Vatican City and on to Venice

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This morning we had a very strict deadline, get up, get ready, eat breakfast and pack the bus before 7AM, otherwise you will be left behind. Today we were heading into the smallest country in the world, Vatican City. Most of the group boarded the bus on time but we still left quite late, some of the group literally ran to catch the bus as it left. I didn’t think yesterdays queue at the Colosseum could be beat but once we arrived at the Vatican the queues were insane. Luckily we were having a group tour around the Vatican hence we could join the much, much smaller, group line. Our private tour was with a young American historian who gave each of us some headphones so we could clearly hear her from her microphone. Once we passed the heavy security we headed upstairs and stopped at mock painting of the Sistine Chapel while our tour guide gave us an incredibly interesting insight to the breathtaking paintings in the Sistine Chapel. Afterwards we were lead around different sections of the Vatican City, stopping every now and then for a brief explanation about the history of this place.

We continued to follow our tour guide exploring Vatican City until it was finally time to go into the Sistine Chapel. She warned us not to take photos, and to take in every second of what we are about to see. The group pushed through the thousands of people trying to get in and as we entered the Sistine Chapel, I was absolutely dumbfounded. It was hard to believe how beautiful it was and how incredibly detailed every single painting was, on every wall and the entire ceiling. To this day, still no-one know how exactly Michelangelo managed to paint such an amazing masterpiece, even the technique used is still a mystery today. From the ground, the space between Adam and God’s fingers in that famous painting look only a centimeter apart, but because the ceiling is curved it is actually four feet apart. This shows the incredible depth of Michelangelo’s work in the Sistine Chapel and is really something that has to been seen to believed. As more and more people entered the Chapel, slowly we were pushed out the exit and the made our way to the next stop.

We stood overlooking St. Peters Square, a vast space surrounded with hundreds of pillars on either side and a massive obelisk in the centre. Here we stood and had another brief chat with the tour guide as she concluded an excellent and very informative tour which we all found fascinating. She did note that there is one other place we have to see while here, inside St. Peters Basilica. St Peters Basilica was the largest church in the world and known to be ‘the greatest of all church’s in Christianity. As we walked inside I was blown away by the size of the place, it was unbelievably big. The space inside was so grand and the ceilings so high that it felt like we were walking for miles while wondering around. I took plenty of photos from every angle trying to depict the size of the entire place, but no photo will ever do this place justice. Hannah and I explored inside before finally setting off since we had to meet the rest of the group and head back to the bus. As we waited many people were late so I walked out into the square to get a feel of how amazing the Vatican City is. Unfortunately though, after a few last photos, it was time to leave, we walked back to the bus and jumped aboard for the long trip to Venice.

It was a huge drive to Venice, all afternoon and until early evening we were stuck in the van on the way to our campsite. Finally we arrived and setup our tents, most people had showers and got ready for dinner, as tonight we had a few extra people joining our group for the 2nd half of the tour. We had 4 new people join us tonight and over dinner they introduced themselves and we did the same. After dinner it was going to be a big night in the campsite because tonight we were throwing a toga party, yes that’s right. I grabbed a large white sheet and headed to the bathroom. After working out how to wear a sheet, I came out to the amazement of everyone, since I was the first in the group to put it on, it was hilarious. Soon enough the rest of the group came up with inventive idea how to wear their sheets, then we met at the bar for drinks. Not one person in the bar was in clothes, everyone was wearing a sheet, it was one of the funniest things I’ve seen. We all drank and playing drinking games till the early morning and I collapsed somewhere in my tent.

Day 11:
Rome~Vatican City - Venice
340 MILES TRAVELLED // 2050 TOTAL
Camping Alba D'oro

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Photos

Vatican City
Fantastic view of St. Peter's Basilica from St. Peter's Square

Vatican City
Impressive sculpture in the courtyard of Vatican City

Vatican City
View of the enormous space inside St. Peter's Bascilica, the largest church in the world

Vatican City
Inside the incredible St. Peter's Basillica in the Vatican City

Vatican City
Stunning St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.

Vatican City
Another fantastic angle inside the massive St. Peter's Basilica

Vatican City
Close up of St. Peter's Basilica with the Pope's Balcony in the centre

Vatican City
View across St. Peter's Square