List of all the dead popes...
Inside St. Peter's Basilica...
Inside St. Peter's Basilica...
Inside St. Peter's Basilica...
St. Peter's Basilica
Sneaky picture of Michaelangelo's masterpiece in the Sistine Chapel...
Statue in the Vatican Museum...
Nero's Bath in the Vatican Musuem...
Statue in the Vatican Museum...
Statue in the Vatican Museum...
Sarcophagus of a woman from Thebes in the Vatican Museum...
Okay, so technically our next stop was the city of Rome, but we did spend an entire day in Vatican city. Being the smallest sovereign nation, I figured it deserved some special attention. Vatican City's sovereignty means that it stands independent of Italy and is the smallest nation in the world, measuring less than one square kilometer.
After eating some pizza for breakfast we headed into the Vatican Museum. Like usual, Kenny and I picked up our audio guide tours and set out. We were informed that if you stood in front of every item in the Vatican Museum for one minute it would take 12 years to see everything inside. So, we listened to our guides and paid special attention to the things we found interesting. I kind of have an obsession with statues of heads and in the museum there was an entire hall filled with them. I got to snap some pretty sweet photos. However, our ultimate goal was to reach the Sistine Chapel. Along the way we saw some interesting paintings and statues by artists like Raphael, da Vinci, and even Dahli! And then we reached it, the Holy Grail (in my opinion) of Vatican City, the Sistine Chapel. I was blown away to say the least. I learned so much about the chapel from my audio guide. It was so incredible to see a second one of Michaelangelo's masterpieces. I was able to sneak a couple of pictures in the chapel... Which is difficult because the security guards are crazy and because its dark. Luckily I got two really good, clear shots.
From the Sistine Chapel we headed to St. Peter's Basilica. We started our tour in the crypt of St. Peter's, which was my favorite part. There are quite a few dead popes, including Pope John Paul II, and even some royalty buried there. The basilica itself was huge and filled with amazing art. Michaelangelo's work was present in the basilica as well, as he was the chief architect of St. Peter's and the exterior dome is his design alone. Nuns were everywhere; I think Kenny said that he had seen more nuns walking around in Vatican City than he had seen in his whole life combined. Now thinking about it, I think the same goes for me. Some nuns in the gift shop even helped us to purchase some blessed rosaries... I have been wearing mine ever since.
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