Alberto, our bus driver that has been with us for the entire trip, put the pedal to medal and got us to Rome (or Roma as the locals call it) in about 3 1/2 hours. 

 

Our first stop was to the Vatican! Which technically isn't in Rome, but is in Vatican City. Once again, it paid off to be in a big group, because we got to go right past all of the long lines and go directly to the group entrance! 

 

Before we got off the bus Jaclyn warned us that there were going to be a lot of people at the Vatican...but there were A LOT OF PEOPLE!! Apparently there are 32,000 visitors a day (yes, in one single day) to the Vatican, and we were lucky enough to be a small part of that. 

 

We once again got a local tour guide, Isabella, who led us around the Vatican. After going through the Vatican museum, we finally made it to the Sistine Chapel. Inside, you must have your shoulders and knees covered, and you can't talk or take pictures. So it is truly a time to live in the moment. 

 

After marveling at the beautiful artwork of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, we moved on to St. Peter's Basilica - the largest church building in the world. This is another wonder in itself, and someplace you could spend hours just soaking everything in. 

 

The entire time through the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica it was pretty difficult to keep all 30 of us in the same location, but Jaclyn did a great job of keeping us in line...and making sure we finished the tour with the same number that we started with!

 

Remember back to the first day when Jaclyn told us to wake up with a smile and it would be a beautiful day? Well I guess only 29 of us  were smiling this morning because it rained during our time at the Vatican...but boy was it welcome! After the rain, it dropped about 15 degrees and made it much more enjoyable! 

 

After getting the last of the pictures at the Vatican it was off to the hotel to check in and enjoy the evening in our new home away from home!