Monday 19th October A day at the home of the Pope - The Vatican After yesterday’s close encounter with the Cardinal at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore we were ready to see what might happen when we spend a day at the Vatican looking over the RC church’s riches. The day has started out beautifully fine and sunny but rather cool and so we shall go prepared for the temperature to reach perhaps a high in the mid teens.Rain is forecast for where we are heading to the north for later in the week but we shall make good of [View Full Entry]

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But Maybe Not Quite As Much As This Place So I mentioned that I was heading to a city that’s a country within a city today. It also happens to be the smallest country in the world at just one square kilometre and was given it’s independence from Rome in the 15th Century (I think???). It has it’s own postal service, currency, newspaper and radio station and has a unique army of Swiss Guards to protect it’s leader. If you need more than one guess as to where I am you should be shot right now!!!! Vatican City is an impressive [View Full Entry]

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Disclaimer: The following blog contains discussion of religious and philosophical nature. Viewer's discretion is advised. We all know the saying that Rome was not built in a single day. However, the Christian Church was not built in a single day either. Many martyrs and saints (in the Christian frame of reference) died a horrible death and shed their blood to spread and enhance the faith through the centuries. Therefore it was with a mind of reverence I came to Vatican, where in the legend the first Pope, St. Peter once stood and died for Christ. I came with a mind of [View Full Entry]

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After visiting the Vatican museum, we proceeded to visit St. Peter's Basilica, the mother of all churches. St. Peter's Basilica is undoubtedly the greatest Catholic Church on earth, both in size and in significance. It was said the Church built on the site where St. Peter was martyred by the Romans, crucified head down. The church altar contains the bones of St. Peter (so goes the Christian legend). The Church symbolizes the power and legitimacy of the papacy and through which, Popes throughout the centuries wielded hard and soft powers over the temporal and "spiritual" realms. According [View Full Entry]

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Bon pour nos deux derniere journee a rome...nous avons ete visite le chateau st angelo puis le vatican. Le vatican c est gros gros gros mais j ai ete tres dessus. Point positif on s est paye une visite prive avec un guide. La chapel sistine est over protected et pas extraordinaire si vous voulez mon avis. Content de ne pas avoir attendu 3h pour cela. La basillique est tres belle parcontre super grande. Pour ce qui est du mussee il est bien. Pour la soiree on est aller manger avec bcp de gens de l auberge (client et employer) dans [View Full Entry]

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photo vatican [View Full Entry]

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20 juni 2009 Sillery Niet veel nieuws vandaag maar toch één belangrijk punt, we hebben onze champagne gaan bestellen. Maandag komen ze hem leveren. Wie hem eens wil proeven moet ofwel wachten tot september of eens langs komen in Frankrijk. Iedereen welkom. [View Full Entry]

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Ack! i got up at 7:40 but johnny didn't get up til a little late, after i got out of the shower. by the time we were both done getting ready and out the door we hadn't made the bus number 64 to the vatican city in time and as we got over near the stop (which we actually passed, and had to get off and walk back) it was after 9:00, when we were supposed to be there. :o( oh well - instead of doing the basilica at 9 and then the museums at 10:30 we changed the tickets [View Full Entry]

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The Vatican City. It has it's own post office, police uniform and is technically a separate country to the rest of Italy. Unfortunately we ran out of time to explore St Peter's Basilica, as we waited hours in the line to the Vatican Museum. Probably should have done the former as the most interesting object in the museums was a 4000 year old mummified body of a small pharaoh. You could still see his fingernails and toenails. One of it's eye sockets had a patch over it, where they would have removed his brains from. It was fascinating! Of course there [View Full Entry]

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While Mom and Dad were visiting we took a trip to Rome and Vatican City to have a general audience with the Pope and then tour the Vatican Museums and what not. It was so much fun and I'm not sure I've ever seen my Mom so excited or happy to get to see the Pope live. It was pretty cool. He also spoke Italian, German, French, English, Latin and some Spanish/Portugese/Polish. It was pretty cool. Also seeing the Sistine Chapel was amazing and I never thought I would be able to see that either. It was awesome, smaller than I [View Full Entry]

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