Vatican City Museum

Visiting the Vatican City Museum was extraordinary. We were allowed to take pictures without flash. There are tapestries on the walls that must be protected. When you walk along the main walkway you are surrounded with exquisite beauty from ceiling to floor. It is hard to comprehend that what you are seeing is centuries old and each piece of art..each and every tapestry..each and every figure and scene.. tells a story...a story many have read or have heard from the time they were little children.

Entrance to the Vatican Museum

The exquisite ceiling in the museum

Closeup of the ceiling...some of the figures I thought were painted are actually sculptures and are three dimensional

Wall tapestry

Wall Tapestry

Unusual statue because it is of an ordinary and weak man and not a politician or emperor

Close up of unusual statue

Graceful statue

A nun who was making beautiful cameos for sale

I would love to have been able to purchase one of her beautiful hand painted cameos. Proceeds would have gone to charity. I just couldn't afford to do it. I loved her gentleness.

From Street Vendors To The Vatican City

As I look at my pictures, I wish I knew more about the things I saw. I hope I don't give wrong information about the pictures, but it is entirely possible that I might. We were given small transistor listening devices for what was called our "whisper tours" I think. We followed a tour guide on each expedition and he/she gave lessons on the historical significance of the sites we were visiting. There were many tours going on and depending on the quality of the reception I am sure there was a lot that was missed. I know that is true for me.

Before doing this post I looked up The Vatican City Rome and learned that The Vatican City is the smallest independent state in the world, ruled by the Pope, Europes's only absolute monarch.

A major part of the Vatican consists of the Basilica St. Peter, Catholicism's most sacred shrine. I will post pictures of St. Peter's next.

Below are some pictures of The Vatican City.

The last picture is where the audience sits when the Pope makes an appearance. The statues on the top of the building are the saints.

Postscript: It has come to my attention that I should let everyone know that the pictures I am posting are pictures I have taken. It seems one of my readers thinks the pictures look professional and he wanted to make sure everyone knew that I had taken them. Thank you, Joe! I love that you appreciate my pictures!

First Hotel In Rome

I didn't know what to expect in terms of hotel accomodations. Our first hotel was old and one might say the rooms were cozy. It had a certain charm if you are looking at it from the outside and not actually moving in. Cozy charm was quickly translated into "Oh my goodness, where am I going to put anything and still move around." The room was maybe 12 x 12 with two doll size twin beds maybe two inches apart and no real closet. There were two cubby holes that you could hang a few things in, a nightstand beside each bed and a small desk. The bathroom was designed for half a person with a big sense of humor. There was no air conditioning, but there was a nice window that could be opened and I could look out onto my first Rome street which I discovered became the home to early morning street vendors. Now that had some charm!

Christopher really enjoyed the feeling of "cozy welcome" of the early morning street vendors. It would really have been nice to have more time to just meander along the street and look at all the wares being sold.

As I continue to share our experience I think I will be making the distinction between things we saw and moments we experienced. Taking in the early morning scene outside this hotel was a wonderful, romantic and briefly experienced moment. I wanted more of this moment.

Scenes As We Drove Into Rome

I took these pictures through the bus window as we drove from the airport into Rome and to our hotel. I am absolutely amazed at the soft beauty of these beautifully romantic scenes. I sincerely hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

I Love The Sky

Christopher had never flown before. He wanted a window seat and these pictures will show you why. I handed my camera to him and this is what he saw. The sky is a neverending story to me. You took some beautiful pictures Christopher!

Jet Lag

We are home.............I think! I am having significant jet lag plus a slight fever and a cough. Tom, Sarah, Kara and Sam were at the airport to meet us and it was so good to see them. Our plane arrived later than it was supposed to.........midnight rather than the 10:30 p.m. original time. We ran into unexpected delays out of Philadelphia and by that time everyone was very ready to be home. My friend, Joe, tracked our whole flight home online. He knew where we were at any given time. He could see a little plane flying across the ocean. Isn't that amazing? My ankles were so swollen they looked like elephant legs and when the swelling started to go down the itching started. I guess that is what happens when swelling goes down. This is all new to me. I will be posting pictures soon. This afternoon I thought I would take a nap about 4:00. I woke up four hours later at 8:00. I think jet lag still has me in its grips. How are you doing Christopher?