Nothing had prepared me for the Vatican. We knew we had to go because that's one of the things you do when in Rome: you go see the Vatican. "I'm not Catholic and barely pay attention to any religion, so just how good is this going to be?" I thought. It wasn't good, it was amazeballs!
Kev and I got the name of our guide, Kate, from a vendor friend I've worked with in the past. She raved about how great Kate was and she did not disappoint. The woman knows a ton about the Vatican and it's art (and I suspect she knows about a lot of other art as well) and is able to communicate it in a way that is never boring and always sparks the imagination. If any of you reading this come to Rome and want to see the Vatican, we highly recommend Kate!!!
As Kev mentioned, the crush of humanity was intense. My mouth dropped when Kate told us 35,000 people visit daily. The grounds are beautiful and the art, whether painted directly on walls and ceilings or hung more traditionally (mostly the modern art collection) is breathtaking! And who knew they had modern art in the first place? Certainly not me! :-) Every surface is alive with color and texture, and pattern, and beauty. It can be disorienting at times as one is constantly looking at the ceilings, then at the patterns on the floor, then statues, then... And much like the wonder of the pyramids, which I have not seen, but want to, I found myself thinking, "how did they paint a ceiling that's easily 50 - 60ft off the ground (Sistine Chapel) or a couple hundred (St. Peter's)? How did they get such detail everywhere? How did they create something so glorious?!"
It was a breathtaking experience!
Note: you may want to click on the pics to fully enjoy. They're kind of big.
Kev and I got the name of our guide, Kate, from a vendor friend I've worked with in the past. She raved about how great Kate was and she did not disappoint. The woman knows a ton about the Vatican and it's art (and I suspect she knows about a lot of other art as well) and is able to communicate it in a way that is never boring and always sparks the imagination. If any of you reading this come to Rome and want to see the Vatican, we highly recommend Kate!!!
As Kev mentioned, the crush of humanity was intense. My mouth dropped when Kate told us 35,000 people visit daily. The grounds are beautiful and the art, whether painted directly on walls and ceilings or hung more traditionally (mostly the modern art collection) is breathtaking! And who knew they had modern art in the first place? Certainly not me! :-) Every surface is alive with color and texture, and pattern, and beauty. It can be disorienting at times as one is constantly looking at the ceilings, then at the patterns on the floor, then statues, then... And much like the wonder of the pyramids, which I have not seen, but want to, I found myself thinking, "how did they paint a ceiling that's easily 50 - 60ft off the ground (Sistine Chapel) or a couple hundred (St. Peter's)? How did they get such detail everywhere? How did they create something so glorious?!"
It was a breathtaking experience!
Note: you may want to click on the pics to fully enjoy. They're kind of big.
Fantastic pictures guys. The ceilings and sculptures are amazing. The Italians really duplicated the Vegas casinos very well. 😄
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