Rome, Rome, Rome, Rome

Today we went to The Vatican! St. Peter's is HUGE and GORGEOUS! It is seriously insanely beautiful. I wish pictures could do it any justice, but it just can't. St. Peter's Cathedral is in the place where Peter (like Peter James and John) was crucified and that is why it is there and named after him. He was crucified upside down because he didn't want to be crucified the way Christ was. My favorite part of the Vatican was The Sistine Chapel, of course. The anticipation going through the whole Vatican Museum to get to the chapel killed me. The Sistine Chapel was so incredible! It was seriously like it was 3D. It was so realistic. It was crazy to remember learning about the Sistine Chapel in elementary school and then being in it staring up at the famous picture of God giving his knowledge to the earth through Adam. (I never realized that behind God the image is in the shape of a brain-interesting huh?) And walking through the rooms of Raphael's paintings...was that a dream? Tomorrow we head to Florence. 

Aleisha and Katie in St. Peter's Square.

St. Peter's.

St. Peter's.

St. Peter's.

St. Peter's dome.

Just kissing an Italian man.

View of Rome from The Vatican Museum.

Apollo Belvedere-the first of Julius II's collection.

When the Vatican first got this sculpture the arm was cut off. They asked
Michaelangelo and Raphael what they thought the arm looked like.
Michaelangelo said it was bent and Raphael said it was probably straight.
They made it straight for almost 200 years until they found the real arm..
which was bent. 

Describing above photo.

Describing above photo.