Another big Italian adventure was to the Vatican City. In Rome you can definitely sense a holy presence, particularly by the number of nuns and priests walking around. You know there are a lot of church figures when there are sole clothing stores dedicated to holy attire, everything from elaborate robes, to those ultra-practical black shoes that are soooo in among the nuns.
The Vatican itself was pretty spectacular. Visiting it you really appreciate what a global icon it is and how as a symbol it means to so many people. There were people from every walk of life visiting – and a lot of them.
St. Peters Basilica was HUGE. Rather accidentally we paid an admission fee to climb the 1 million winding stairs to the very top of the dome. It must have been the highest point in Rome, so you can only imagine the view. You looked down on the St. Peter’s square (a frequent site on TV), the Sistine Chapel and a 360 of Rome; definitely one of those ahhhh haaaa moments. On the way down you could also walk around the inside of the dome inside the church. It was definitely a very cool way to view one of the most spectacular churches in the world. Word of warning…all of you middle age-ers who are waiting for your golden years to travel – don’t wait too long for Italy. The cities are not flat. There are enough stair and hills to give even 2 twenty year old girls a work out. I did see some retirees who were being real troopers and climbing their versions of everest – but I would imagine it would be much more enjoyable while you are even a little bit agile. hahah
After the Basilica we went to the Sistine Chapel and saw the famous works of many artists include Michelangelo. It didn’t take an art lover to know you were looking at something pretty incredible.
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