After the Vatican Museums, the next stop on the agenda was St Peter's Basilica. Before heading to St Peter's, we did stop to rest our weary feet and squeeze in a couple of rounds of pasta. (Literally... I'll explain later.)

Our mission for St Peter's was to conquer the dome. Reputedly the largest dome in the world, I definitely wasn't going to let it beat me. We caught the lift up the first two hundred stairs and then climbed the remaining 300 or so. In the end it wasn't that difficult at all. I must be getting used to climbing objects. Although, I still don't like the going round and round and round bit of the spiral staircases. There was also a passage way on the climb which was a bit disorientating. We were walking in the space between the outer dome and the inner dome. The walls were curving away and we were trying to walk upright. Sometimes you just have to close your eyes and put one foot in front of the other.

My main impression of the viewing gallery at the top is of congestion. It's a bit hard to appreciate the outlook from the top when you have to elbow your way through a pack of people just to get to the balcony edge. The view of St Peter's square is impressive though. It's not until you view it from this angle that you realise just how big it is. I can imagine it jam-packed full of people when the Pope makes an appearance.

The climb down finishes in the church itself. I was a bit overwhelmed by the size of the basilica. It's huge! Although, it's no longer the largest church in the world. It did hold that title for a long time. However, it has now been outstripped by the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro in Cote d'Ivoire.


More photos on Flickr...