"This is where Jesus lives, right?"

We went to the church of all churches today -- the Vatican. My main concern about going to the Vatican was not about being a half-Jewish/not even close to Catholic girl but was simply hoping that the other tourists in the Vatican weren't jerks when we were all so close to God...

I don't think people really cared where they were in relation to God because they were just as obnoxious as always and no one seemed to appreciate when I stated that I shouldn't have to wait in line because I am, after all, one of God's chosen people whether the Catholic church admits it or not. I think I will have to come back to Europe just so I can teach everyone the concept of personal space and how to apologize after you elbow someone (me) in the head.

It was actually really hard to find our way around the Vatican when we first got there because they had really poor signage; when my mom commented on this, I said that it was done on purpose because God works in mysterious ways... [this is where my mom rolled her eyes -- a maneuver she repeated frequently as I continued to make unfortunate, yet entirely harmless, religion-based jokes]

If you ever find yourself at the Vatican, I highly suggest booking your tour of the museum/Sistine Chapel online like we did because it meant we could sleep in this morning and happily pass everyone else who was stuck in line. Booking online didn't spare us all of the drama though -- we were big nerdburgers and also pre-booked the audio tour, which would have been great if they'd given us the right tickets when we first got there, instead we had to run up and down a whole bunch of stairs and argue with a lot of people who were convinced that they knew what we were trying to say before we'd even started talking until we could finally get our guides and start our tour. During this fiasco, my mom made a joke worthy of me and said "If I die in the Vatican, do I go to Heaven faster?" Thankfully, we did not find that out.

All of the art in the Vatican is incredible, but people are still awkward, so it was often crowded and uncomfortable. After you've gotten through/survived the Vatican museum, you get to the reason why 99% of the people are there -- the Sistine Chapel.

Ceiling to floor of Michelangelo/Renaissance perfection, the Sistine Chapel is glorious. With the audio guide, I got to hear all sorts of things about Michelangelo's Last Judgment and although the facts were rather dry and it felt like it would never end, I learned a lot and really got to appreciate what I was seeing.

We also visited St. Peter's Basilica. And I had thought I was churched-out... This place was unlike any of the other churches I've visited in the past three weeks or ever and while I still haven't decided what my favorite church is, this one is a contender. While each church I've visited has been spectacular in its own way, I felt like I could stay in St. Peter's for days and still not see everything.

Also after hunting through literally all of Rome for postage stamps and coming up empty, I was able to buy them at the Vatican so my mail is now Pope approved!

And now, a moment of silence as this is the last day of the trip and I must start my big girl life when I get home tomorrow. Or I could just run away in the middle of the night and assume a new identity and stay in Europe forever which is a serious possibility.