Vatican

At the very top of the big dome is the lookout. There are people up there, but you can't see them very well in the picture. It's very high. This picture doesn't do it justice.

That is a bad picture above, but that is what 1/2 the walk up to the dome looks like. It was tight and steep. Not good for anyone claustrophobic.

St. Peter's Square

St. Peter's Basilica

St Peter's Square

This picture is at the top of the dome. We were glad we had our jackets because it was a little chilly.

We hit the ground running again this morning. We went to the Vatican this morning. We scheduled a tour before we left and then met our tour guide Julia at 9 am. It was great! She was very knowledgeable and there were only 7 people total in our group. The tour took us through the museum to the tapestry room, maps room, Sistine Chapel, St Peter's Church, St Peter's Square. It lasted about 3 1/2 hours. We then walked around on our own and went up the Dome, which was so cool. We got a clear view of the city and bought our first round of gelato. We also walked through the crypt. They had pope crypts dated all the way back to 1200's, plus a special area dedicated to Peter. Everything really was amazing. Vatican City only has 800 residents but brings in $60 million a year from 5 million tourists. We were a little disappointed with most of the guests. The Vatican museum workers specifically tell everyone to not take any pictures inside the Sistine Chapel, and probably 80% were snapping tons and tons of pictures. We refrained, but with everyone else so freely doing it, we were definitely tempted. I think the maps room, basilica, and the dome were my favorites from the day. Brian said the basilica was his favorite. It really is gigantic and overwhelming. We didn't see the pope, but we did see lots of nuns, priests, and the Swiss Guards. Once again the day started out cloudy, but by 11 am the sun was shining and it's gorgeous. We stopped back by our room to take a quick nap and then get back out. We're still really tired, but better than yesterday.