VATICAN MUSEUMS

We had purchased tickets for the Vatican on-line so we didn't have to wait in line. Of all the pre-planning we did, this was one of the best pre-purchases of the trip! There was a very long line of people and we were allowed to walk right up front, saving us a ton of time. I even got a "kudos on the tickets mom" from our oldest daughter. :) 

We didn't have nearly enough time to really experience the Vatican. The displays and the rooms were incredibly beautiful but at times there were so many people that we weren't allowed the time or the space to truly take in the beauty of it all. We felt a bit pressed for time but still enjoyed it very much. Again, hindsight is 20/20 but if I had to do it over, we would definitely allow more time for this visit. 

  
Obviously this is one of the most visited places in Rome so there were enormous amounts of people in certain areas which caused frequent bottlenecks of tourists. That, along with the fact we had to keep an eye on each other in fear of getting lost in the crowds, made it difficult to really appreciate all that was around us at times. It's the kind of place that you'd like to savour a bit more, but really not possible with the huge number of tourists passing through. At one point a security guard kept hollering, "Keep moving! Don't stop!". Took away from the experience a little bit. *ha*

 The  immensity of the Vatican and the collections of art left me a bit in awe. So many of the world's cultural and religious artifacts and collections right in front of my eyes. It was a bit surreal to acknowledge what I was seeing; Roman history, Egyptian tablets, paintings, sculptures, maps and artist's creations beyond imagination.

The ceilings were seriously spectacular.