God is our potential.

Ciao...

Today, I woke up at 6:30 to the cheery alarm noises that dear Siemens provides on their A70 model. Vanessa and I were going to meet Jon, AJ, Dominique and Laura on Via Trastevere - the street that they live on. We figured if we never woke up today then we would never make it to the destination - The Vatican.

As we trucked down Via Trastevere and stumbled onto the 8 tram in desperate need of espresso and a croissant, we made it just in time to meet the rest of the group and head to Vatican City. When we arrived at the Vatican it was around 7:30 and it doesn't open to the public until 10:00. We waited in line for awhile and enjoyed breakfast there against the enormous brick walls that encase Vatican City. We were finally let in around 10:15 and made our way to the lines upon lines of people waiting to enter. We bought tickets, traveled up possibly the longest escalator I have ever been on and then waited in even more lines to finally arrive upon the Sistine Chapel.

The Sistine Chapel was like nothing I had ever seen before. It was painted by Michaelangelo in what seemed to be a rush job of 4 years. The Pope at the time wanted it to be completed as quickly as possible and this was a demand. Michaelangelo was 62 years old when he began painting the Sistine and was working with 20 apprentices. The Chapel was beautiful and pictures will be posted on my Webshots account very soon (p.s. pictures are prohibited in the Sistine....AJ and I took our flashes off of the camera and were able to catch a few photos and a couple of videos).

After the Sistine we ventured on through shops along the way and other artwork that adorns that walls, ceilings, and every other flat surface in sight. We then came to St. Peter's Basilica which we spent 4 Euro to climb the 700-ish steps to the top. The views from the top of Vatican City and almost all of Rome were incredible. Vanessa, Jon and I went into a special section of the Basilica that is designated only for prayer. It was amazing and the amount of cardinals and nuns that are swarming the Vatican is intense and somewhat intimidating, yet very cool all the same. The Vatican is absolutely crowded with tourists from all over the world and it is amazing to hear so many different languages spoken in such close proximity to each other - almost like Manhattan!

All in all our trip this morning was fabulous and I plan to do it again. Either tomorrow or next Wednesday, Vanessa and I are going to wake up early and get to the Vatican in order to listen to the Pope speak. We will see what time brings.

Hope all is well.
Ciao for now!