Before Entering Vatican City
It was an unusually cold day. As soon as we arrived at Vatican City, what caught our eyes was… an enormous line. And they said this was on the light side. That day we had to wait outside shivering for an hour and a half.
Vatican City is inside Rome but a papal state of its own, the smallest country in the world at only 43 hectares. It is surrounded by high walls and is also where Jesus’s disciple Peter is buried. (That is why Catholics “enshrine” Peter as the first pope.) Because Vatican citizens are all clergy, the country has no birth rate, only a death rate, and all Vatican citizens hold two or more nationalities.
Stone carvings on the Vatican walls.
At the Vatican entrance stood statues of Michelangelo (left) and Raphael (right). Add Leonardo da Vinci, and these were the representative artists of the era. Their love triangle is still a fascinating story to hear.
A fat pigeon… Back home pigeons are chubby too… Italian pigeons are plump as well… The difference is that here, unlike back home, people do not dislike pigeons… they are a symbol of peace, after all… This pigeon was so fat it could not fit through the gap and was stuck there alone, struggling for a long time.
Still, the pigeon finally got in after much struggle… Watching the pigeon go in… Hyeoncheol said, “How will that pigeon get out? Won’t it starve to death, unable to come out?”… and I said… “When it loses weight, it will come back out.”
Small as it is, it is a country inside Italy… but you still go through a simple immigration check to enter… That day we paid a whopping 14 euros for admission, plus 20 euros for the guided tour! 34 euros total… with food, easily 50 euros?
This is the ticket!
Shivering in the cold before entering the Vatican… me, Ingyeong, Seungdo.
Seungdo, Ingyeong, me… plus Doyeon oppa as a bonus… It was so cold…
Bundled up completely because of the cold, all round and puffy.
Prices, hours and details in this post are from our visit in February 2008 and may have changed, so check the latest information before you go.