Vatican

Vatican City, officially the State of the Vatican City, not Italy but it's own country. It is a landlocked city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome. It is approximately 110 acres, and with a population of around 900, it is the smallest country in the world by both area and population. Our tour guide Max told us that this country holds three records, #1 smallest country #2 highest crime rate for a country & #3 lowest birthrate... Watch your pockets at the Vatican.
The Vatican City is a city-state that came into existence in 1929. Italian and Latin are the two main languages. Ruled by the bishop of Rome-- the Pope. The Popes have resided in the area that in 1929 became the Vatican City since 1377. The main entrance is no longer used but here pictured is the amazing circular staircase up to the Vatican Museum. I don't remember what was so amazing about the design of the stairs but something was...

Next shows the top of the Dome of St. Peter's Basilica. We really needed two days at the Vatican, I guess you can go to the very top and look out. We didn't. But this is a nice view from the gardens.

I don't think I can even describe all the amazing information and history that we were told here. Everything was amazing, the stories, the history... Amazing. In this picture you can see a small water fountain and people filling up their water bottles. Rome has amazing water and they have these fountains located all around town. The water was really good.