Ninth Day - Rome

September 28th, 2008

We took a mid-morning Eurostar train from Florence down to Rome's main train station. The train station conveniently lets you board the subway, which we rode toward our apartment. We then walked the final distance to our apartment. We were fortunate to have selected an apartment so close to the Vatican, whcih location of our Rome apartment was remarkably close to the Vatican. It was just three or four blocks from the front door to St Peter's Square. As soon as we had dropped off our bags and collected the key, we made a beeline for the Vatican.

It was exciting to see the huge dome and facade of St. Peter's as we walked up the street to the Vatican. Soon we were in Saint Peter's Piazza, which is shaped as a gigantic ellipse. This is the spot where the Pope greets tens of thousands of worshippers. The Piazza is enormous, sixty thousand people can squeeze in during major events (such as election of a new pope.) The huge square was designed by Bernini in 1658. There is an ancient Roman obelisk standing in the center. Statues of the saints stand on top of the colonnade, and up on the roof of the Vatican stands Jesus and the saints.

We went inside the Vatican, but a mass was in progress. So instead we went up to the dome and stood on the roof top. This is famous point where you can look out over the entire city. It is a magnificent view.

It was getting to be late afternoon, and the sun was starting to set, so Melanie and I raced over to Castel Sant' Angelo - the fortress that stands on the banks of the Tiber River. From the rooftop of Castel Sant' Angelo we could look back at the Vatican and see the sun setting behind it. Castel Sant' Angelo closed soon after sunset, so we did not have a whole lot of time to explore its interior.

We ate dinner in the apartment, and then we went out for an evening walk. Naturally, we went back to the Vatican to see how it looked lit up at night. My mom had her tripod and she carefully tried some night photography. Some of these pictures turned out quite nicely.

Our first day in Rome was really just an afternoon, but it was a great start to the week.

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First Visit to the Vatican

Saint Peters, Vatican Front facade of the Vatican Fountains St Peters Vatican Coat of Arms of Pope Alexander VII Obelisk in Saint Peters square Obelisk in Saint Peters Piazza Lions supporting obelisk of Saint Peters Swiss guard at the Vatican Facade of the Vatican Inside the Vatican Dome Stairs to the roof of the Vatican On the roof of the Vatican, dome in background Statues on roof of Saint Peters Vatican Vatican Cupola Saint Peters Plaza Vatican Castel Sant Angelo Colosseum from the roof of the Vatican Vatican Museums Governate of the Vatican, Pope house Sistine Chapel, Vatican Panorama view of Rome from Saint Peters View of Rome facing north Castel Sant Angelo The Castel Sant Angelo Sunset at Saint Peters, Vatican Sunset on Rome Tiber River in Rome Saint Peters sunset Vatican Sunset at Saint Peters Saint Peters sunset Vatican sunset Roman sunset Angel statue at Castel Sant Angelo Cannon at Castel Sant Angelo Egyptian Pharoah statue at Castel Sant Angelo Walls of Castel Sant Angelo Windows of Castel Sant Angelo Cupola of Vatican Dome