Day Two: Vatican City

Vatican City - well, that's kind of wrong. It's actually a city AND its own country. Home of the pope, St. Peter's Basilica, and the Sistine Chapel. Wow! I got up on the early side and made my way almost to the Vatican. I say almost, because when I was one stop away on the train, I realized that I had forgotten my camera. You know me... I get kind of paralyzed when I don't have my camera in hand. So, it was decision time - go 30 minutes back to my hotel and get my camera, costing me an hour of time, or go without pictures. Come on - was that even a decision?? I went back to my hotel!! It was worth it - the sights were amazing, and I'm glad I can share them with you. :)

First stop... St. Peter's Basilica. This church was built on the site where St. Peter was crucified upside-down, and his remains are supposedly beneath the alter. I say supposedly, because it seems like a lot of time has passed to really be sure. Call me a skeptic, I know, I know! The church was by far one of the most ornate and impressive I have ever seen. I toured the inside, and then paid my 6 euros to take the elevator up to the top to get the view of the city. Very cool.

St. Peter's Basilica... I was thinking of my grandfather a lot this day. I know one of the highlights of his trip to Italy was meeting the Pope, and he kept a photo of himself shaking the Pope's hand in his room for as long as I can remember (WAY better Catholic than me!)

The inside of the church... it was so sunny, and I love the way the light was coming through... NOTE - the church is HUGE!!

The alter beneath which St. Peter rests in peace

The church's famous dome - beautiful (also inspired the Duomo, in Florence, and the Capitol building in the US... amazing how everything goes full circle!)

View of the dome's writing on the way up... remember how I said the church was HUGE? Well, it is - these letters are SEVEN FEET HIGH!!! Makes you feel pretty small! :)

View of the courtyard from the top... this is where all the people go when the Pope says Mass.

After St. Peter's Basilica, I went to the Sistine Chapel, which is actually a series of about 4 miles of museum, AND THEN the Sistine Chapel. No pictures were allowed, but I did sneak a video to give you an idea... Michaelangelo painted this for 4 years. I can't even imagine. I didn't even like painting a little section of my bedroom for 15 minutes!! Talk about a neck ache. But what an impressive sight!

I returned back after all of this amazing to... Sean! He arrived without a hitch from Portland. It was nice to get to see each other and have some time over the next few days to talk things over. We went to see the famous Trevi Fountain, and then had some wine and an amazing dinner (Thanks, Stefano, for all of the recommendations!)