On top of the world (aka St Peter's)!

Today was our final for the engineering class in the morning and after lunch a group of us headed off to finally see the inside of St Peter's and to climb to the top of the cupola (dome).

A view of the dome 320 steps up. Only 231 more to go!

views from the top!

A view of the Vatican museums to the right.

the Vatican gardens

we could see our apt building from the top!!

inscription on the side of the cupola

The papal apartments (with the green roof) are where we saw the pope from a couple of days ago. Now he's off on vacation for the month.

a beautiful fountain in the gardens

the Apostolic Palace with the crest on the lawn.

You can actually walk around a bit on the top of the church before climbing all the way up. These are some pictures from our way back down.

These are the statues you can see from the front of St Peter's, watching over the square.

Needless to say, as great as the views from up top were, the magnificence of the interior is even more breathtaking. I didn't take pictures on the inside, but besides the fact that almost every inch is decorated and filled with sculptures, frescoes, and gilded inscriptions there are many chapels to see during your walk up the nave. The baldachin over the altar sculpted by Bernini, St Peter's tomb, Michelangelo's Pieta (which I was really excited to see) and the tombs of many important popes, including Pope John Paul II are some of the most impressive and special features of the basilica. A place definitely worth coming back to.