Vatican City (Day 9)

The long, long line to get in. Most of those girls are with my group, but if you look on the right you can see a group of tiny little Asian ladies that tried to cut us. Crazy bitches.The giant wall surrounding Vatican City, and the line stretching around it.
The Swiss Guards outside the gates. Michelangelo designed those lovely uniforms.The actual city in Vatican City.

St. Peter's. The pope's residence is to the right.

The Jubilee Door, which is only opened once every 25 years.An archway outside the church.

An illegal picture taken inside the Sistine Chapel. It was very...busy.The dome of St. Peter's.

The Vatican Museum. The longest hall in the museum, I believe on the way to the Sistine Chapel.A gorgeous floor mosaic made with lapis and jade.

Statues inside the museum. This one is one of the oldest intact statues ever found. It was originally completely painted, and you can still see the eyes are colored.Another statue - note the fig leaf. The church added that at some point to prevent the indecency of having NUDES in the church. They ruined billions of dollars of priceless art.

Ceiling at the museum.The foot of a statue that would have been HUGE. The foot alone was at least three feet night.


A Roman mosaic at the museum. This was actually like a menu that would have hung outside a restaurant showing what you could get inside.Michelangelo's Pieta. Seeing this statue was incredibly moving. There are interesting stories about American marines saving the statue from a crazy person and why Michelangelo signed this piece of work. Look them up!

A dead pope. Pope John XXIIII to be specific.