A Visit to the Vatican

After yesterday’s chaos at the bus

Outside the Vatican with no line!

station I suggested we all get up early and head to the Vatican so we could beat the heat and possibly some of the people.  At 6:15 am the alarm went off and it was a bit of challenge getting everyone moving.  Jenna was not very happy about having to get up that early.  After a quick breakfast we headed to the bus station.  Thankfully we had no problems getting on the bus or getting a seat.  Not too long and we were there... outside the Vatican City walls.  We found a little cafe to get Kevin and Jenna a coffee to help them wake up then proceeded to St. Peters square.  We arrived in line about 8 am and only had about 15 minutes to wait before we could head into St. Peter’s Basilica.  Wow, what a beautiful church.  It was pretty moving to know we were actually there.  People were pretty respectful and quiet which let you just take in the sites and pray if you wished to do so.  A mass was taking place in one portion of the church and even though I did not understand what they were saying, I knew exactly where they were in the mass as it is delivered in the same way across the world.

The statues and sculptures were incredible.

The crazy staircase up to the Dome.

 After spending some time in the church the girls and I went up to the dome.  Like the Eifel Tower we climbed a lot of stairs.  The one difference here is that most of it was in a very tight narrow spiral staircase that started to make us all a little dizzy.  The first place you come out is in the inside dome portion of the basilica.  From here you can look down into the church which gave you a whole other perspective.  What amazed me the most was what I thought were paintings on the ceilings and upper walls were actually tiny pieces of different coloured tiles.  What a work of art!!!  Going further up we arrived outside the upper portion of the dome.  Wow, what a view!  Unfortunately I seem to have developed a bit of a fear of heights so I had to stay close to the wall while the girls looked around the fenced in portions.  They had a good laugh at me as I kept my hand on one of the walls at all times.  The Vatican gardens looked amazing from up there and the statues along the front of the Vatican building were enormous when you saw them at a fairly close distance.  While we were admiring the view Jenna said to me “THANK YOU MOM FOR GETTING ME UP EARLY”.  After seeing the line of people that went from where we entered the basilica all the way around the square to the other side she realized getting up early helped her avoid waiting in line for probably 3 hours in the sun!  I tried to get her to repeat what she said but she only smiled and gave me a goofy grin.  None the less I cherished that moment!

The view of the gardens from the Dome.

The view from the Dome with the crazy line.  The line of people between the arches is the line that extends well into the arches along the right of the photo.

A few more photos...then we headed down to the river and to find some lunch.  We grabbed a few sandwiches to go and found a shady spot to stop.  We were lucky to be serenaded by an amazing opera singer who was singing for money near the river.  After looking at a few market stalls we decided it was time to go back to the hotel to relax.  Jenna couldn’t wait to have a nap. 

The tile work in the dome that look like paintings from below but they are actually tile mosaics!

For our last night in Rome we decided to go for dinner then seek out this famous place we heard about for gelato.  It took us a few tries to find the place and when we did we realized people weren’t lying about how good the gelato was.  The gelato and various desserts were made on the premise and people would line up all the way outside waiting to get some of their delicious treats.  If you ever go to Rome look for Gelateria La Romana.  It is so.....good and not nearly as expensive as in Revelstoke.  It was a great way to end a nice day.

More crazy sculptures and cool  lighting.

The Dome from below inside the Basilica.