Part 4- Rome, Italy- Vatican City and Fontana di Trevvi

Sept. 13, 2008

We left Switzerland on Friday morning and after almost 9 hours, reached Rome. We were a bit exhausted, so we decided on a nice dinner, a few cocktails, and a good nights sleep.

After a great buffet breakfast, we headed to the Vatican City. We quickly found an English tour guide. This was well worth the extra money as our guide was great and he used a wireless microphone and we listened on personal headphones.

Here we are in St. Peter's Square with the dome of the basilica in the background


St. Peter's Square. The purple arrow is the Sistine Chapel with it's famous ceiling and also is where the Cardinals meet to pick a new Pope. The red arrow is where the Pope stands in the window and says mass.

View of St. Peter's square from in front of the basilica

This is the view of the inside of the Sistine Chapel. The ceiling is a fresco done by Michaelangelo in 1508. Pictures are not allowed. Not because it is sacrilegious or is damaging to the art work, but Kodak bought the rights to be the only ones with access to it. Yeah, capitalism! You can take our word for it though, because it is absolutely incredible. We could have spent all afternoon staring up at the ceiling

Next we moved into St. Peter's Basilica. Once again, it is incredible. Not only the sheer size of it, but every inch of the place is covered in beautiful artwork.

This is in front of the main altar

The view of the famous dome, covered in brass

Next on the tour was the Vatican Museum.


Ancient maps of Europe. I think this one was of Italy

Tapestry of the Resurrection of Jesus. His eyes followed you as you walked down the hallway, kinda like the Mona Lisa

Hmm, we can't remember what this thing was. Pretty cool, though. I know it was made of some sort of granite that does not exist anymore and I think they used to light a fire under it, fill it with water, invite the nuns from down the road, and throw hot tub parties.....

The heads of famous Cardinals and all the Popes

On our way back to the hotel, we passed the Fontana di Trevvi

It is supposed to be good luck to throw money in it. Hmm, real original, isn't it?

I have found that I love kebabs and so I can't just pass by a stand without buying one. They are not what you think of, meat and veggies on a stick. They are like a gyro, but wrapped in a tortilla shell.

Trespasser!!!

What can I say?