Small, smaller, smallest – Syarra

Now we have been to five countries in Europe, on this trip.

• France, which is 643,801 km squared.
• Spain, which is 505,992 km squared.
• Italy, that is 301,318 km squared.
• Portugal, being 91,568 km squared.
• Vatican City which is 0.44 km squared.

France which is not real small, is very small compared to the U.S.A, so that is the “small.”

Italy is almost half the size of France. That is the “smaller.”

And then you might know that the Vatican is the smallest country in the world! That is the “smallest.”

Like Carver's last blogpost, this must be distinctly understood or no good can come from this title.

Now we shall move back in time. To this morning.

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Four people were taking a walk around 8:45. They crossed the street and soon were walking past a line that was so long it turned the corner of the vast Vatican wall beside them. They continued on past. They were now inside a metal gate herding them to the inside of a building. Once inside they walked towards a security booth and, with tickets, they passed through.

Continuing, they stopped once more at a booth, but this one was like the kind at a airport for security. They went straight to an escalator where they separated. One of them got on, the other three went up a long spiral ramp, in which models of boats were in separate showcases. When they all met at the top, they followed the sign towards “Sistine Chapel.” Oh, so much! It was as if all the statues in the world were either there on display or in a closet in that building. The mix of Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Christian beliefs were displayed in many different ways.

Artifacts

Statues

Paintings

 With gold in every corner it makes you wonder how hard it was to build and paint this massive structure. Even the stairs were pretty.

Getting tired they reached “The Sistine Chapel.” Once inside this packed room they talked of stories and artists. Soon they followed the loop back and were outside quickly.

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We had mixed feelings about this visit to the Vatican. It felt like they bought so many artifacts that they could not place them all on display. Though I enjoyed this visit in many ways there were some disappointing parts.