The Vatican

I'm sorry I didn't get around the writing Friday, but it was a crazy day. My mom got into Rome on Thursday night and it was not an easy trip and not easy finding her. It was actually quite traumatic for both of us! BUT. The next morning we headed to the Vatican and spent all day there. Above is the Baldacchino in St. Peter's beneath the magnificent dome.


We got there around 9am and the sun was streaming into the windows at the front of the church. Just spectacular!!


Somehow we beat the hordes of tour groups and it was so nice having a somewhat quiet experience in the great basilica.


Here we are in St. Peter's Square.


We spent all afternoon at the Vatican Museums. The place is so very overwhelming. Above, an Egyptian cat in the courtyard.


The building and their decorations are just as fascinating as the art housed within them! These decorations were similar to the ones we saw in the Raphael Loggia. (And yes, we scoped out the secret door we went through to get to the Raphael Loggia!)


The dome of St. Peter's from somewhere within the maze of the Museum.


And finally, those awesome winding stairs at the exit of the Museum.

In the morning we also got to go on our Scavi tour beneath the Vatican. It was the most amazing thing! There were pagan mausoleums down there dating from the second century A.D. that looked like houses where entire families were laid to rest. One was even a Christian family! And then, beneath the altar of St. Peter's, we saw the lone remaining column of what is believed to be Peter's tomb.

If you go to the Vatican, you must jump through all the hoops it takes to go on a Scavi tour. It's a priceless experience.

And we saw John Paul II's tomb, a very modest monument for such a great man. It was quite a day!