Rome part: IV

 Thursday:  So after our tour of the Palantine hill, our guide asked if we wanted to go on a tour of the Vatican museums and St. Peter's.  He took a deposit and said to meet at a certain metro stop the next morning and he'd take us through... hmmmmm.  He was a really nice guy.  He was raised in Ohio, moved to Rome to become a Father (priest), was in his last year of schooling and decided he wanted a family, married and had children, now does guided tours.  Who better to take you through the Vatican museums than an almost Father!  As you can see we were literally herded through the museums with a headset on so we could hear our guide.  There were so many people!  If you spent 60 seconds in front of every item in the museums it would take you seven years to see it all!  After the museums you enter in to the Sistine Chapel.  There is this huge build up and then you are in this smaller chapel, don't get me wrong it was beautiful.  Michelangelo's painting on the ceiling was incredible work.  They don't allow photos and I didn't know that, missed that part I guess, should've been caught!  It was also packed like sardines, way too many people, it made it hard to appreciate the beauty of it all.

 This is the outside of St. Peter's.  One word:  HUGE!

 The scale of everything is so immence!

 We saw these guys and were stalking them to get a photo.  Finally I went in front of them to get a photo of something else and turned around and got 'em!  Our friend asked if they wanted their photo taken and one said yes, another said no!  I think we started a fight!  There were all kinds of priests, nuns and even these French Friar Tucks all over the place.  I guess they get to go on vacation too!

 Castel Sant' Angelo.  This was a fortress built for the pope, and used in the Angels and Demons movie.

 Remember this from the movie?

 And this hallway?

 The view was pretty cool of the city from the top.  See the little wall heading towards St. Peter's in the bottom right?  That is how the pope got from the Vatican to the Castel and Tom Hanks ran along this wall in the movie.  This was a long day and a lot of walking too.  By now our feet were tired, hurting and some of us had blisters.