Vatican City

We were off bright and early for a tour of Vatican City this morning. It is 36 degrees, and sunny,but it feels warmer!

 We got to see Michalangelo's painting on the Sistine chapel, but we are not allowed to take photos. It was amazing, but with so much to look at, it was almost overwhelming. This is the location of where the popes are elected. There are many tapestries and paintings with the rooms of the city. 

Some of the Belgium tapestries. These are massive! These were hanging on the walls of what used to be the Pope's residence.

These are paintings down the hall of maps. These maps were completed about 500 years ago, and are accurate to 97%. How did they do it?

St. Peter's basilica was started in 1502, and completed in 1624. Michalangelo designed the dome of St. Peter's 

...from the outside

...and the inside.

St. Peter's basilica was amazing, simply due to its size, age and ornate ness!

These are a recreation of "Raffeal's" paintings, but because the church had a problem with moisture, they have been exactly recreated using tiny bits of glass as a mosaic! 

Every day, people line up for hours to go into St. Peter's bascila. This is St. Peter's square, where the pope occasionally addresses the crowd and receives pilgrims. There is room for 300 000!

The perfect roman lunch...gelato and cannolis! A few minutes to put our feet up, before we were off to the ancient Roman Colliseum.