A Morning In Rome
Monday the 4th we moved to Rome. Our house is close to everything. Tuesday, the 5th we went into the city and visited St. Peter's Basilica beside where the Pope lives. We rode the subway to the closest stop to the cathedral, as we rode I kept looking at the interesting warning stickers on the doors until we finally got there, and started walking.
At the cathedral we went through a security line and stepped inside. We also listened to a Rick Steve's audio guide about the place. It is the largest cathedral I've ever seen, standing in the center it is the length of a football field to the circular window on the other end. In the center of the window is a gold colored dove, I do not know if it is actually gold but it looks that way, and since St. Peters is rich and one of largest cathedrals in the world, I guess it might be gold. [In the picture below the dove is in the center circle of the golden sun-like window. The light coming through the window obscured the dove so that you cannot see it]
The dove is also very big. It is wider then your are tall but from looking at it you can not see that. Everything in St. Peters is big but it is so hard to tell. There are plenty of baby angels 'holding' up pictures and they are actually adult size.
The main alter almost blocking the dove is big too, only the Pope uses that alter. The thing that makes the main alter stand out is the big bronze sculpted roof on top of it and above it the roof is an elaborate dome made by Michelangelo; well, he only got as far as the base of it when he died so another man had to finish it. The part made by Michelangelo is the base, a circle all around with a string of windows. Then he died and another man finished it by building it the whole way up. Above the windows he painted the saints all around including Mary and Jesus and at the top, God the Father overseeing them all even though God the Son, Jesus, was already painted with Mary and the Saints.
In front of that alter is a place were you can look down. There is nothing down there although below it is where Peter's remains lay. Nobody is sure they are Peter's bones, the Pope says, "Definitely, maybe." He is probably right. Beyond the main alter is the alter used for services on Sundays. After wandering around awhile, we walked to a museum that is the entrance to the Sistene chapel. When we got there Mom, Betsy, and Jack decided to go in, and Dad, Landon, and I went home. On the way home we went by way of the grocery store. It was closed, so we continued on to a place where we could get back on to our street. On the way there we found a bakery and got some hot dog sandwiches. Continuing on we passed some trash bins where someone had thrown a bag of Legos that had burst out onto the ground, Landon and I gathered the spoils. When we got home we ate our hot dogs. They were the best hot dog sandwiches I had ever tasted. Landon and I played Legos for the rest of the day.
