St. Peter's Basilica and our afternoon in Rome-by Ben

Text by Ben, photos by Kelli unless noted

Michael, Tellier and Ben in the Piazza Navona

After finishing with the Vatican tour and a short lunch break, the trip leaders quickly led us to get into line for the Saint Peters Basilica. At first we were all wondering why our teachers were so rushed to get in line, but as we trudged along we quickly realized that five minutes delaying our entrance into that line would have meant 30 more waiting in it.

Outside St. Peter's Basilica

When we finally passed through security and entered the church, the first thing my eyes went to was the back of the church as I realized the sheer size of the building.

St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica

 As I strained to see the detailing in the massive ceiling I recognized that it was time to get in line to climb up to the top of the dome. The group that was interested walked through the underground area filled with the tombs of popes and saints and then got in line on the other side. When we began the climb, it quickly became evident that these stairs (512 to be precise) would be no walk in the park. While we hiked, I kept wishing I had decided to put on socks, but I brushed away those thoughts when we reached the top of the interior dome. Looking at the decoration so closely really put the amount of effort and delicacy used for it into perspective. We spent a good amount of time viewing that, but as we explored we soon found that this platform we were on wasn't even the highest that we could go. Soon after we had started to continue our climb, we noticed how the hallway slanted as we traveled on in between the dome and a thin tile layer separating us from the blue sky outside. When we reached the viewing area from the top of the dome however, the view of Rome that we had blew everyone away. Because the basilica is the tallest building in the city you can see for miles in every direction.  

The view from the top of the dome (Photo by Greg)

We enjoyed that view for a long time, but when we finally got to the bottom, I knew I was done for the day. My feet hurt from the stairs and I really just didn't feel like doing any more walking. I kept going though, and soon we found ourselves in the Pantheon.  

Inside the Pantheon

After some free time exploring the shops in the surrounding area, we are dinner in a fantastic Italian Restaurant that Sarah knew from when she lived in Rome as a student. 

The pizza oven at Navona Notte Restaurant

Michael enjoys his pizza that has just arrived

Finally we caught the subway to eventually find our beds.