Our plans for today were to meet our tour guide at 8:10 AM at the entrance to the Vatican Museum. Our tour started at 8:30. We road the Metro subway to the Vatican exit. We were unsure of the traffic and time to make our arrival. So, we elected to go early. Everyone was awake shortly after 4:30 AM. We had not yet recovered from our overnight flight to Rome. We arrived at the Vatican at 7:00. There was a nearby restaurant, so we stopped in and had breakfast. (at an exorbitant price, I think). So after a few croissants, eggs, coffee, and juice.
I did not let this breakfast charge dampen our day. One of the benefits of booking our tour was that we were able to skip the waiting line for those not going on tour. While we avoided one line, we were in a line that consisted of anywhere from 40 to 60 tour groups with about 20 tourists in each group. There were thousands lined up to buy a ticket and enter the Vatican, A word of caution if you decide to plan a tour the Vatican, check you calendar for the dates of Holy Week. This is the primary pilgrimage site for every Catholic in the world. (the week leading to Easter). (The week we are in Rome)
The Vatican's history as the seat of the Catholic Church began with the constrection of a basilica over St Peter's grave in Rome in the 4th century A.D. Through the years society changed in many ways, both social and religious. Today the Vatican is the home of the pope and the Roman Curia and the spiritual center for some 1.2 billion followers of the Catholic Churh,
Today the Vatican is known as Vatican City. The official name is the Vatican State. It became an independent country in 1929. It covers 121 acres and has a population of 764.
We were imersed in Vatican history today. We visited the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica, We saw a lot and learned a lot. The tour lasted four hours and at the end of the tour Courtney bought some Holy water and we continued our adventure.
After we had lunch, I decided to go to the train station to get tickets for our trip to Sorrento on Monday. Everyone else went back to the apartment. You always hear warnings about pickpockets. They are very talented. When I got back to the apartment, I realized that my phone was missing from the pocket of my cargo pants. We contacted Verizon and they turned it off and locked so it cannot be used with any carrier. So I do not have many phone numbers any more.
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| St Peter's Basilica |
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| Vatican Obelisk in St Peter's Square (marks the location where St Peter was executed |
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| Entrance to St Peter's Basilica |
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| Orb within and orb (modern art) |
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| Vatican Entrance |
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| The line we are in, when skipping the line |
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| Dome shot from the museum |
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