Vatican and Rome

It was our first day in Rome, and a hearthy breakfast is a good way to start it. :)

After having our breakfast, we dropped by Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore since it's just beside the cafe.  According to Wiki, it is the largest church in Rome dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.


We then transferred to to our accommodation near St. Peter's Square and went around Vatican.  We passed by St. Peter's Basilica but did not attempt to go inside due to the long line going in.

St. Peter's Basilica

 So, our first stop... Vatican Museum.  The entrance ticket costs Euro16.  It opens at 9AM and last entry at 4PM.  Access to Sistine Chapel is included in the museum ticket.  However, no taking of pictures is allowed.

The way to Vatican Museum

Vatican Museum Tickets

Here are some pictures taken inside the museum...

It was past 4PM when we got out the museum and went back to St. Peter's Basilica.  Seeing that the lines have already thinned out, we took our chance to go inside.

Upon entering the basilica, I noticed that there are no chairs in the middle unlike the usual churches/basilica I see here in the Philippines.  What it has is actually a collection of chapels on the sides of main hall.  Here are some pictures...


The sun was still up when we got out of the basilica so we decided to go to one more place... Castel Sant'Angelo (Wiki site).  We followed the Vatican walls leading to the castle.

Unfortunately, it's already closed when we got there so we just took some pictures outside.

Castel Sant'Angelo

It's already getting dark, so it's time to go back to our place, which is on a different side of the Vatican.  It's about 20-minutes walk.  It gets quiet and dark in this area when the tourists have dispersed.  So, I guess if one is looking for night life, Vatican is not the place for them.