The Vatican

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July 4th 2009

Published: July 4th 2009

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SephiaSputnik

Photo 1

These are the columns that surround the piazza of St. Peter

The pictures I have included for this are actually a combination of photos from two trips I made to the Vatican which is also known as St. Peter. See being the lazy American that I am, I went to St. Peter one day during the week and saw the huge lines to get in and said "Ahh... maybe sometime else". So I ended up just taking pictures of the piazza and stuff around it which was still an amusing time.

The day I actually got to go inside the Vatican was on a Sunday which was really lucky for me because they actually held a service there while I walking around. When you are going inside the chapel you will see lots of men dressed in goofy poofy outfits and they look very very serious. I don't know if they are intentionally trying to give the idea that they are scary and you shouldn't mess with them... or whether they are just more annoyed with the amount of pictures that are taken of them in their goofy outfits.

You first go through the big airport scanner things that xray all your belongings but what is very cool is that

Photo 2

This was the long line I was talking about that I didn't want to wait in.

they're not nearly as anal about if you're wearing jewelry or if you have change in your pocket etc. After that the guards have you go through a checkpoint where they briefly examine what you are wearing. Thankfully I was warned beforehand that you are not allowed to enter churches and sacred places if your shoulders are showing or if your knees are showing. The people in the church take it very seriously and will absolutely not let in anyone who is dressed inappropriately. Of course there is the long line of girls and a few topless men who stood on the side walls moaning about how unfair this was... they must have not seen the 3-4 gigantic yellow signs that had pictures demonstrating how you could not show your knees or shoulders. Sucks to be them!

Once you walk inside your jaw literally drops from the sheer size and beauty of this place. I happened to come at a time when the sunlight was shinning through the windows and I had to take a few minutes to absorb everything. It was just simply gorgeous, no other way to describe it. Everything is made out of the finest materials

Photo 6

Read the signs people... no nakedness!

you can imagine. Nuns and priests roam around doing their own business... people are praying quietly... people are chanting and singing the most beautiful chorals... it really makes you feel in awe and there is no way you can escape the spirituality that permeates the cathedral.

I was lucky enough to view a bit of a sermon which began and of course I couldn't understand a word the priest was saying but it was still very nice. I left in the middle of the sermon to go to the catacombs of the popes which is in the basement section of the cathedral. You can go in and view all the tombs of the previous popes and the most recent that passed away and in this section you are not allowed to take pictures. There are people who were standing at John Paul II's tomb praying very quietly and leaving flowers, it was very touching while the choir upstairs were still singing during the sermon which you could hear through the walls.

I had a fantastic time at St. Peter... aka the Vatican. I was blown away by everything I saw and if you get a chance in your