In my last post, I mentioned that I flew on Ryanair. After landing in Italy and picking up my rental car, I drove to the Vatican City. For those of you who don’t know what the Vatican is, the Vatican is a huge area with a humongous church, the Sistine Chapel and Saint Peter’s Basilica. The Vatican City is where the Pope lives. The Pope is an extremely important person who makes decisions for the Catholic Church… and I mean big decisions. So, naturally, I was eager to go to the Vatican City.
When we arrived at the Vatican City, we parked and got out of the car. When I walked through the entrance of St. Peter’s, in merely seconds, I knew how important it was. I knew that I wasn’t going to have time to go to the Sistine Chapel. I would only have time to visit St. Peter’s because I needed to go quickly to get to my hotel and then to Sicily, my true destination.
Part of the reason that I wouldn’t be able to visit a lot is that the lines are very long and it is very hot. So, you understand why I couldn’t stay long. A way to cool down is to go to the big fountain in the center of St. Peter’s square. I stood a bit away from the fountain while the wind sprayed mist and I cooled myself off.
If you want, because I didn’t go to the Sistine Chapel, you can look it up to see what it looks like. Again, I’m sorry that I couldn’t go there. Outside, there were Swiss guards, their job was to guard the Vatican. The reason that it is the Swiss who guard the Vatican is that for one thing, Pope Julius II was guarded by Swiss soldiers during the Renaissance. But the second reason was that the Swiss were extremely strong, loyal and brave.
After getting inside, I walked around quietly. If you can’t think of how nice it might be, think of the nicest thing you’ve ever seen. It is a thousand times nicer than that.
For one thing, there are beautiful sculptures everywhere. For another thing, the ceilings are painted artistically. The paintings were mainly beautiful scenes from the bible, of Jesus, and of the saints. The sculptures were of lots of things: Jesus, saints, popes and characters from heaven. Part of the reason that I found the statues so intriguing was that they looked so lifelike. It was almost as if they could get up from where they were sitting, although I knew they could not. Another amazing thing in the Vatican were the reliefs. Between all of these beautiful things, St Peter’s Basilica was astonishing.
I walked out and cooled myself in one of the many fountains in Rome by rinsing myself off a bit with water. It has been an exciting trip and I’m eager to tell you more about it. But, I am a very busy bear, so sadly I will have to leave you for now. Well, lets just say that the next post will be a bit crazy. All I have to say to you now is… until the next post!
The Beary Good Adventures 