I was the last one up. Lisa actually had to wake me up this morning. After another late start, we were off to the Vatican. We spent the entire day wandering through the museums and chapels - which was a good thing since it tried to rain a little bit today. It is very surprising to see how many pagan works of art the Popes have collected over the centuries. Hall after hall was just stuffed full of ancient Roman, Egyptian, Etruscan, Babylonian, and Assyrian artwork and artifacts. I found this statue of a dog from ancient Rome and decided to give its ears a scratch. Even a 2000 year old dog likes a little attention every once in a while.After we worked our way through a tour of the Vatican that included the Sistine Chapel, we were left to wander the halls and eventually ended up in Saint Peter's Bascilica. Now, you all know that I am not Catholic, and I particulerly have a had time with the veneration of people - I don't even like "hero worship" so you can imagine that I was less-than-thrilled to find the center of the Catholic/Christian world centered around the tomb of Peter. Saint Peter's Bascilica is really a giant shrine to the Popes and has little more than a passing ascension to Christ. Anyway, the architecture and artwork are amazing. The photo below of the altar in St. Peter's doesn't even begin to do justice to the grandeur of the place.
So again, we were on our feet all day and I am really tired. I'm really looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again sometime very soon.
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