Scavi Tour of St. Peter's

Trip Start Nov 14, 2007
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Trip End Nov 27, 2007


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Sunday, November 25, 2007

Our day started with a walk to the Vatican as Danielle had booked a Scavi Tour of the burial grounds beneath St. Peter's.  On our way over we stopped to eat some lunch at a cafe near the Vatican and of course, since it was so close it was pretty much a tourist trap as things were a little bit expensive.  Our timing was good as after we had placed our order it began to rain at a pretty good pace.  While we ate our meal, the rain eventually subsided and after paying we began our walk to the Vatican.

The images I've seen of the whole complex was nothing compared to being in the area in person.  The crowds were lined up to go into the bascilica wrapping almost in a full circle around the colonnade.  We explored the area stopping off at the Post Office to mail a postcard that Stacey had for us and looking in the gift shop at the various rosaries that were there.  They were ordaining the new cardinals as well so that made for a special occasion The Approach
The Approach
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Our Scavi Tour began in an interesting fashion, the gate where we were suppose to enter had a large crowd gathered around it.  Threading our way through the people we approached the Swiss Guard with our paperwork and were allowed to pass.  In a way it was somewhat gratifying knowing that we did not have to wait in the big crowd.  We only had to wait 15 minutes or so before our group was complete and our tour guide led us into the depths of St. Peter.  There was a little bit of claustrophobia as the walls were pretty narrow and the lighting was somewhat dim but there were areas where the crypts had opened up.  Our tour guide was difficult to understand at first, but as the tour proceeded it became a little bit easier to understand her.  The tour itself was a little bit more than an hour and after we left the tour area, we were able to get into St. Peter's to look around.
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