The Vatican and St Peter's

Today we did a wonderful organised tour of the Vatican and St Peter's, conducted by Andreas of "Seven Hills Tours". The tour, for just eleven of us,  ran for approximately four hours. In that time, we toured the Vatican's private apartments, saw the display of pope mobiles, marvelled at the Sistine Chapel ( no photos allowed), viewed the Vatican Gardens, were guided through St Peter's and saw many wonderful statues as well as the tombs of former popes. Just as we exited the tour, the famous Swiss Guards were changing posts.

Andreas provided invaluable information on everything our tour group witnessed. It was a great relief to know we could skip the lines when were saw enormous queues of people lined up in the hot Roman sun for both the Vatican and St Peter's.

Our afternoon was slower-paced. Brett and I collected our tickets for the Pope's general audience tomorrow. I also bought some much needed hats for this beautiful Rome sunshine.

Vatican Museum entrance

Spiral staircase just inside the Vatican entrance

One of the many former Pope mobiles

Perhaps the most famous Pope mobile

Our tour guide, Andreas, explained Michelangelo's masterpiece

Michelangelo's inspiration for his male works of art (circa 1 BC)

Sculptures inspired the great Michelangelo

One of the many beautiful Vatican ceilings

Vatican ceiling detail

Looking down towards the Vatican's Bronze Door

St Peter's Door of Redemption - open for one year every 25 years

Magnificent St Peter's

La Pieta, St Peter's

The wonder of St Peter's Dome

Looking skywards to St Peter's Cupola ( writing is 3m tall)

View out towards St Peter's Square from St Peter's

Swiss Guard

The Vatican's famous Swiss Guards

So far, apart from delicious gelato, we have not hit any jackpots with food in Rome. There are restaurants at every turn and souvenir shops galore. Hopefully, sometime soon, we will find that perfect pizza!                  Tricia