In Rome, we stayed in Pensione Ottaviano Hostel, which is only a short walk to St Peter’s Square. We got ourselves a six-bedder dorm in this pleasant hostel occupied by youths from all over the world. An American youth told us she worked in the hostel to make some money to tour in Europe. Perhaps we should try that too, so that we could continue our next league in Europe immediately!
One of our friends had to depart two days earlier. She wanted to visit as many attractions as possible in the day; thus, we had to squeeze our three days’ itineraries into a one-day tour! Our marathon for the day included Vatican City, Vatican Museums, Colosseum, Palatine Hill, Roman Forum, National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and Pantheon. All in a day! Phew!
The weather had turned very warm. We were perspiring while walking to Vatican City / the Holy See. It happened to be a Wednesday when Pope John Paul II would give his weekly Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.
The Obelisk in the centre. (oops, the photo is truncated.)
It was still early when we were there, so we went into the Vatican Museums first.
The art of frescoes. Vatican city is the smallest city-state in the world, yet overflowing with treasures.
Adam and Eve painting.
The mummy is so well-preserved that the hair is still clearly visible.
It was so crowded in the Sistine Chapel. The chapel is very small and a part of it was closed at when we were there. The guards were very strict and they shouted across the chapel to stop visitors from taking photos. We were being warned a few times too when trying to snap photos of the world famous paintings. My friend escaped the vigilant eyes by putting his arms at the sides and at the same time, holding his camera facing the ceiling of the chapel and snapping the paintings on the ceiling, and one of them was the famous God Creates Adam by Michelangelo.
Vatican City is the smallest independent state in the world with 110 acres and a population of around 800. It is a landlocked sovereign city-state within Rome. I sent a postcard home with the Vatican stamp adhered on it as a souvenir for myself.
St. Peter’s Basilica is the burial site of Saint Peter, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. Catholic tradition holds that Peter’s tomb is below the altar of the basilica.
Is this a real corpse? If so, it’s definitely very well-preserved!
This golden skeleton caught my eyes. It has a pair of wings (I supposed), and “blindfolded”. But why…
The Transfiguration. Saw this painting in the Vatican Museums too. Don’t know which is the original. Guess it should be the one in the museum.
Saw this sculpture in the museum too; not sure which one is the original.
The guards of Vatican City wearing striking-coloured uniform.
A nun and a priest walking down the slope, both adjusting their garments… ^^
We felt safer in Rome as there were more policemen on patrol. And Italian policemen seemed to be taller. We met many friendly and helpful Italians too. Rome is fascinating!
Leaning Tower is to Pisa as Colosseum is to Rome…[Part 2]
Leave a Reply