We got in line to see St. Peters Basilica (not basilisk). Don't believe the people outside telling you it's a 1.5 hour wait, the line was long but took about about ten minutes when we got there. You have to go through a security check and then a dress code check. The scarf sellers made a killing out of those who had not read about covering their shoulders and knees.
Mum and Dad decided to take a guided tour around the Basilica and Sistine Chapel. The tour was good and even though we aren't the world's biggest Catholics/Christians we payed attention. There are three bodies of Popes in the Basilica, two are covered in bronze and one in wax. You also had the option to go into the grotto and look at the other bodies. We decided to give this a miss.
In the centre of the Basilica is a bronze pulpit that only the Pope can stand on and use. The bronze came first from the dome of the Basilica but it still wasn't enough so the Pope at that time decided to take all the bronze from the ancient roman ruins. From this drives the saying what the barbarians didn't take, Barberini did.
We weren't very proud when we found out that an Australian mad man came in and defaced the only statue that Michelangelo signed. It is now restored and behind bullet proof glass.
We got to the end of the tour to find that it didn't go into the Sistine Chapel. So we walked to the Vatican museum where the original paintings from the Basilica are held and weaved and turned as fast as we could through the masses of people to get to the Sistine Chapel. We finally got there to be blown away by the amazingness of the chapel. The whole roof is covered in amazing paintings which took Michelangelo over 4 years to complete. We picked out the well known "Creation of Adam" and Dad felt very knowledgeable when he recognized the "Desperate Housewives" painting.
All in all it was a good day. We saw the Basilica and the Sistine Chapel and we all came out unsigned.
Jake
Location:The Vatican
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