At the Vatican City

First up in the morning, I headed to the Vatican City to see the St Peter’s Square,  St. Peter’s Basilica and Vatican Museums. I was quite intrigued by The Vatican City. It is kind of in  middle of  the city of Rome, but not part of EU (but they do take Euros though!). It happens to be the smallest country of the world.

St Peter’s Square is a huge place with the obelisk, wonderful columns and statues all around. Don't bother planning a special trip to the square if you're planning to visit the Basilica -- you get to check it out while you're in line! 

First I headed towards the St Peters Basilica. Thankfully, there were almost no crowds (perhaps 9am was too early) . I walked right in. It is  brig and magnificent. The interior must have millions of dollars of statues, paintings, mosaics and marble columns. The main attraction for me was the Michelangelo's Pieta

Thereafter was a visit to the Vatican Museums. It was still early in the day and while there were lots of tourists, I would not call it crowded and luckily I got in with minimal queuing. Full cost was €16. Vatican Museum is absolutely huge, with various different rooms filled with mostly paintings and sculptures.They were all great, with amazing awe inspiring artwork. But, t o be honest, they started to look the same halfway through. Anyways the main attraction obviously being the Sistine Chapel and Raphael Rooms.  If the Sistine Chapel is your main goal, expect to have to walk forever to see it, which they strategically place at the end. 

Apparently photography is not allowed in the Sistine chapel ...but I didn't know till I snapped this shot and few more.

The famous Raphael bits are toward the end, i.e this fresco: