge domes, everything so ornate… yeah… really indescribable. Anyway, we admired and everything for quite awhile it was really a cool experience. Later we visited the mausoleum where many popes and such were buried also some cardinals and a queen I believe. I wasn’t allowed to take pictures of that but it was amazing just to see. And lastly for the day we climbed the cupola to get a great view of all of Rome. Dad and I took the stairs all the way and mom and Grandma took the elevator halfway and the stairs the rest. The stairs were interesting because the walls we sloping in since it was a cupola so I was leaning to one side the entire time with my upper body and then trying to walk straight… not a great idea and I didn’t even fall! The view from the top was absolutely spectacular! Which made the climb well worth it; we were also lucky because it was just about time for sunset so yeah just the icing on the cake!

After we met up again at the bottom we headed back to the Hotel and then to eat. More yummy Italian food tonight was pasta! Buenísimo! And then off to bed to be ready for another day of sightseeing!