Just Because You Vatican, Doesn’t Mean You Should

Day: 240

Towns / Cities Visited: 154

Countries Visited: 29

Steps Taken Today: 17,207

Steps Taken Around the World: 3,941,304

Our accommodation may have gifted us with an enviable view of the looming dome of St. Peter’s Basilica since we arrived, but it wasn’t until today, some four days into our residence in Rome, that we would finally venture into the world’s smallest country, Vatican City. Now, there are just some attractions in the world so consistently popular that it takes an early start to ensure entry without being swamped by tour groups, at least at the beginning. With that in mind, we, despite my deep-seated dislike for mornings, stepped sleepily out the door at 8:30am. Crossing the colonnade encompassed St. Peter’s square, complete with its 140 saint statues who look over this holy courtyard, we paused briefly behind the swathes of empty seats diligently facing the Pope’s famed balcony, to admire the imposing silhouette of the world’s largest basilica, looking far more like an ornate palace of some showy king than a modest house of god. At the centre of the ovular space sits, yet again, another stolen obelisk from Egypt. Call me crazy, but if I was going to pick something to sit pride of place in front of the home of Christianity, I probably wouldn’t choose a pillar from a time and place which in no way, shape, or form included the religion. Regardless, as loud and contrasting as the architecture is here, we were…