Vatican City, Italy

What a bustling place Rome is, the tourists don’t seem to mind waiting in the mile long queues at all the popular sites. Thankfully we decided to do the Hop on Hop off bus with a skip the line guided tour of the Vatican, Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter’s Basilica. The guide, an Art Historian, was brilliant. We walked through the Vatican Museum and Papal Apartments of Pope Julius II at a slow walk with the guide commenting as we went, there were so many people crammed inside you often got caught up in another group or lost altogether except for the sound of her voice in your earpiece. It was a very full-on 3 hour tour.
The Vatican City has only 230 residents and in an area of 44 hectares. During Pope Julius II time he commissioned the painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo and various rooms in the Vatican by Raphael and this is what we viewed today. The artwork and details just blow you away. The fresco art lasts so long as it is painted fresh when the mortar is still damp, that way the colour becomes part of the mortar. We had a talk about the Sistine Chapel before entry as there is supposed to be silence and no photography. Quite amusing to watch the sneaky photos being taken and when the hum from the floor becomes too much you hear over the loudspeaker SILENCE, the voice sounded just like Dumbledore from Harry Potter. We then were taken to the Basilica, what an amazing place, everything is enormous, the Papal Canopy and altar stunning. What a wonderful day. We finished this off with gelato and Fritto and Pasta for dinner.Read more