Rome~ Vatican Tour~ July 3rd~ Part One

This morning we had "breakfast in bed" at 8 am.  Croissants, yogurt, fruit juice and coffee!  I decided to go for a run and so I started to run around the Vatican. I got most of the way around following the wall, but around St. Peter's square, the wall drops off. I started to get confused where I was and thought I might actually be in the Vatican so I stopped to ask a police officer. I needed to get back to the Vatican Museum entrance and I could find our hotel. Well, I was hoping I could just continue forward, but he was pointing the opposite direction and since I couldn't really understand him, I decided it was best to back track my route and go around the Vatican the way I came. So, I ran just over four miles. Once I got back and looked at a map, I realized I could have just kept going to make it all the way around. When everyone was ready, we headed across the street to Vatican City.  It was really nice being so close to the Vatican!  We walked around inside the Vatican walls.  We stopped at Savelli's, a religious store and bought some rosaries and scapulars.  After we left, Ryann and I bought dresses at a dress shop.  Then we went to lunch at Caffe Moretto.  It was right across the street from the Vatican.

At 1:30 pm, we met our tour guide, Giovanni, at the entrance to the Vatican Museum.  We went through the museum, Sistene Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica. Because we had several people recommend it, after our tour, we took the metro to San Giovanni In Laterano Catholic Church.  The metro was absolutely packed and we were practically on top of each other.  The ride seemed to take forever, but it was certainly worth it.  I have never experienced anything like that on a train ride anywhere. Dedicated to St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, the Basilica of St. John Lateran (Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano) is the first among the four major basilicas in Rome.  Built by Constantine the Great in the 4th century, San Giovanni in Laterano, was the first church to be built in Rome.  It's the cathedral church of the Diocese of Rome and and the official ecclesiastical seat of the pope.  It's an absolutely beautiful church!  We were able to go to confession there, too.  We also had recommendations to go to "steps of Jerusalem" which we had no idea what they were. When leaving St. John Lateran, a worker pointed us in the right direction. Across the street, was a plain building. Once we got inside, we read all about the steps and all of us except for Neil (who had to take a work-related phone call), crawled up the Jerusalem Stairs.  The Holy Staircase is believed to be the actual steps that Jesus climbed the day He was sentenced to death. Tradition holds that the stairs were ordered sent from Jerusalem to Rome by Saint Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine in 334 A.D.  The stairs are known as the Scala Pilati (Pilate's stairway) or the Scala Sancti (holy stairway).  Today the stairs lead to a chapel known as the Sancta Sanctorum - the "Holiest of Holy."  The Holy Stairs have twenty-eight marble steps that are covered with walnut boards to protect them from wear and tear.  It was an experience I'll never forget. 

After climbing the stairs, we walked back to the metro station.  The metro was still packed.  We made it back to the Vatican area though and found a restaurant.  It was similar to Hosteria Pizzeria and close by. Grandmom, Ryann & I shared caprese salad again and had very good wine.  I think we also shared some type of calzone.  After dinner we walked back to Papa Vista. It was a full day.

 The view outside our window

 Another view from our window

The Bed & Breakfast

 Inside the Vatican walls. St. Peter's Square

Mom & Dad in Vatican City

 Ryann, Mom & Me

 The restaurant we ate lunch at; It was very expensive to eat here, especially if you sat inside to eat as opposed to taking it out.  In doing my research for this post, I learned this restaurant has terrible reviews and an overwhelming majority say it's a ripoff.  If you are ever in Rome, don't eat here!

 I think Mom & Laura shared the sandwich on the right.

Granddad's lunch

Part 2 (Vatican Tour) and Part 3 (San Giovanni in Laterano) coming soon

Revised from Ryann's Blog