7/04/09 -- The Vatican and The Pantheon

I was so excited for this day. The Vatican is something I have wanted to see for a very long time. We left the hotel pretty early in the morning and headed to Vatican City. We met our tour guide there and she led us through the wall into the city. We started out in the museum, which has so much stuff in it, she said it would take you months to see it all. It was full of beautiful paintings and statues.
After walking around the museum for a little whil we headed to the Sistine Chapel. It was the most unbelievable thing I have ever seen. I couldn't believe that one person had painted everyting that was in that room. One interesting fact of the moment was that our tour guide told us that Michel Angelo did not lay down while he painted it, he was actually standing with his head leaned back. Painting the chapel gave him permanent neck damage.
We headed to St. Peter's Basilica after the Sistine Chapel. This was the prettiest church I have ever seen, and it was huge! We were able to walk inside and take pictures of everything. We saw the Pieta, but they had it behind bullet proof glass because people try to attack it. It is a beautiful sculpture. There was also a sculpture of St. Peter, and if you touch the feet of this statue and make a wish it is possible that it will come true. So of course we all had to walk by and touch his feet. Ha ha it's a cool little tradition.
After this a few of us climbed to the top of the Dome and were able to see the most amazing view. We took an elevator half way up the stairs, but still had to climb over 376 stairs to the top. The stairs on the way up were so small and steep. It was really hard not t ojust go crazy because I was so claustrophobic, but it was definitely worth it when I got to the top.
We took pictures in the big square, and then a few of us headed to the Pantheon. We got so lost it took us over 3 hours to get there, it was kind of a miserable experince but funny too. By the time we got there though it was totally worth it. The Pantheon is amazing. It's in the middle of all these apartments and businesses and completely blows your mind. It has the world's largest single room interior and has an occulus of 18 feet! It was massive.