The Vatican

Yep... I entered the Vatican and it didn't burn down!

I grabbed a bus and crossed the Tiber River to the Vatican City. The moment I stepped off the bus I was surrounded by people trying to sell tours of the Vatican museums and St Peter's Basilica. I don't usually like to participate in tours. I'm not a 'details person' so I find a lot of what they have to say irrelevant, and I prefer to wander at my own pace with a map and perhaps a guidebook. But after seeing the length of the queue (which went entirely around one side of St Peter's Square and out into the middle) I decided it would be worth joining a tour just to skip the 2-hour line! Because the Vatican State is considered a different country I was no longer in Italy and the Roma Pass was not valid.

St Peter's Square

When I first entered St Peter's Square before joining the tour I had to pass through gates manned by armed guards. There were screens throughout the Square playing a recording of the Pope speaking (in Italian). I thought that it must be monotonous for the guards and stall-holders to listen to that all day, every day. But when I went back later with the tour the security and the screens were gone. I had actually been there when the Pope was speaking and the screens were showing a live feed, but I was too dim to realise! Lucky I'm not Catholic and it doesn't mean the difference between salvation or not!

The Pope's office

So we started the tour in the Square where the guide talked for ages! I wandered away and came back a couple of times... I did find out that the Pope's office is on the top floor of the building pictured above, 2nd window from the right. Apparently when the shutters are open it means he is in town, and when they are closed it indicates that he is not presently in the Vatican City.

After the Square, we went around the back to the entrance to the Vatican Museums. They were stunning! I won't describe them all, but here's a few pics:

The dome of the Basilica

You'll have to excuse the amateur, unedited photos taken on a cheap point-and-shoot. I didn't bring my big camera because it just would have been another thing to carry... I'll sort and edit (and reminisce) when I get home.

I thought the museums were pretty fabulous. You aren't allowed to take photos the Sistine Chapel, but we got there just as a priest entered to offer a liturgy. So not only did I see the Pope (kind of), but I was blessed in the Sistine Chapel! If only I were a christian so I could appreciate it... (There were people on their knees and people weeping, and the rest of us who just kind of stood awkwardly around the outside trying to look respectful.) But nothing I had seen previously had prepared me for St. Peter's Basilica itself. It was mind-blowing. Honestly, if I had had to cancel the rest of my trip after that and gone home, I would have gone home happy. Photos don't do it justice or really give an idea of its immense proportions, but here's a sample:

Taken through a wire fence on the edge of the dome

Prior to entering the Basilica proper I had climbed right up to the top of the cupola at the top of the dome. There were several million stairs and it nearly killed me, but the view from the top was pretty spectacular... My legs were shaky for an hour or two when I made it to the bottom!

See the queue going around the left-hand side and across the centre

So, after a mammoth day at the Vatican, I got half an hour to freshen up in the hotel before Georgia took me out for an early birthday dinner. We wandered around the district of Trastevere which is a great spot for finding a bar and a restaurant in the evenings. 

Trastevere

We started at a bar with an Aperol Spritz which is a traditional Italian Aperitif, and then headed to a restaurant for dinner and wine. Again, I ordered pizza ;-) and Georgia got Cacio e Pepe, and it was served in a Parmesan Cheese bowl! Too yum for words!

Check out the Parmesan bowl at the very bottom of the photo!

This was my last chance to see Georgia in Italy. We'll meet again when I get to Paris :-)