The Smallest Country

A trip to Rome wouldn't be complete without visiting Vatican City! Yesterday we had arranged a tour through the same people who showed us around the Pantheon, so we got up this morning to make it. Since our hotel is very close to the border, it was a short walk to the Vatican Museums, where we started. We got to see the Pinecone Courtyard (so named because of the giant pinecone statue), which was also home to the spinning gold sphere-within-a-sphere that was a symbol of Pope Gregory XIII (who was responsible for the Gregorian Calendar).

From there we went through many impressive rooms with an abundance of statues. Probably the coolest part for me was getting to walk on part of the floor that was the original Roman mosaic! It's not every day that I get to walk on something that old. Then, because the statues weren't enough to look at, the rooms were covered in amazing murals. There was one ceiling that seriously looked 3-D, but was actually completely flat. We also got to see Pope Gregory's map room, where, surprisingly, the old painted maps were fairly close to what we have today.

After scores of painted hallways, tapestries, and sculptures, we finally reached the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but I wouldn't have been able to do it justice with a camera anyway. The room was absolutely breathtaking! Before we went in, our guide was giving us some background on the paintings (since she couldn't talk inside), including the fact that Michelangelo was all but blind when he painted The Last Judgement, which takes up one of the walls. That's some pretty impressive work for someone who can't see. It was also fun to hear who he modeled different faces on, such as himself or various Popes. My favorite story was how one guy (who didn't like Michelangelo, and vice versa) got painted in the Hell part of the painting, and when he went to the current Pope to complain, the Pope basically said, "Sorry, I don't have power over Hell!"

Although that was the end of our tour, we waited around to get into Saint Peter's Basilica, which wouldn't open for a couple of hours. We went back through the museums and detoured into an Egyptian wing that we hadn't seen on the tour, which was really cool because Egyptian artifacts are awesome. We also got to see the Raphael Rooms, which were just covered in his murals. I have no idea how one person can do so much in a lifetime!

At last we got through to the Basilica, which was gorgeous. It was definitely more crowded than the other basilicas, cathedrals, and churches we've visited. We also got to see the Pietà there, which, like my mom said, was smaller than expected (although still bigger than the Mona Lisa).

We returned to the hotel to wait out the hottest part of the day- it's been getting warmer here, and I was really glad not to be out and about and complaining about the heat. By the time we went out again, the sun was going down and it was very pleasant. We went to Saint Peter's Square to take pictures, though we didn't get many angles as there were a bunch of chairs set up in the middle for some big event. Maybe tomorrow.

We went back to our usual restaurant for dinner and were treated to the same wonderful service by our waiter. We've been having a lot of fun with him- I'll probably come back while I'm studying here!

Actual Roman floor mosaic!

One of Raphael's rooms.

Saint Peter's Basilica.

The Pietà.

Saint Peter's Square.