Vatican City is small. There's no denying that.
But what it lacks in size, it makes up for in glitz, grandeur, and God.
We dedicated a day to visiting The Holy See. Not because I am religious, but because the smallest country on earth requires a bit of time when seeing the sites! And..there aren't many.
Religion also fascinates me. It's kind of hard to put into words, but I'll give it a shot:
I grew up in a very Christian household; attending church three times a week (sometimes more), doing Communion every other Sunday. I was baptized. I went to church camp every summer and memorized my daily verses. The whole shebang.
When I was about 15, I realized there was a world around me made up of other beliefs. I went to high school with Buddhists, Mormons, Catholics, Baptists, Hindu, Muslims, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists. Just about every type of faith except Mennonites (they're not widely found in the Metropolitan area of Phoenix).
It was then that I started to explore the religions around me; one friend at a time.
I attended mass with Catholic friends. I went to service at Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints with my Mormon friends. I listened as my Buddhist friend told me about the true nature of reality. My Muslim friend describing the principles of the Five Pillars.
You get my point.
All of these people of different faiths/beliefs/religions had ONE major thing in common: They all believed theirs was the true religion, true God, or the correct walk of life.
Maybe they are right?
I took my growing 'knowledge' to my mother after a few years time, and she about shit her pants and slapped me with a prayer. Ours was the true God. There was no other.
And that's when I knew...I was a Agnostic. Not to be confused with an Atheist.
I didn't care about having a religion, faith, or God to call my own, nor did I bash those around me who did. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about them all, but claimed none for myself.
Since my young-adulthood, I have found what I truly believe in (though not a typical belief), though I will keep that to myself. But, I still can appreciate the ancient beliefs in the world around me. Not because of religion, but because of my love for the history that encompasses each.
So when I found the opportunity to visit The Vatican, I wasn't going to say no. I was actually pretty excited even though I'm not Catholic.
Yes, my mother scoffed when I told her about our visit. Ha.
To make a long story short, you don't have to be Catholic to want to see The Vatican!
We walked to the Vatican being as that it was only a 20 minute stroll through what I feel is a more picture-esque side of Rome from the Pantheon area. We stopped along the river, snapping pictures and being dorks.
We left our apartment around 10am, so we weren't pressed for time. It was our last day in Italy, and I refused to rush through it.
The Vatican isn't all about Catholicism, though. It's host to one of the largest collections of art from around the world. The Vatican Museum was first on my list in this holy city, and it didn't disappoint.
First, I want to share the importance of advance tickets to future visitors. Do NOT attempt to visit The Vatican Museums without pre-booking. Out of all the lines we have ever seen while traveling, this one was by far the longest. If we could guesstimate the length while we passed the line by, I'd say it was about a half-mile long on a mid-Friday afternoon. It was a joke!
Our tickets were booked for 1:30pm. We arrived around 12pm, but wandered away to grab lunch.
At 1:20pm, we moseyed on over to the entrance, showed the guards our printed ticket confirmation, and walked right in.
From there, we went inside through security, and then found the line for 'Reservations' to receive our actual visitors ticket. You cannot get into the museum without the bar coded ticket and they only give these at the counter. The line for this was non-existent. After that, we began to explore! The whole process was stupid simple.
The Vatican Museum has a few galleries/wings to it; kind of-ish like The Louvre.
To make certain we'd be able to see the Sistine Chapel before closing time, we chose to visit the wing that guided us toward it first.
Now, I came equipped with knowledge on many of the artifacts and statues found below. It pains me to say that some of the neatest things in this museum are replicas. Even the seemingly real mummies displayed in the Gregorian Egyptian gallery are nothing but 19th century remains of random folks. Boo.
We didn't visit all of the galleries within The Vatican Museum, and unlike others I know, I didn't fuss trying to get a photo of the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel. It was beautiful, but not worth arguing about with angry guards {pictures in the Sistine Chapel are prohibited}. I honestly thought that the Gallery of Maps (or the hard to miss, gilded, golden hallway that leads to the Sistine Chapel) was way more impressive. I appreciate Michelangelo, but his work isn't the only reason to visit!
We could have entered St. Peter's Basilica via the museum, but instead we walked around the outside. The kids wanted to stop by a souvenir shop, and I needed to drink something after a few hours of being unable to.
I should mention that our Vatican Day while visiting Italy in mid-July was a high of 75 degrees!!! It was nuts.
The breeze was cool enough at lunch to make us wish we had brought sweaters (well at least myself and the kids. My husband's blood boils even in extreme winter).
This is unheard of weather for the this time of year. The average is 90-95-ish Fahrenheit. Needless to say, we weren't complaining.
I won't lie, the line to get inside of St Peter's was kind of daunting, but the time passed pretty quickly. Within twenty minutes of a moving queue, we were inside.
I wasn't expecting to be highly impressed, but I certainly was. Out of the dozens of churches/basilicas/cathedrals we have seen all over Europe, this one takes the cake.
It has the ability to make anyone feel as if they've shrunken and entered a giant's world. It is the largest cathedral/church in the world, after all.
Before I knew it, our time in the cathedral came to an end. I really thought we would have spent a full day and evening exploring the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's, but in reality, we were only in Vatican City for five hours time. It's not as if we were pressed for time or rushed through it. It just happened that way.
I made the family stop for a few pictures before leaving the world's smallest country. The wind kept changing, and what you can't see in photos are the fountains of St. Peter's Square spraying us.
We left Vatican City in good spirits. It was the most chill day in Italy, and I was at peace. Everything had went as planned even though I was afraid it wouldn't. If anything, reading about the queue for the museum was enough to scare me before our visit.
Crossing Ponte Vittorio Emaneuele II back into Rome, I finally felt as if our overall trip to Italy was complete. This was a good thing considering the following day we were back at the airport and flying to destination two.
Well, Rome was more than I imagined it to be. I really did enjoy this city, although I had this feeling I wouldn't. I was totally wrong.
It was beautiful and everything I had hoped for! That's hard to come by with many of Europe's cities, in my humble opinion.
I'm not on the verge of returning very soon, but I definitely will in the future. We had such a wonderful time, and more importantly, we were able to take our time through the city. That makes a huge difference when visiting anywhere. If I could redo our trip over again and change anything, I wouldn't. It was that good.
The morning after the Vatican, our hired driver picked us up at 7:30am sharp, and whisked us away to the airport. The second leg of our vacation was underway, and oh my goodness, it was one of the best yet...
Next post: Nice, France!
But what it lacks in size, it makes up for in glitz, grandeur, and God.
We dedicated a day to visiting The Holy See. Not because I am religious, but because the smallest country on earth requires a bit of time when seeing the sites! And..there aren't many.
Religion also fascinates me. It's kind of hard to put into words, but I'll give it a shot:
I grew up in a very Christian household; attending church three times a week (sometimes more), doing Communion every other Sunday. I was baptized. I went to church camp every summer and memorized my daily verses. The whole shebang.
When I was about 15, I realized there was a world around me made up of other beliefs. I went to high school with Buddhists, Mormons, Catholics, Baptists, Hindu, Muslims, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists. Just about every type of faith except Mennonites (they're not widely found in the Metropolitan area of Phoenix).
It was then that I started to explore the religions around me; one friend at a time.
I attended mass with Catholic friends. I went to service at Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints with my Mormon friends. I listened as my Buddhist friend told me about the true nature of reality. My Muslim friend describing the principles of the Five Pillars.
You get my point.
All of these people of different faiths/beliefs/religions had ONE major thing in common: They all believed theirs was the true religion, true God, or the correct walk of life.
Maybe they are right?
I took my growing 'knowledge' to my mother after a few years time, and she about shit her pants and slapped me with a prayer. Ours was the true God. There was no other.
And that's when I knew...I was a Agnostic. Not to be confused with an Atheist.
I didn't care about having a religion, faith, or God to call my own, nor did I bash those around me who did. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about them all, but claimed none for myself.
Since my young-adulthood, I have found what I truly believe in (though not a typical belief), though I will keep that to myself. But, I still can appreciate the ancient beliefs in the world around me. Not because of religion, but because of my love for the history that encompasses each.
So when I found the opportunity to visit The Vatican, I wasn't going to say no. I was actually pretty excited even though I'm not Catholic.
Yes, my mother scoffed when I told her about our visit. Ha.
To make a long story short, you don't have to be Catholic to want to see The Vatican!
We walked to the Vatican being as that it was only a 20 minute stroll through what I feel is a more picture-esque side of Rome from the Pantheon area. We stopped along the river, snapping pictures and being dorks.
We left our apartment around 10am, so we weren't pressed for time. It was our last day in Italy, and I refused to rush through it.
The Vatican isn't all about Catholicism, though. It's host to one of the largest collections of art from around the world. The Vatican Museum was first on my list in this holy city, and it didn't disappoint.
First, I want to share the importance of advance tickets to future visitors. Do NOT attempt to visit The Vatican Museums without pre-booking. Out of all the lines we have ever seen while traveling, this one was by far the longest. If we could guesstimate the length while we passed the line by, I'd say it was about a half-mile long on a mid-Friday afternoon. It was a joke!
Our tickets were booked for 1:30pm. We arrived around 12pm, but wandered away to grab lunch.
From there, we went inside through security, and then found the line for 'Reservations' to receive our actual visitors ticket. You cannot get into the museum without the bar coded ticket and they only give these at the counter. The line for this was non-existent. After that, we began to explore! The whole process was stupid simple.
The Vatican Museum has a few galleries/wings to it; kind of-ish like The Louvre.
To make certain we'd be able to see the Sistine Chapel before closing time, we chose to visit the wing that guided us toward it first.
Now, I came equipped with knowledge on many of the artifacts and statues found below. It pains me to say that some of the neatest things in this museum are replicas. Even the seemingly real mummies displayed in the Gregorian Egyptian gallery are nothing but 19th century remains of random folks. Boo.
 |
| The sarcophagus of Saint Helena~mother of Constantine the Great. This is the real deal. |
 |
| Entrance to the "Round Room" |
 |
| I wish I would've captured this in a way that shows it's size. Probably the largest foot I've seen in awhile. Shaq has nothing on this guy. |
 |
| The floors in this place are beautiful. I'm surprised they don't make people wear booties. |
 |
| Gallery of Maps~ In my opinion, the ceiling in this hall was the most beautiful thing we saw in the Vatican Museum, to include the Sistine Chapel. |
 |
| One of the Raphael Rooms. Michelangelo wasn't the only guy who painted ceilings, y'all. |
 |
| Collection of Pope rings |
 |
| That famous staircase-Bramante Stairs! It is crazier in person, and actually more difficult to descend that you would think. |
We didn't visit all of the galleries within The Vatican Museum, and unlike others I know, I didn't fuss trying to get a photo of the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel. It was beautiful, but not worth arguing about with angry guards {pictures in the Sistine Chapel are prohibited}. I honestly thought that the Gallery of Maps (or the hard to miss, gilded, golden hallway that leads to the Sistine Chapel) was way more impressive. I appreciate Michelangelo, but his work isn't the only reason to visit!
We could have entered St. Peter's Basilica via the museum, but instead we walked around the outside. The kids wanted to stop by a souvenir shop, and I needed to drink something after a few hours of being unable to.
I should mention that our Vatican Day while visiting Italy in mid-July was a high of 75 degrees!!! It was nuts.
The breeze was cool enough at lunch to make us wish we had brought sweaters (well at least myself and the kids. My husband's blood boils even in extreme winter).
This is unheard of weather for the this time of year. The average is 90-95-ish Fahrenheit. Needless to say, we weren't complaining.
I won't lie, the line to get inside of St Peter's was kind of daunting, but the time passed pretty quickly. Within twenty minutes of a moving queue, we were inside.
I wasn't expecting to be highly impressed, but I certainly was. Out of the dozens of churches/basilicas/cathedrals we have seen all over Europe, this one takes the cake.
It has the ability to make anyone feel as if they've shrunken and entered a giant's world. It is the largest cathedral/church in the world, after all.
 |
| Look how tiny the men appear in the photo! St Peter's sheer size is enough to wow anyone who visits. I felt as if we needed to find a beanstalk to leave this place. |
 |
| A mummified Pope, maybe? |
Before I knew it, our time in the cathedral came to an end. I really thought we would have spent a full day and evening exploring the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's, but in reality, we were only in Vatican City for five hours time. It's not as if we were pressed for time or rushed through it. It just happened that way.
I made the family stop for a few pictures before leaving the world's smallest country. The wind kept changing, and what you can't see in photos are the fountains of St. Peter's Square spraying us.
We left Vatican City in good spirits. It was the most chill day in Italy, and I was at peace. Everything had went as planned even though I was afraid it wouldn't. If anything, reading about the queue for the museum was enough to scare me before our visit.
Crossing Ponte Vittorio Emaneuele II back into Rome, I finally felt as if our overall trip to Italy was complete. This was a good thing considering the following day we were back at the airport and flying to destination two.
 |
| View of Ponte Sant'Angelo from the bridge Vittorio Emanuele II. |
 |
| They do this often. I have dozens of bent over the bridge butt photos from all over Europe! |
Well, Rome was more than I imagined it to be. I really did enjoy this city, although I had this feeling I wouldn't. I was totally wrong.
It was beautiful and everything I had hoped for! That's hard to come by with many of Europe's cities, in my humble opinion.
I'm not on the verge of returning very soon, but I definitely will in the future. We had such a wonderful time, and more importantly, we were able to take our time through the city. That makes a huge difference when visiting anywhere. If I could redo our trip over again and change anything, I wouldn't. It was that good.
The morning after the Vatican, our hired driver picked us up at 7:30am sharp, and whisked us away to the airport. The second leg of our vacation was underway, and oh my goodness, it was one of the best yet...
Next post: Nice, France!
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