Next morning the plan was to meet in this piazza for our Vatican walking
tour.
But as luck would have it, there was this massive
protest going on. As a result, the
city traffic was gridlocked and the underground wasn't in operation. It
took the better part
of an hour to find the tour guide, and once we did we had to walk to our
walking tour.
It
took us awhile to discern what the protest was all about, but
we finally figured it out. The new Vin Diesel movie had just opened...
After
about an hour's hike we arrived at the Bridge of Angels, guarded here
by
Saints Peter and Paul. That fortress in the background is where the Popes
run
to when the city gets attacked.
Here's today's tour guide. Not too sure of his
name anymore, but let's call him... Steve.
One
of the angels with the dome of St. Peter's behind.
This
angel is one of Bernini's. He's the guy that did ALOT of the masterpieces
in this area.
And
boom. You cross that street and you're officially in Vatican City.
Look, I'm in Italy! Look, I'm in the Vatican! Look,
I'm in Italy! Look,
I'm in the Vatican!
Steve
explains the intricacies of the Bernini Colonnade. Faith listens intently.
The
colonnade that surrounds St. Peter's square is adorned by hundreds
of statues of saints and martyrs. All of them were done by Bernini and
his school.
Oh
yeah, takin a little Tenacious D in to the Pope.
THAT'S
LEVITATION, HOLMES.
Making
our way past the presentation area toward St. Peter's Basillica.
And there we were, inside this immense church. To
give an idea how large this
place is, you can barely make out some gold lettering running horizontally
right
beneath the light source in the center there... each of those letters
is 6 ft. tall.
