Blogs from Vatican City, Europe

Bonjour à tous, Commençons avec le sourire. Aujourd'hui j'ai vu beaucoup de voilées, des nones, et parfois même en trottinette. On arrête pas le progrès. Je peux vous assurer que ma soirée d'hier, a été bien calme, je n'ai pas traîné longtemps dans la ville, avec la fatigue de la journée, j'avais hâte de regagner l'hôtel, mais comme tous les soirs, manger prend un temps infini. De partout le service est extrêmement long. Après une bonne nuit de sommeil, ce matin je suis pas mal en forme pour une nouvelle journée de visites et de marche. Vers 8h15, je suis en route pour la cité du Vatican. Moins de 500m pour arriver, au début de la via Della Conciliazone. C'est la grande avenue qui mène à la Basilique Saint Pierre. Avenue que l'on voit parfois noire ... read more

Since Vatican City is supposedly a sovereign country although I find it hard to believe, I thought I'd write a separate entry just for it. It is said to be the smallest country in the world. I've heard a few other countries call themselves that. But it's really hard to wrap my mind around the idea that a place as small as the Vatican city which for me isn't even big enough to be a city is actually a country. Yes I know they issue passports so you can be a Vatican citizen. But so does Hong Kong and Taiwan. They are much bigger than the Vatican yet they are part of China. Peace out to my brothers and sisters and Hong Kong and Taiwan! There are less than 1,000 Vatican citizens. Most universities have bigger ... read more

There is ample reason for me to justify my choice of visiting the Vatican given the rich historyof art and architecture that the country presented. In almost every way, it was an extraordinary place to spend my holidays; however, one thing I learnt was that there are certain norms that need to be followed while touring Vatican. Thankfully I had done my research and I did not miss out on any experience, by planning on how not to spend too much time waiting in line. Waiting in Line It may seem odd to start an article about one of the most historical places in the city with a segment dedicated to queues outside the tourist spots. But, in my experience successfully battling these queues was the key to covering all the important locations. Visiting the Vatican ... read more

What a memorable day! This morning I went to the Papal Blessing in Vatican City! Sadly, the Pope was not going to come outside today, but he gave the blessing through an apartment window. One of the professors tried to translate as much as she could for us to understand what he was saying! This was a once in a lifetime experience to be blessed by Pope Francis at the Vatican! Not many people can say that they've had the same experience. The rest of today has been a "chill" day. I grabbed lunch with a few friends after the blessing and ate prosciutto and melon, which was amazing! I have some homework to do and a quiz to study for, so I took this day for myself!... read more

While I think this city should be part of Italy, the Vatican City is the smallest city in the world and is surrounded by Italy. We actually walked there from our hotel. The Vatican is the city of the pope, but it has restaurants and taxis. We went to the Vatican Museum. The first thing we saw in the Vatican museum was an outside part. It had a giant pine cone which I honestly don't know why it is there. Then we went to a room of a bunch of statues and busts. Some of the statues I knew, such as Artemis, Hermes, and Athena. Next we went to a room with a bunch of Egyptian items like mummies, art, tombs and other artifacts. Then we walked through a long hallways which had tapestries. Then we ... read more