The Vatican

Private express train into Rome from the port city of Civitavecchia

 We arranged for a private, express train that would take us directly to St. Peter's Train Station so we could visit the Vatican and Vatican Museums first thing in the morning.

It was a short walk from the train station to St. Peter's Square, St. Peter's Basilica and the 11 Vatican Museums. The scale of St. Peter's Square is formidable. When we arrived, the celebrations of the Beautification of the late Pope John Paul were still underway. While most of the festivities occurred on May 1st, there was a program in progress when we arrived and the masses were still everywhere!

An pine cone sculpture found in an ancient Roman fountain

More of St. Peter's Square

One of the many corridors in the Vatican Museums

Dan and I had prepurchased our tickets for entrance into the Museums and were able to bypass the long lines of people waiting to get inside. Unfortunately, it was incredibly busy inside anyway. I've since heard that springtime in Rome is very popular.

We did a mad dash through Raphael's rooms and headed toward the Sistine Chapel. I was surprised at the seemingly endless corridors and narrow hallways, and finally a staircase we had to bypass before entering the chapel. The place was packed with tourists and security guards were having a hard time getting people to be quiet in what is viewed as a sacred place. My impressions of the Sistine Chapel are hard to describe. I cannot even begin to grasp how Michelangelo and the other artists accomplished such an amazing masterpiece. No photos are allowed in this venue and next time I plan on bringing binoculars so that viewing the ceiling in detail is possible.

View from a window looking out at St. Peter's Basilica

Rounding staircases of the Vatican Museum

A security guard protecting the private entrance to the Pope... love the uniform!