Our first day in Rome was met with gloomy weather, a chance of rain, and a chance of snow. Unfortunately, it was also met with me feeling kind of under the weather so much so that I had a guest photographer for this day and most of Rome named Wela. He did a great job and I'm glad that I even made it out of the apartment to see the Vatican at all.
The columns of St. Peter's Square in Vatican City.
The Swiss Guard at the entrance to a building in Vatican City.
Rain was falling down the side of St. Peter's Basilica.
We went up on the roof of St. Peter's Basilica.
One of the mosaics that adorned the top of St. Peter's Basilica.
The dome of St. Peter's Basilica.
Another mosaic.
Climbing to the top of the copula, I had a chance to take this picture of Rome.
To get to the top you had to take a path that wound its way around the dome of the basilica with narrow walls that tilted.
After climbing 320 stairs from the bottom of the dome to the copula, you were rewarded with a magnificent view of Rome.
Here is St. Peter's Square.
The Vatican gardens.
The copula.
There were also these narrow and steep stairs that you had to take when you got near the copula.
Back on the roof of the Basilica, we saw these statues that overlooked St. Peter's Square.
This is the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, you can see the copula on the top.
We then went inside the basilica.
This was near the entrance inside St. Peter's Basilica.
This is in the middle of that dome.
Now we move to the main dome. You can see the walkway where we were earlier.
It is believed that St. Peter's Basilica was built upon the tomb of the Apostle Peter. Many people are buried below the alter, mainly consisting of Popes, most recently, Pope John Paul II.
One of the doors of the basilica.
After visiting St. Peter's Basilica, we went to the Vatican Museum. To get there we had to leave Vatican City and walk around the wall in order to enter. Above is one of the many hallways that are elaborately decorated.
This is a hallway that led to a series of small galleries in the contemporary art section of the Vatican Museum.
The Sistine Chapel is inside the Vatican Museum and the reason we went to the museum. The ceiling was painted by Michelangelo. It was called "The Last Judgement" and was believed to be his crowning achievement.
A model of Vatican City in the Vatican Museum.
A spiral staircase leading to the exit of the Vatican Museum.
We took a picture on the stairs in the Vatican Museum.
It was very cold and raining/snowing when we made our way to lunch.
Behind Vatican City we went down this narrow path between some houses.
And guess where we ate... (see the food edition for details)
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