Fall Break: Part 2-Vatican City



 

The Vatican

We spent most of the day on Monday (October 21) touring Vatican City.  First, we went into the main square outside of St. Peter's Basilica (above).  We arrived around 10am and the place was packed with people.  We couldn't even find the end of the line waiting to go inside the church.  So we decided to visit the museums instead.  Luckily, we were advised to purchase our tickets on line before we left Ukraine because the ticket line for the museums, including The Sistine Chapel, wrapped around the block outside The Vatican.  Instead, we walked directly into the museum lobby, paid for the audio headsets, and started our self-guided tour starting in the courtyard seen below.



 

 The Pinecone Courtyard-The Vatican Museums

 A hall of sculptures inside the Vatican Museums

 A young artist drawing one of the statues

 Looking back up the spiral staircase we just descended, inside the museum

Of course seeing Michelangelo's painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was a highlight, but also a bit of a letdown.  There were so many people packed into the chapel, being herded like cattle from one end to the other,  that it was difficult to stop and appreciate the wonder and beauty of being there.  For us, the inside of St. Peter's was more awe-inspiring.

By the time we returned to the square, the mob of people had dispersed and we were inside St. Peter's in less than 10 minutes.  Our timing for the day couldn't have been better!

Inside St. Peter's Basilica

 One of several Catholic masses taking place inside the Basilica.  I really wanted to take communion, but I was afraid of what would happen if it was discovered that I'm not Catholic.  I guess if I'm going to be an "educator on the edge" I need to start taking my chances. 

 Back outside workers were setting up for an event which we assumed would include The Pope.  The next night we found out we were right. There was a news report on TV about it but of course it was in Italian so we didn't really know exactly what had taken place.  All we know is that we missed "him" by one day!

Vatican Guards

 

 

We left Vatican City around 3 o'clock and made our way back to our room, stopping at a cafe along the way for an afternoon snack.  It was our last day in Rome so we wanted to go out later for a nice dinner and stay up late.  As it turned out, dinner was great, but we couldn't find the energy to stay up late.  Besides, we had to check out early the next morning and catch the train to Sorrento.