Italy Part 4

We left off at seeing the Vatican off in the distance.  The street that leads to the Vatican is like any other major street in Rome.  There are plenty of restaurants and shops to go into.  There are thousands of people doing the same thing you're doing at the same time you are doing it.  It can get a little annoying with all the people in one area.  Once you get into the area of the Vatican you are left speechless.  There are over a hundred statues in this area and over 2 hundred columns.  There are fountains, tower like structures, and of course the immense presence of the Vatican itself.  These pictures are of the outer area of the Vatican.

 

Getting into the Vatican is not the simple task you would expect it to be.  You have to go through security, and you have to follow a strict dress code.  Women have pants on, or skirts that go past their knees.  They also have to wear a t-shirt or anything else that would cover their shoulders.  Men have to wear pants, and at least a t-shirt.  When it's 85 degrees outside this is more painful than you would like it to be.  Julia and I were puddles of sweat b mid afternoon.  Anyways, once you get into the Vatican you are blown away by the beauty of it.  It is truly an incredible building.  These next pictures show you a small sample of what you see when you are inside.  

We pretty much ended our sight seeing after the Vatican the second day.  We had dinner, and had enough of walking around.  We called it a night a lot earlier than the first night.  The next morning we woke up early and took the tour bus to the Vatican again.  This time we went to the Vatican Museum.  The museum also allows you access into the Sistine Chapel.  The museum was filled with remarkable works of art, obviously with heavy religious tones.  The museum is very busy, and if you are not one for crowds you are not in luck.  I suggest sucking it up and going anyways.  These pictures show you some of the statues and art work that are inside the museum.  I have no pictures of Michelangelo's painting of David, because I'm pretty sure it's a mortal sin.  Here are the pictures of the Vatican Museum.

After the Vatican Museum we walked to the Spanish Steps and saw a lot of interesting things along the way.  The Spanish Steps are nice, but I feel like you would be able to better appreciate them if there were less people on them.  There were a lot of people on the steps.  Here are the pictures.

 After this we went back to the hotel, and later went out for dinner.  This was our last night in Rome.  We went out after dinner to take our last walk around Rome.  Our walk turned into a train ride and we ended up at the Vatican.  We walked all the way back to the Spanish Steps then took a bus back to the hotel.  We went to bed with Florence on our minds, but her are a last set of pictures from Rome.

I don't think I will be able to do another post until Saturday or Sunday.  Hopefully, you have enjoyed these posts and will be waiting on he edge of your seat.