Vatican, Day 6

Our 2nd day in Rome was our last chance to complete our city tour before heading to Barcelona, Spain the following day. As we did not have enough time, we literally did not waste a single minute. So, we woke up early and immediately proceeded to our destination - Vatican - through a taxi hoping we could get there before the queue to St Peter Basilica piles up. Luckily, We reached the Basilica on time when the  queue was still light. The first thing that we did inside was to mount the cupola (dome-like structure) of the Basilica. The peak of the cupola could only be reached through the stairs composed of 320 steep and small steps and a space enough only for a medium-built man like me. Mija, being a claustrophobic, chickened out and stayed at the base of the cupola while I ascended to the highest stairs i have ever climbed in my whole life. I wanted Mija to come with me so she could also see the beauty of Rome viewed from above but no sweet talks could get the fear out of her system. The view from the peak of cupola was spectacular!

Up up to cupola!

Mija was all smile as she reached the 1st stage of the cupola.
She remembered this wall was mentioned
in the book Angels & Demons.

Mija's 1st attempt to climb the
2nd stage (peak) of the cupola.
From this point she backed out.

At first I thought I wouldn't fit here...

Spectacular! Breathtaking! Magnificent!

After descending from the peak we shopped for souvenirs at the cupola souvenir shop. Then we descended to the Tombs of the Popes. Cameras were not allowed inside but I still managed to get away with pictures of the tombs of my favorite Pope John Paul II and other great popes like St. Peter, Pope Paul VI, and Pope John Paul I. After the Tombs of the Popes, we entered St. Peter Basilaca and we took a lot of decent pictures of its magnificent internal structure. On the right wing of the Basilica we saw Michaelangelo's famous sculpture the La Pieta while on its left wing we offered mass for Lola Mary and my two uncles who all passed away late last year. We also heard an italian mass inside.

This is St. Peter's throne

The stunning architecture of
St. Peter Basilica

List of Popes

Basilica's isle

La Pieta

Tomb of Pope Paul VI

Tomb of Pope John Paul I

Tomb of the great John Paul II

St. Peter's Tomb

When we finished touring inside the Basilica we both went to the Vatican Museum whose entrance is a few meters away from the Basilica. Inside the museum was the Sistine Chapel famous for its architecture and its decoration that was frescoed throughout by the greatest Renaissance artists including Michaeangelo, Raphael, Bernini, and Sandro Botticelli. The highlight of the chapel was the ceiling as painted by Michaelangelo and the center piece "Creation of Adam".

Way to the Vatican Museum. Mija paused for a picture-taking and I choreographed her posing.
It would have been perfect if she raised her right arm against the wall ala bikini model. lol 

Adam's Creation - center piece of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

Michaelangelo's masterpice

Looking tired but still managed to smile for a picture

Day 6 was a hectic day for us and we were both exhausted and our feet trembling from fatigue. After reaching our hotel we immediately hit the sack.

Rome, Day 5

Leaving Paris felt like leaving home. We woke up around 4 A.M. to prepare for our trip to Rome, Italy. We departed at 7:10 A.M. via Easy Jet and arrived in Rome at 9 A.M. Our hotel, Residenza Di Ripetta, was just at the corner of Piazza del Popolo. We dropped off our luggage in our rooms, then we took our lunch at a nearby restaurant (luckily we found one that was open in the morning). After eating, we parted with Mark and Mariesse and started our tour since we didn't have much time to tour Rome because we were only supposed to be there for 2 days. We took the bus tour like what we did in Paris, however, it took us a few kilometers walk around the city until we found the tour bus stop (thanks to our unreliable city map from our hotel). We stopped by these breathtaking spots:

1. Piazza del Popolo

2. Castel Sant'Angelo

3. St. Peter Basilica

4. Piazza Venetia

5. Colloseum

6. Roman Forum

7. Piazza Navona

8. Pantheon

9. Trevi Fountain

Believe me that's me,
not Jake "palos" Cuenca

and yes,
this is Mija not Melissa Ricks

Piazza Popolo

Picture perfect: Castel Sant'Angelo
is just outside St. Peter Basilica

The herculian Piazzia Venezia

Roman Forum - Ancient Romans
are the most artistic people

The Colloseum - I thought these things only happen in dreams

inside the colossal Colloseum

Rome's version of Arc de Triomphe -
no picture editor involved. This is exactly how the place
looked like on top of the Colloseum during that time

The Pantheon - we were not able to get inside though
so we just shopped at a Replay shop at the corner

Rome's got talent - this man is producing sound to the tune
of Lady Gaga songs out of these water-filled glasses

Trevi Fountain - after throwing a coin and wishing

The Pope was conducting a mass inside the St. Peter Basilica when we stopped by. The queue going inside, however, seemed endless so Mija and I decided to hear the mass from the square along with thousands of people. When the mass ended, we noticed the people stayed in the square. Our curiosity led us to ask a fellow Filipino from whom we learned that the Pope would come out to give everybody a blessing as a culminating act of the celebration of the feast of the 3 Kings. So, Mija and I stayed until we saw the pope come out from a window in his residence beside the basilica. The Pope remained there for a few minutes waving at us and then finally he gave everyone blessings. He spoke in latin or italian so we did not understand anything he said but just the same, we felt lucky and blessed to have that once-in-a-lifetime experience (which was not at all part of our itinerary). It was an experience we'll surely treasure for the rest of our lives.

In front of St. Peter Basilica

The largest gathering of people I have seen in my life

Hearing the mass from the St. Peter Square

Papa Benedicto!!!

We asked an Italian man to take our picture
and he needed to kneel to capture the Pope at the background.
In turn, I did the same thing capturing a picture of him and his wife.