day 8

On our last full day in Rome, we went to the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica/Square. The Vatican was incredible, and I had booked a tour with a company... which was incredibly fantastic. We saw all kinds of sculptures and paintings and tapestries... but the highlight for me was the Sistine Chapel. We had been warned that the company that restored the Sistine Chapel walls and ceiling actually owns the rights to the images, so you're not supposed to take pictures. It was strange - there were guards yelling "Quiet please! No pictures!" in the chapel, but people were taking pictures all over the place. If you know me well, you know that I am a rule follower through and through, but I asked Lance to go ahead and sneak some pictures since everyone else was doing it. Ha. Okay, but really - I was completely overwhelmed by the Sistine Chapel. I just sat with my mouth open staring at the walls and ceiling. It was SO beautiful. It was kind of almost a spiritual moment for me.

I'm sure that this picture is not big enough for you to tell, but one of the things I learned about Michelangelo is that he never used female nude models - only male nude models. Because of that, he really didn't know how to paint female nudes... so his females are big, muscled, buff men... with breasts. It's kind of funny.

St. Peter's was incredible as well. I don't know that I can even really explain how massive it was...

I really wish I had more words to describe the experience of being there... but I really don't. Ha. Oh, it was beautiful. What an amazing way to wrap up our trip.