Hello there!
Having completed my earlier travel posts on several interesting countries, such as Japan, Maldives, Indonesia and US, it's probably time to share about my recent Europe trip! If you are keen to find out which countries and cities I visited, you can read the quick summary here.
There is actually a back story behind this trip. My friend and I planned this trip a few years back and it was supposed to take place in Apr 2020, but as most of you would know, Covid 19 pandemic came and we had to cancel the trip due to all the travel restrictions and health advisories. So we planned for this trip in 2025 and it finally materialised!
Documenting all my entries for this 2025 Europe Trip:
Turkey - An Istanbul Adventure: From Blue Mosque to Bazaars
France - Exploring The Parisian Icons: Effiel Tower And Arc De Triomphe
France - Wandering Through Paris: The Louvre and Jardin des Tuileries
France - Strolling Through Paris: Notre Dame And The Seine
France - Climbing Montmartre: Basilique du Sacré-Cœur and Panoramic Views
France - Exploring Nice: Promenade des Anglais And City Strolls
France - Climbing Castle Hill: Breathtaking Views and Nice's Coastal Beauty
Monaco - Visiting The Home Of F1 Street Racing!
Monaco - Glamorous Streets, Iconic Sights And F1 Thrills
Italy - Exploring Rome’s Icon: The Colosseum
Italy - Discovering Rome: The Roman Forum
Italy - A Stroll Through Rome: Castel Sant’Angelo, Trevi Fountain, and More!
Vatican City - An Unforgettable Trip To Vatican Museum
Vatican City - The Beautiful Ceilings Of Vatican Museum
Vatican City - A Glimpse Into Sistine Chapel
Before I start this post, I just want to do a shoutout to Worldmappin's current challenge! You can check out the post here. There are some prizes to be won but the most important thing is to have fun!
Vatican City is such an unique and marvellous place to visit! For the final post in Vatican City, we will be heading to the majestic St Peter's Basilica! St. Peter's Basilica is a church of the Italian High Renaissance and I am sure Catholics around the world would surely know the significance of this place.
Before we headed to the actual location, we came across this amazing drawing at the museum. And it gives a sense of how St Peter's Basilica stood out within the surroundings - a tall dome with no tall buildings in the vicinity.
As we made our way towards the entrance, we realised the crowds were really massive. Coincidentally, this was one day after the new Pope was selected so we were not sure if this was the usual crowd size or if this was due to the one off event. After all, St Peter's Basilica is still a popular tourist attraction.
We managed to make our way in after a while. The path to head into the compound was less crowded because most people were actually queueing to get in to the St Peter's Basilica itself. Looking at the crowd size, I think it would probably take at least 4 hours to reach the Basilica itself because the queues snaked all the way from within the compound to outside the entrance.
And soon we realised, another reason for the long snaking queues was another different queue meant for religious visitors. In this photo below, we could see many groups of visitors, holding different flags and symbols, queueing as well. If I am not wrong, these people were probably Catholics and were there to either witness some events or perhaps just to celebrate or soak in the atmosphere after the new Pope was selected. Some of these groups were singing religious songs as well.
Here's a zoomed out photo of the situation. Endless queues after endless queues. And bravo to these dedicated people, for standing under the hot sun for the entire morning. The weather was pretty hot actually.
After capturing some photos, we made our way back to Rome. This was one of the best photos, taken from a distance. As we walked down the street, we also saw security as well as many media personnel as well. Some were even reporting news live as well.
The visit to St Peter’s Basilica wasn't the most exciting one because the crowds were so massive and we just didn't get to (or rather, we didn't want to queue for 4 hours, or even more, to) enter the Basilica. That said, the exterior of the Basilica was really majestic and the atmosphere was so hyped in the area. And that's a unique experience which words can't really describe. With that, our Vatican City visit came to an end! And it's time to head to our next destination!
And that's all I have today! Have you been to Vatican City? Let me know in the comments below!
Finally, thanks for reading my post in the community under World Map Pin!