Our second full day in Rome was mostly Catholic in nature, we started early with the Vatican Museum, probably one of the greatest collections of art in the world, although oddly enough most religious in nature. Of course, a big part of the museum is the building itself, since it occupies rooms which were once the apartments of popes.
The entrance to the "Musee Vaticani"
Just one of many rooms stuffed with priceless sculptures..this one all animals
Just a small hallway filled with Renaissance tapestries...
My personal favorite...the Map Gallery.
Unfortunately, the most spectacular rooms, completely covered in frescoes by Bellini, were too dark and too crowded for photography. The grand finale of the museum tour is when they allow you into the Sistine Chapel (no photos allowed), where, to be honest, we were initially underwhelmed. For one thing, the place was packed, literally wall-to-wall people, and noisy…the guards kept yelling over the crowd, “Silencio!” Also, it’s dark in there and Michaelangelo’s famous frescoes are way up there. But I had read a tip in a travel guide about bringing binoculars, so I pulled out my little pair of travel binoculars and we found a spot against the wall where we could lean our heads back, and we had a good time studying the details of what is probably history’s greatest work of art by a single person.
After that, it was on to St Peter’s Basilica, so big and overdone that it almost feels emotionless, sort of like the Vegas of the Christian world. Still pretty spectacular though….
Lots of saints out in front...
You could throw a big party in here, that canopy is seven stories tall.
We made the hike up 500 steps to the cupola of the dome, here's the view...
From the base of the dome you can walk on the roof and see the backs of saints.
We’re heading on to Venice, but I’ll have a few more to post on Rome, hopefully tomorrow…
tynestravel 
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