It’s official; I’ve been in Europe for one month now.  It doesn’t feel like that long, but looking back through all of the blog posts it does seem like quite some time.

Today was definitely a highlight of the summer.  We spent all day at the Vatican.

4 months ago, I had booked Scavi Excavations Tour tickets and this morning we arrived at St. Peter’s Basilica at 9am for our tour.  The tour took us underneath the Basilica into an ancient crypt and we were fortunate enough to see the tomb and remains of St. Peter.  Understandably, no photos were allowed.

After the tour, we climbed the 505 steps to the top of St. Peter’s Basilica Dome.  This gave us an amazing view of Rome.

Next, we went inside the Basilica and saw Michelangelo’s famous sculpture, The Pieta.

It’s hard for me to explain the size and scale of St. Peter’s Basilica.  I believe the easiest way is for you visit the Vatican and see it for yourself.

We ate lunch and hopped in line for the Vatican Museum.  The Museum was somewhat rushed for us because of the hundreds of people in tour groups.  The last stop in the Vatican Museum was the Sistine Chapel.  No photos were allowed inside.  Similar to St. Peter’s Basilica, I highly recommend seeing it for yourself.

That’s all for today.  Tomorrow is our last day in Rome and we are going to try to head to the coast and visit the Pantheon.