A big part of the reason I wanted to go to Rome was to visit the Vatican and see the Pope. One of my regrets in life was not seeing Pope John Paul II when I had a chance to, at the age of about 13. At the time I figured I would see him some other time and skipped the few hour drive to the city he was visiting. After all he's been the Pope every since I could remember and surely he would be one forever right? Wasn't I one silly child? After his death I promised myself that I would see the next Pope if I had the chance and on Wednesday August 27th, I did. 

After getting to Rome we checked the Pope's schedule on the Vatican website and found out he would be making his Wednesday appearance. We left our apartment around 8am to get good seats at St. Peter's Square. When we got to the gates of Vatican City, we were pleasantly surprised to see security lines moving very quickly. We were inside in no time and scored fairly good seats. By advise of the host of our apartment and various online articles, we opted for conservative clothing that covered arms and knees as some parts of Vatican require respectful attire. I have yet to figure out what is so scandalous about knees and shoulders. Is it the creases in the knees that are so offensive? Is it because some people don't properly moisturize? Arms I kind of understand because Europeans are not too keen on deodorant so sleeves are probably for public safety. But what is so wrong with knees? But I digress. We were melting in the sun for an hour before priests speakings in various languages came out to give shout outs to different groups visiting the Vatican and conduct a few prayers before the Pope came out. After about half hour we heard the crowd get very excited and we saw the Pope moving quickly along designated paths in his Papa Mobile. He drove around a few times making sure everyone got a good glimpse of him and even stopped to pick up one baby. For sure that child is never getting sick. Thanks to the zoom lens I brought with me I was able to take a decent photo of Pope Francis. I have to say it was a moving experience to see him. Pope Francis seems like a cool dude. He is a bit more progressive and openminded than his predecessors. This is something welcomed by many of today's Catholics. 

After the blessing by the Pope we got a snack and headed for the Vatican Museum. This museum is probably the most beautiful building of its kind that I have seen. Each room was decorated with different types of paintings or sculptures from different eras. Our favorite room was The Gallery of Maps. Sightseeing the museum however was no easy task as it was extremely crowded and hot (no AC). At the very end we ended up in the Sistine Chapel which was certainly very beautiful but we were so tired we probably appreciated it a bit less than we should have. Unfortunately, the only way to get to the Sistine Chapel is by walking through the entire museum which takes about an hour.

The last thing we wanted to see was St. Peter's Basilica. Normally, you need to make your way back to the entrance of the museum and then walk across the entire Vatican which takes over an hour. Thankfully we read an article that provided some Vatican hacks (check it out here) and exited via a hidden organized tour exit which got us right by St. Peter's Basilica. The inside of the beautifully decorated basilica is enormous and it draws crowds from around the world. The dome is so tall that it can fit the Statue of Liberty inside. We explored the basilica admiring the artwork and even stopped by the tomb of John Paul II to pay our respects. 

The last stop of our Vatican tour was the Vatican Post Office where we bought some postcards and stamps. And this concluded our day of sightseeing. 

OUR TIPS:

1. if you'd like to see the Pope check his schedule online and order free tickets if necessary. 

2. To save time and not backtrack in the museum, follow the instructions in this article. 

3. Buy and write your postcards before getting to Vatican as they are three times more expensive here.

For more photos of our visit to Italy, check out the Gallery page. 

 Vlad and one of the Swiss Guards.  Crowd at St. Peter's square waiting for Papal blessing. All the seats filled up later.  Cute girl dressed in a pretty dress awaiting the Pope.  First glimpse of Pope Francis. 

Smiling Pope Francis arriving in his Papa Mobile 

 A boy and his father. Crowd of Polish visitors. Pope Francis - Wednesday Blessing Pope Francis during the blessing. Visitors with flags: Polish flag on the left and Italian Pace (Peace) flag on the right.  Crowd dispersing after the blessing.  Vatican selife.  Finally I found a good seat! :-)  Beautiful architecture in St. Peter's Square.  Spiral staircase at the Vatican Museum. The Sphere Within a Sphere bronze statue (Sfera con Sfera) by Arnaldo Pomodoro. If you think you've seen this somewhere before you are probably right. There are similar spheres in few locations around the world; most notably one near the UN building in NYC and another in the Sculpture Garden in DC.  One of the beautiful rooms in the Vatican Museum.  Our favorite room - The Gallery of Maps.

The room had 40 maps frescoed into its walls. They were painted between 1580 and 1585 based on the drawings by Italian geographer Ignazio Danti.  Intricate roof in The Gallery of Maps.  Painting by 19th century Polish artist Jan Matejko depicting King John III Sobieski winning over Turks in Vienna in 1683. This painting can be found in the Sobieski Room.  Another beautiful room and a crowd of visitors. 

The famous Sistine Chapel with paintings from the 15th century. By the way, no photos are allowed here. Who says I don't live life on the edge?

On the way to St. Peter's Basilica.  

 "You are Peter (Tu es Petrus) and upon this rock I will build my church, and to you I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 16:18)

Inside of St. Peter's Basilica. Construction of this enormous basilica started in 1506 and completed in 1626. Peter, who was one of Jesus' Twelve Apostles and selected by Him to lead the Catholic church (the first Pope), is buried under the altar.  Under the main dome of St. Peter's Basilica is the 28 meter high Papal Altar, which is covered with bronze baldachin.  Intricate details of the baroque baldachin designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The baldachin serves as the visual focus within the basilica. 

One of the domes in St. Peter's Basilica.  Floor decorations in the basilica.