A Wonderful Day at the Vatican and St. Peter’s
A wonderful way to start to a long day. With lines already queued up around the Vatican we entered at 8am ahead of the crowds and were quickly shown to a wonderful breakfast at a cafe in the Pine Cone piazza. After a generous family style serving of eggs, potatoes, bacon along with assorted meats and pastries we started our Vatican tour. Elena our guide took advantage of our short time in the entry queue to give us a detailed lesson on the art work of the Sistine Chapel so we were prepared for our quiet visit to the chapel. With Elena as our guide we toured and learned so much about everything from the difference between Greek and Roman sculptures to all the characters in Raphael’s paintings. The tour included a skip-the-line entrance to St. Peter’s which was especially nice given the Jubilee year crowds and large number of Pilgrimages taking place. Again Elena walked us thru the Basilica helping us to understand both a mix of its history and art. Having used audio guides on other tours I am sure some of the same information could be found there but Elena’s added personal insights and made connections between artist and eras and themes that audio guides typically don’t. My wife, 17 yr old son and I talked for hours about the things we learned. With so much to see and take-in at both the Vatican and St Peter’s, splurging on this tour was a great choice for us…highly recommend!
- Tim G.