Vatican City

On Day 2 of our Italy trip, we dedicated most of the day to touring Vatican City. After researching all about Italy I realized my mom and I were traveling during 'low season.' Low season has pros and cons to it. For example, there are a low amount of other tourists so lines are shorter and attractions less crowded; however, the weather is cold and damp.

Monday morning we took the metro from our hostel to the Vatican. We were able to walk right into St. Peter's Basilica. The church was huge and extremely ornate. We saw Michaelangelo's sculpture, La Pieta, which was neat for me since I had seen it in my World Civ textbook just a few weeks earlier. After taking in St. Peter's Basilica, we walked a ways to the Vatican Museum, which is the 2nd largest in the world.

We shared an audio guide while we walked through the museum. We walked for about 2 hours and decided to take a cappuccino break before the Sistine Chapel. Out of all of the places we went in Italy, I was most surprised by the Sistine Chapel. I expected one continuous painting on the ceiling, but instead Michaelango made lots of individual paintings put together. In my opinion, St. Peter's Basilica is more impressive. However, the Sistine Chapel is still beautiful and we listened to all 7 of the audio clips about the chapel. I learned the Sistine Chapel is the location of the voting for the next Pope. Overall, the Vatican city was worth our time in Rome.

We finished our day by having the usual lunch of mushroom pizza and salad. Then, we walked to the Spanish Steps, ate Gelato (when in Rome do as the Romans!), and watched a movie in our hostel. We loved Roma and are ready for more of Italy!