A new country!

This is the ceiling of the "Tapestry Room" in the Vatican Museum.

Today we went to the Vatican which is its own country. We had an early breakfast and then hit the road as we've heard that lines can be really long. We took the metro to the Vatican and as we were walking down the line to find the end (couldn't see it!), a man asked if we'd like to join his tour. We chatted with him and agreed. There were 16 people total. He was born in California but has lived in Rome for 11 years. He studies art history and gives tours to support himself. It tuned out to be a great decision as it got us in and past a lot of lines quickly and he was an excellent guide. We feel like we got a really great overview and learned so much. It felt like we'd seen so much and already had an incredible tour before we even got to the Sistine chapel. It is so neat to see in person, although hard on the neck! I loved seeing so much of the art that I learned about in art history classes. And Dan appreciated the background to make it interesting for him.

Emily in Piazza San Pietro (St. Peter's Square).

Dan in St. Peter's Basilica in front of the 'Throne of St. Peter in Glory'.

After the chapel, we hit the museum cafeteria and had some lunch and a rest for our weary feet and then we walked to St. Peter's Basilica. It is MASSIVE and so ornate. All marble and gold and fancy!

It is very warm today - 87 degrees and as the owner of the hotel said "almost summer" but for these Northwest wimps, it is HOT! So, after St. Peter's, we returned to our lovely patio at the hotel for a rest. We've crossed all the major items off of our list and feel like we got a great overview of Rome. This evening we will have a leisurely dinner somewhere (there are zillions of cute little restaurants tucked in every spare corner) and then go to see the Trevi fountain at night. Tomorrow, we take the train to Venice. We're not sure if we'll have internet access, but will be sure and update again once we are on the cruise ship on Saturday.