Rome, Day Three: The Vatican & St. Peter's.

What a long, but awesome day!

Frogger and I decided to do the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica today. And because we were on a guided tour, it ran the whole day.

I must say though, doing a guided tour of the Vatican is the way to go.



The last time I was here, The Husband and I just zoomed through the musuem in about two hours. We didn't take in any of the history behind some of the great works of art. And I didn't really learn much... Today I learned lots, including:

• Michelangleo (the master) was gay. "Flamingly gay" according to our tour guide.
• In the Sistine Chapel, the section on the ceiling where Adam and Eve are in the Garden of Eden, Eve was giving fellating Adam. (I swear to God, this is what our tour operator told us!)
• In the section known as "The Last Judgement," the bottom right hand section depicts all the souls being cast into Hell. In one piece, one of the souls is getting "fisted" up the ass by one of the creatures pulling him down into Hell. (Apparently, Michelangelo didn't think much of the Church.)
• Also in The Last Judgement, there is a section where one of the bishops Michelangelo didn't like during his day is depicted as being cast into Hell, and a snake is biting is crotch thing.

It wasn't all about Michelangelo... There was plenty of other history. But the tour opertor company, Through Eternity, is really good. Our tour opertor, Ian Sumpter, was a super cool young fellow from Liverpool. He's been doing the tours for the past year and a half... But he is also an archaeologist. So for five weeks out of the year, he is digging in ruins.

After the Vatican, we walked over to St. Peter's...


(Outside)


(Inside)

... To visit St. Peter's tomb.



I loved the stained glass window with the dove, which is a symbol for the Holy Spirit.



And I was able to snap a few photos of the different Popes that lie in state in St. Peter's.

The Vatican and St. Peter's is definitely an all-day thing. The Vatican part alone lasted about four hours, which doesn't include the 45 minutes we stood in line to get into the Vatican, or the hour lunch we took halfway through the day.