Rome - Day 3

FYI: If you click on the pictures from the blog, they get bigger... ok moving on. :) 

Today was Vatican City day. "Wow" was the main word for today.

So I think I have another nugget. It is from The Vatican this time. Actually, I was sitting in a prayer chapel inside St. Peters when I noticed something. In every confessional booth there is a picture of the crucifix. It hit me that the cross is the reminder of our sin. I am no expert in Catholicism but maybe that symbol reminds people not to sin? If I am just getting this concept and everyone already knew this; consider me slow. To me the cross always referenced a scene that people are stuck on. People: Jesus is not on the cross anymore, he has risen. But now I think I understand a tiny new perspective of what it means to the catholic. If the cross is a reminder to not sin, then great! 

On another note: Our first BAD THING happened today. We planned to take a taxi from the Vatican museum to the Borghese gallery this afternoon. When we left the Vatican museum there was a line of taxis waiting to take people. I had read in my guide book that it costs about 11 EURO to go where we needed to get to. However this guy ended up stealing money from us and we end up paying over $70 USD for a taxi. To say that this was not my greatest moment on the trip would be an understatement. What are you going to do when you cannot speak his language? Get out of the car and hope we don't get ripped off EVER again. 

Ok moving on to the pictures of the day!

 Cappuccino for breakfast...yes please. Christopher doesn't like coffee so I get 2 every morning! Sweet!

St. Peter's Square surrounded by 284 columns created by Bernini. 

 The square represents open arms

 St peters obelisk- 90 feet tall. Been created for 2000 years. Created in Egypt and brought here.

 St. Peters

 Inside the Dome of St. Peters

 From the Cupola where we walked over 600 steps (each way) to get some pretty amazing pictures

 Self explanatory

 Yeah these steps were wide to some of the ones that we walked

 Buying our stamps for our post cards! :)

 They were neon colors! 

 The Cupolo gift shop

 Vatican Post Office

  Vatican Post Office

 1/2 way up the cupola...what a view. It was also the perfect day to do this. 

  1/2 way up the cupola...what a view. It was absolutely beautiful outside

Ok back down to the amazing St. Peters. It is two football fields long. It holds 60,000 standing worshippers.

This is the confessional where I noticed the crucifix on the wall

These doors are only opened every 25 years. 2022 is the next time they will open

The beautiful St. Peters Square

 The beautiful St. Peters Square

To the Vatican Museum...

I am reading pieces of the book of Romans as I walk into each of the churches...this one stood out to me today in St. Peters. 

They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand. So God said, in effect, "If that's what you want, that's what you get." It wasn't long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and out. And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them-the God we bless, the God who blesses us. Oh, yes! (Romans 1:23-25 MSG)

 Lunch!

 Ordering Crepes!

 Crepes To Go!

 Inside the Vatican museum with a dog that was worship by Egyptians.

 I have no idea what this Egyptian sculpture is...

 The view of Rome from the Vatican Museum

 The Vatican museum is 4 miles long to walk. Lets just say my "dogs were tired" today.

 This is in the Rafael room at the Vatican museum

We also did the Sistine Chapel. They are sticklers about no photography due to the sensitivity and preciousness of this room. So you can google and view those pictures.

After the crazy taxi scam, I decided to rest in the gardens out front of Galleria Borghese while Christopher walked through the museum (They didn't allow photos in here either so google this one as well).

Tomorrow is our shopping day and slowing down day. I think we have walked at least 8-10 miles a day.