Our day at the Vatican City started as we slowly approached the entrance of the Vatican Museum, walking besides the momentous brick walls that towered over us. After a quick bout through the hectic security line and ticket gates, we were officially through.  

The first real attraction of the Museum was the Sphere Within the Sphere, an art piece on display in the main courtyard area. It was a bronze globe which was exposed in certain parts to display the numerous layers inside the globe, which were to represent the vastness of the Christian world. The holes and layers represent the issues that still exist. Although it wasn’t the intended meaning of the piece, the giant globe did remind us that we were in a different country. 

After walking through the courtyard, we entered the first of many corridors that make up the Vatican Museum. We strolled through the first stretch of the Museum which was lined with busts of ancient Roman figures and admired the grand Roman architecture that decorated the hallway. With the quartz pillars, complex floor patterns, magnificent paintings adorning the ceilings, and beautiful golden designs sprinkled throughout, it felt quite clear that we were a long way away from our home back in Spokane, Washington. 

We continued through the museum corridors seeing the many paintings and sculptures that made up the Museum. After seeing the paintings all over the walls and ceilings that depicted historical events, with their magnificent frames, and after putting headphones on and playing some light music for ambiance, it began to truly feel like we were walking through a slideshow of history as we progressed through the Museum. 

Eventually, after a long period of slow progression through the Museum, with lots of pondering and awe at what we were seeing along the way, we finally reached the crown jewel of the Vatican City. Slowly moving through a set of tight hallways and staircases packed tight with people all around us, we had finally made it to the Sistine Chapel. Once we were inside the Sistine Chapel it was very underwhelming. We both thought it would be much bigger than it was. After what we read it seemed like the Chapel would be its own thing and not just a certain part of the Vatican. 

As we looked at the ceiling and walls of it we pictured it much more vibrant than it actually was. Although it was underwhelming, it was very cool to see The Creation of Adam in person and a very large ceiling filled with paintings connected to each other. It is very interesting because this was a very important painting because it symbolizes when God made man. It also was kind of negatively connotated, because as soon as you walk in, there are security telling you not to take pictures or videos and forcing you towards the middle of the room to look up. It seemed like they didn’t want anyone to be there and they were annoyed. There was also a priest in the corner of the Chapel and there were very long lines to wait and get blessed by him. The area where the Sistine Chapel was located was very deep inside the Vatican and did not have any windows so it was very warm inside. It made you want to leave sooner because of how uncomfortable the temperature made you feel. Overall, it is definitely worth seeing, but we think it was not as special as it is written about or talked about. There is a lot that the Vatican had to show and there are definitely other things worth seeing.