The Vatican

On my second day in Rome, I got up early, though not as early as planned and took the metro to the Vatican to see the pope. I got a seat fairly close to the walkway where the pope would be passing by (6 rows from the front) and sat down to wait for 2 hours.

There were a bunch of kids behind me, who kept yelling "seduti," sit down in Italian, or something like that, to the people at the barricade. It was rather obnoxious. Before the pope came out, they read of lists of all the groups from different countries that were visiting. They then showed Papa Francesco greeting children and others inside the building. He then went outside to the front of the plaza and rode around several times, greeting people. There were then some readings in several different languages, including Italian, German, and English, and representatives from different countries thanked the pope and read his translated reply. Fin.

The front of St. Peter's Basilica

Square packed full of Catholics

Papa Francesco!

The second time around

Out come the umbrellas

The dome

St. Peter's Basilica didn't open until 1, so I wandered around a bit before going in.

Cute steps leading up to a Norwegian? church

Holy stairs, go up with devotion

Some people had brought this altar with them and paraded it around

As I walked in I was literally awestruck. The place is ridiculously resplendent.

One of the many large paintings

Shrine

Altar

Colorful guards outside

 After visiting the Vatican, I went to the Castel Sant'Angelo, a lovely old castle used by several emperors and popes. It consists of a circular inner tower with square walls, with a tower named after one of the four Evangelists at each corner.

Castel

Bridge of angels

I particularly liked the wings of this statue, even though they don't quite fit with the rest of it

So happy! Such Vatican!

I like doors

I found a bust of Voldemort