Vatican City

 

     We just went to Italy for vacation. No, my son with autism did not go! He got spoiled by his Mamaw and Papaw (my parents) for a week and a half. We went with another couple.

     Vatican City has been a place I've wanted to go for years, and I finally went! It was a nice day for standing in line in St. Peter's Square. I checked out a gift shop that confirmed I can't afford mosaics, but I did buy a snow globe of Pope Francis in his Popemobile for my son. It lights up and changes colors. He was far more interested in the chocolate I brought back for him.

     St. Peter's Basilica is free, but you have to stand in a line that wraps all the way around the Square. In the meantime there are beggers making their rounds and guys selling selfie sticks. One beggar woman went down the line, holding a cup for coins, bent over at nearly 90 degrees. My friend Ann later saw that same woman cross the Square, pass through some of the pillars, and then stand straight up and go on her merry way. Guess she thought no one was paying attention!

     So we got into the Basilica and it's HUGE. Awe-inspiringly huge. There's a joke that when Pope John Paul II died and went to heaven, he wasn't impressed with heaven because The Vatican is so extravagant, right down to the papal apartments. Pope Francis doesn't live in those fancy-shmancy apartments by the way. If Diana was "the people's princess" then Pope Francis is 'the people's Pope'. The Pope is both head of the Catholic Church and king of Vatican City, the smallest country in the world. Please read this to learn all about the Pope & King thing, it's very interesting: 

http://www.cgpgrey.com/blog/vatican-city-explained

     I love the videos this guy makes, he does a TON of research. He talks really fast in his videos, so I have to watch them a few times each.

     If you watched or read the links above then you know what The Holy See is. Now, I've been in many churches of many denominations, and some of very plain, some are ornate, some feel like a church, some are clearly churches meeting in a strip mall (usually temporarily while they get a building). Here's the catch with St. Peter's Basilica--it doesn't feel like a church. It feels like a museum to the papacy, or a beautiful, historical tour through The Holy See.

     We were all disappointed. 

     Honestly, I nearly had a deeper religious experience with some of the food I ate while in Italy. There was a church in Venice that I had a wonderful time praying at, Chiesa degli Scalzi. Somehow I didn't get any photos of that church though. I took some photos on my iPhone just so I had them so send via Facebook messenger to family members. So here's one of St. Peter's Basicila (the large wooden structure that appears to be at the front is not at the front, there's another 1/4 of the church beyond that!):

     Beautiful mosaic work

     This is Peter, originally named Simon but renamed Peter by Jesus. Peter is considered to be the very first Pope. I thought this was a statue of Jesus at first. Saints are depicted with halos because of their obedience to God and godly lives. This is gorgeous mosaic work!

     The Pieta

     The tour to go to the Sistine Chapel costs about 12 Euro. This shot of looking straight up a door gives an idea the scale of these buildings. I'm 5'4".

     The Sistine Chapel itself felt much more like a church, as it contained artwork depicting Jesus Christ (instead of Popes, like in the Basilica). Photos are not permitted there, and there are several uniformed men who specifically tell you not to take a picture if they see with you with a large, expensive camera around your neck or your cell phone out. They also regularly shush the crowd. This shushing was common in every church we visited. The Sistine Chapel isn't as big as movies and such make it appear to be. The iconic painting of God reaching out His finger to touch Adam, who is mostly reaching back but hesitating, isn't as big as you would think either. The entire ceiling is amazing anyway. I really think those churches should have lounge chairs that lay back so visitors can admire the ceiling without killing our necks. I'd pay a Euro for five minutes laying down just to look! So now pics from the Sistine Chapel, but here's a couple of tapestries along the tour:

So I read a (heartbreaking) story about a baby born with SMA named Avery. At birth her parents were told she had 18 months to live tops. So they made her a bucket list. It included things like 'draw on the walls', 'have a tea party', and 'celebrate my half birthday'. She died at the end of April, just after her half birthday. But it got me thinking: why do we wait until we have an obvious expiration date to decide what we really want to do? We need to start sooner, people! We gotta start while we're young enough and healthy enough to do this stuff. 

So here's what I have so far on my bucket list.

Skydive (tandem jump) May 31, 2014! 
Go to the movies alone (it's a confidence thing) Saw The Hobbit: Battle of the 5 Armies 2/22/15
Get highlights in my hair 7/11/2013 I got copperish-red lowlights  & 5/22/14 highlights!
Go on a hot-air balloon ride (maybe wearing Depends)
Take my son to the beach (June 29, 2012)
Go canoeing or kayaking (as a rower, I was in a canoe as a little girl but don't remember it)
Go to Hawaii or somewhere tropical (with a pound of bug repellent) for vacation
Go to the National Archives (9/28/2012)
Go to the National Cathedral
Go to the Jefferson, Washington, and Lincoln monuments(9/28/2012)
Go to the Holocaust museum (9/27/1012)
Tour the White House (10/2/2012)
Go to Italy (scheduled for March, 2015!!) Went March 8th-16th, 2015
Go to Germany and see Schloss Neuschwannstein (that's the castle on which they based Sleeping Beauty's castle)
Shoot a handgun at a shooting range (August 15, 2013)
Learn how to climb a tree (this is influenced by the Hunger Games books)
Do archery again (
Make my own clotted cream (because homemade whipped cream is NOT the same thing)
Paint a room (May 28, 2012)
Jog a mile
Get a facial (9/7/2012)
Plant a tree
Have a garden that doesn't consist of weeds
Take dance lessons (like ballroom)
Do a backbend and/or the splits (I have this thing about being somewhat in shape)
Buy a lottery ticket (won $5 today on my annual birthday lottery ticket!--May 28, 2012) (Won $25 on my 32nd birthday ticket 5/28/2013)
Learn about spiders and snakes (because knowledge is power and they both scare the dickens outta me)
Polar Bear Plunge! January 4, 2014, the ocean was 40 degrees!
Solve a Rubik's cube (April 18th, 2015)

I know I will continue to add to this list (because as of today, I'm only 31) as I cross things off and think of new stuff and my tastes change. The list consists of things that are huge deal things and more mundane stuff, obviously, because marking little things off the list helps me feel I'm accomplishing things. Whenever I make a to-do list I like to include ridiculously easy things or even something I've already done, just for the satisfaction of crossing that item off the list. It's like building up momentum.

So here I go.