Vatican City. Wow.
Here were some of our first glimpses as we approached....
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| One of the first signs we were probably headed in the right direction ;) |
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| Swiss soldier on guard.... |
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| Almost there! |
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| Johnny taking it in! |
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| Looking around.... |
It's an unbelievable feeling standing in the middle of San Pietro!
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| I don't think a caption is even needed :) |
One of the first things we did was say a special prayer for family.
It's a place of awe and wonder and amazement, and one I wasn't sure I'd even make it to in my lifetime, but I'm so thankful we did.
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| The Basilica was beautiful. |
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| This obelisk is more than 4,000 years old! |
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| See, he likes fountains too ;) |
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| Taking some time to splash around and cool down! |
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| The details are incredible.... |
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| Check it out! |
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| The Bells of St. Peter's Basilica |
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| You can see Campanone, "The Great Bell" with ease! |
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| Panoramic shot of The Vatican City |
There are two things we usually do within the first day in a new country. The first, is to figure out public transportation; there isn't really any at the Vatican (nor is there a need because of its size,) and we seemed to have mastered walking, so we moved on to number two....send Mom a postcard!
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| Letter to Mom and Dad - we love you!! |
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| Johnny crossing the border! |
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| Peeked in a few shops.... |
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Cooling down at a fountain. Italy has these all over
the place - it's wonderful because the water
is potable so you can cool down and have a drink too! |
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| On the way out....for day one! |
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| Right outside, in Rome! |
The sun sure was shining that day! We had the fountains to cool down with and an occasional breeze which was very nice, but we also decided to take a little gelato break!
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We had the best ever pistachio gelato at a little shop outside of The Vatican!
I have seriously never had better gelato in my life - it was fantastic!
(This picture was from the first time we went - double scoop with pistachio and chocolate - yummy!) |
Okay, I feel a little guilty even posting this one, but is seemed kind of funny....
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| Hehehee.... |
That was just our first day at Vatican City! We were very excited to experience it, so we just took off for it! Pictures and words don't do it justice. Being at a place like this makes you realize how often people misuse words like amazing, because there simply aren't words sufficient enough to describe it. If I had to try, I guess I'd say it was breathtaking and awe-inspiring. I'd recommend going to every Catholic. Actually, I'd recommend it to just about anyone!
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We had earpieces so we could hear our tour-guide talking us
though everything. She basically tours The Vatican as
a profession so she knows so much! That's her with the
pointer. She also had a flag so we could find her if ever lost. :) |
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| Learning about The Sistine Chapel |
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| It's hard to believe this is only painted to look as though it has depth; the ceiling is actually a flat painting! I wanted to reach out and touch it! |
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| The ceiling were equally magnificent. |
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| The Gallery of Maps in the Papal Palace was super neat-o! Yes, I am a little geeky, it runs in the family ;) |
There is art everywhere you look!
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| There really was art everywhere I looked! From the mosaic floors that you feel a little guilty walking on to the spectacular ceilings in The Sistine Chapel and every little nook and cranny in between! |
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Covering up for The Sistine Chapel! They're very strict about having your knees covered.
Just down the stairs and through the hall now! |
The Sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel was incredible!! So much art and history in one place. I didn't know that Michelangelo spent 4 and 6 years (he was called back a second time!) to do the chapel - that's a decade of his life - talk about a masterpiece! He "signed" it by putting his self portrait in the skin of the man skinned alive. Another interesting anecdote, he was mad at a cardinal that harassed him for many years during his work, so he put his face as the king of hell. Of course, it was challenged, and get this - Michelangelo got away with it!
There's no photography allowed in the chapel, not even red light or non-flash. We weren't about to be those jerks that disrespect such an amazing place, or contribute to the gradual destruction of such stunning artwork, so we don't have any pictures to share of it. We were glad to see that there was tons of security to escort out anyone that wouldn't be quiet or tried taking photos. They take it pretty seriously.
It feels unreal to say that we've been in The Sistine Chapel, where the Popes are elected! We've seen the window that the black or white smoke goes out of first hand!
Do you want to know a secret....? Johnny kissed me in The Sistine Chapel!
We later joked about the no-talking rule....how do they decide who the next Pope is going to be if there isn't any talking allowed....there must be a lot of pointing and nodding going on!
Another thing that was really neat was seeing how much of a difference the restoration made! Pope John Paul II had the ceiling restored, but he left a small corner not restored, and you could see the color it had turned from all the years of being lit by candle. It seemed astonishing to me that in the great scheme of time, things like electricity are still relatively new.
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| On the way out of The Sistine Chapel |
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| Astonishment |
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| We are so thankful to have been able to go inside these gates! |
Headed to St. Peter's Basilica!
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| The Holy Door |
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| Uh-oh....what time should we come back? |
Hehee, I thought Johnny's question and pose was adorable. The Holy Door is only opened on Jubilee Years. It's bricked closed from the inside, and the Pope uses a hammer to open it on the first day of The Holy Year. The scenes on the door depict man's sin and redemption through God, so it's also known as "The Door of Great Pardon."
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| Looking around outside |
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| So neat seeing it from this way! |
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| St. Peter's Square |
Inside St. Peter's Basilica
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| Caught some of the crepuscular rays |
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| Does this make us bad Catholics? |
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| The passage way to a tomb. |
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| Stunning |
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| It's delightful seeing my handsome hubby in so many iconic places that we'd only ever talked about before :) |
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| Just in case you forget a Pope's name.... |
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| Almost back to the square.... |
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| Another country that does not require to stamp your passport! |
For the smallest country in the world, it sure felt huge! And that was without seeing the private gardens!
The Vatican is a vast, beautiful web of art....I had no idea just how grand of a collection is in it! It's a treasure chest of masterpieces.
Just writing this is unreal. It all comes flooding back, so vividly like we were there yesterday; yet I feel like it's hard to remember everything we learned. I'd definitely love to go back. Maybe we'll go back for the Jubilee Year in 20025!
Thanks to everyone for reading. This one might be a long one, but it was such a fascinating place that it was hard to trim down! We still pray for our family everyday. And those of you that know us well know that to us, friends are family that you choose.
We send our love and prayers to you all.
Jenni
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