St. Peter's Basilica 1

St. Peter's Basilica 1

During our trip to Rome we had three hours to explore on our own. I've already shared photos that I took in the Old City including those of the three churches I shared over the past week. When the tour resumed, we headed towards St. Peter's Basilica, the largest church in the world.

Today's photos are an attempt to show you the size of this church as well as to share my feelings about the visit. We were told that our cruise line had special access and wouldn't have to wait as long as those in the regular line. Even though, we still lined up for nearly an hour to get inside the church. Fortunately we were in the shade whereas the others had to line up in the blazing sun (it was nearly 100° F). The first photo shows our "special" line. As you can see, there were many tour groups waiting to see the inside of the church. The second photo shows the long line of people waiting in St. Peter's Square.

The third photo shows the outside of the church taken after we passed through security and had our bags scanned. When I finally got to the steps I took a photograph looking out towards St. Peter's Square. This view will give you an idea of how big it is.

We were waiting in the entrance for another while as the tour guide told us about some of the art on display there. I photographed the ceiling and one of the doors and a few that show how many people were coming and going. Those of you who live in large urban areas may not have noticed the crowds, but there were more people in the entrance alone than live in my town. It was next to impossible to make a photograph without people walking in front of, or walking into, me. I took a few photos but as soon as I stepped inside the door and looked through the viewfinder, a security guard told me I couldn't stop there and to move on.

Everyone in our group (around 70 people) had a headset and receiver so we could hear what the tour guide was saying. Because I was trying to make a few photos, I used to fall behind then had to catch up in order to avoid getting separated. To be honest, I hardly remember a thing she said. After a while I gave up taking photos because of the crowds and the frustration of not being able to take enough time to make the photos I wanted. For the next few days I will share the rest of the images I took inside St. Peter's Basilica.

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