My day with the Pope.

While we were in Rome, my mom and I decided to visit Vatican City. We got up extra early so we could beat all the crowds for the museum and Sistine Chapel, grabbed some fruit for breakfast and took the bus over. We followed a huge crowd of people and got in line where we thought we were supposed to go. Well the line didn't move for a while, and when it finally did we were ushered into the city, and towards a bunch of folding chairs they had set up... We found a guard and asked where we need to go to get into the museum, and he made a face and said the line we were in was for the audience with the pope. We would have been on like the 4th row to hear him speak, but decided to go to the museum instead. So we took off toward the museum entrance (we had to leave Vatican City and walk clear around the wall to get there.) And we were really bummed out by now because we knew there would be huge lines and it was a waste to wake up early! Turns out, there was no line AT ALL! Everyone was waiting for the pope, and we got right in!
So we went through the museum, and then the Sistine Chapel. They don't let you take pictures in the chapel, but that's only if you get caught. My camera is pretty small, so I got away with a few. While in the chapel, we listened to a podcast by Rick Steves, it was really interesting! He went over each panel of the ceiling, what it means and finally over the front wall.

Very cool. By the time we left the museum, there was a HUGE line outside that went all the way down the street and around the corner.
We went back in to Vatican City and listened to the end of the Pope's audience. Really, we just wanted to go to the Basilica, but it was closed until about an hour after he finished talking. So we waited, and waited, he blessed the crowd, which was pretty cool, but then he had to meet each bishop, they all brought gifts for him I think. After waiting about another half hour he still had about 30 bishops to talk to so we decided to skip the Basilica and go. Overall it was a really cool day. We saw some great exhibits, the Sistine Chapel was amazing, AND not only did I get to see the Pope in person, but I was blessed by him too. Not that it means as much to me as other people I'm sure, it was still a really cool experience!