We weren't able to make it to church in Rome,
so we did the next best thing...
went to the Vatican!
Hahaha
Never did I think I'd see sooooo many obelisks in Rome...
but apparently they're they cool thing to have.
The security line to get into St. Peter's Basilica was intense!
It was like airport security all over again.
BUT we made it in... and it was massive.
I mean MASSIVE.
More famous art work...
"Pieta" by Michelangelo
We also went down into the grotto and saw all the past popes tombs...
Including St. Peter's tomb...
(Sorry they wouldn't let us take pics down there!)
Over in the sacristy was this-
a listing of all the popes... starting with Peter.
Pretty interesting... considering that I don't believe Peter was the first Pope...
nor that this is the way it worked.
(To see what I believe, click here)
When we came out... we saw these guys!
"Jon, what are the court jesters doing out here?"
"Hahaha... Amelia, those are the Swiss guards!"
"Oh really? Poor guys..."
On Sundays the Pope blesses the crowd from the library window...
so we waited around to be blessed :)
See him? He's so little and far away!
And the place was PACKED!!!!
We were planning on staying there all day- but the Vatican Museums are closed on Sunday... AND the museums are really expensive.
So we decided against it.
But we got more food! WAHOO!
Calzone, bruschetta and pizza- yum, yum, yum.
Saw these sitting out on a random street...
two red Ferraris.
Only in Italy, eh?
Right before we left on our trip, we watched "Angels and Demons" and were pretty geeked out when we saw all the places from the movie.
This castle being one of them :)
Making our way over the Tiber River... looking back towards the Vatican.
Little Italian street...
(where we found free wifi and were able to check the BYU game score... yesss....)
We kind of just strolled around Rome, and found ourselves over in the OLD Rome area...
This is all that remains of "Circus Maximus".
Used to be a HUGE stadium seating 300,000 people and was where they'd have their chariot races.
Then we explored Palatine Hill...
which was sooooo amazing.
There is something about walking through first and second century ruins...
the history runs so deep.
From Palatine Hill we were able to get a pretty good panoramic view of the Roman Forum,
AND also a sweet view of the Colosseum!
We stopped by the Colosseum on our way out...
(but it was closing time, we'll get it tomorrow!)
And ate some croissants and Nutella...
As we watched the sun set on the Colosseum.
After grabbing some dinner-
we went by all the sites again, but this time for a night shot!
But first we got some gelato... of course!
Trevi Fountain
I dunno what this building is but it was lit up like the flag so I had to take a picture!
Night time at the Pantheon
AND night time back at the Colosseum...
It was a tiring... but good day :)
You guys are having way too much fun. Great pics and great story.
ReplyDeleteI just can't get over these massive stone edifices! They are SOO huge!! And from the 2nd and 3rd centuries!! Impressive and awe-inspiring. I would so like to browse through them all day! A question: was the "Pieta" behind glass? Kinda looks like it.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I need a nap every time I read one of your Europe posts. You guys are quite the tourists!
ReplyDeleteThat looks so awesome! ...All of your posts. I can barely even keep up. I watched a pretty cool documentary called Inside the Vatican. That's how I knew what the Swiss Guards are. Turns out they actually have to be from Switzerland. You are sure getting around.
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