The Sprayberries

Basilica di San Pietro (Saint Peter's Basilica)
[tyson]

Wow. There's not a lot I can say to really describe how enormous that place is. First of all you can't even get in if you're wearing shorts, a tank top, or a short skirt. They have a little hut you have to pass through with a couple of guards turning away the faithful yet scantily clad throngs. Of course before you even get to the fashion police you have to pass through an airport style metal detector and x-ray security checkpoint complete with armed guards and pat downs.

Once through the security you can enter the Basilica proper and it simply takes your breath away. So many statues, paintings, the dome itself, the foot of St. Peter, etc. We got a great picture of Ty kneeling on the spot (big red marble circle) where Charlemagne was crowned. We're not really big art history buffs but even so it was amazing to see all these serious religious relics.

That was yesterday. This morning we checked out the Piazza de Spagna and the house where John Keats died (for all you Hyperion fans out there it was kind of a surreal experience, we kept expecting to see the Shrike) as well as the famous shopping steets nearby. JD is still recovering a bit from her ordeal (see last post) so we're calling a siesta till this evening when we'll go back out for the big Italy-France game. We're solidly rooting for France so we found a Scottish bar to watch the game in. :)

Tomorrow we'll head for our last hotel in the ancient port city of Ostia Antica. Should be interesting. More to come on the celebrations (or lack thereof) following the game tonight.