Vatican City!!!

Monday~July 8, 2013

I LOVE Rome!!! Love, love, love it!!! (Had to share...had to!)

So...

Todays Agenda: Walking tour of Vatican City with Roman Candle Tours

A quick little quirk to share: My ironic breakfast selection~Eggs Benedict!!!

Filipo was our tour guide~a small group of eight! We covered the Vatican Museums, Greek & Roman Statuary Collection, Gallery of the Maps, Gallery of the Tapestries, Old Papal Apartments, Rooms of Raphael, Sistine Chapel, & St. Peters Basilica.

I took a ton of pictures! I actually went through six batteries today in my camera~craziness. I started taking notes, but then bagged that since I only have two hands. I honestly couldn't tell you what I took pictures of~especially once we got to the Fresco paintings. They are beautiful though...& I can't wait to share them!

After the tour, I found myself just wandering as usual. It really is great to only have a few things planned & then just allow your surroundings to unfold into your own custom experience.

I stayed at Saint Peters Basilica for quite some time. I attended Mass... ; ) (Pope Francesco was unfortunately not in attendance.) I found myself closing my eyes quite a bit during Mass. The experience really overwhelmed my senses; taking in the exquisite detail of Bernini's grandiose work, listening to the angelic sounds of the visiting choir from Cambridge University, trying to pick out any distinct root words & use my dwindling Spanish vocabulary to then translate a few words from the entire Italian Mass, ...just allowing myself to listen to the beauty of the Italian language without thinking about it, & actually realizing that I'm sitting in a space with such an amazing & rich history.

Insane.
Insanely Beautiful.



After Mass, I went beneath the basilica to see the tombs of previous popes~including the tomb of Saint Peter. The only thought that kept on coming up was..."The Apostle???....You mean the one that hung out with Jesus?!?...& this is his resting place...??....& I'm looking at it??" Moments like these seem unreal to me. These are characters in "stories"...& I know that they're real...but now the truth of their existence is being solidified in front of me...

Incomprehensible.



Next wandering locations:
Castel Sant Angelo
Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II, Ponte Sant' Angelo, & Ponte Umberto I
Street Vendors
Adami for dinner~Pizza with Mozzarella, Sausage, & Mushrooms

...& then I went back! Back to Saint Peters Piazza to take it all in at night.

Breathtaking.
The view truly made my heart soften. <3