We visited the grottoes just under the main floor of St. Peter's. This is the area where all of the popes are buried. Here is the latest addition: Pope John Paul II who died last year.

Many Popes from years past had intricately carved coffin lids. Many of them had effigies of the popes who were buried within.

Me outside St. Peter's at night.

Me with an ancient Roman statue of Hercules.

Perseus holding Medusa's head.

The Laocoon, an incredible feat of Roman sculpture.

Me "studying" at the School of Athens.

A beautiful pieta by Van Gogh. It was in the modern art section of the Vatican Museums. I guess compared to everything else it is modern.

Me with _______________

Me with a Caravaggio.

Me at the Vatican Museums

Teri and I climbed the dome to the top of St. Peter's. The dome is a double dome, and in order to climb it you have to climb between the domes. I am standing straight up, but the walls are curving.

Me at the top of St. Peter's looking down on the square. It was COLD!

The end of the nave and St. Peter's Square from the top of the dome. Remember those 30-foot statues? Now you are looking at the back of them. You can also see people walking around on the roof of the church, which will give you a great comparison of the size.

Me at the Pantheon. It is one of the oldest standing structures in the world that is still in use. It has been in continuous use since the times of the ancient Romans and now it is a Roman Catholic church.

Guess who is buried inside the Pantheon. Go ahead... guess. I bet you would never suspect that Raphael, THE Raphael, the renaissance painter, is buried inside. Here is his grave.

CLICK HERE TO SEE A PANORAMIC VIEW OF THE INSIDE OF THE PANTHEON

At the center of the dome of the Pantheon is a hole called The Oculus.

Me and Teri at the famous Trevi Fountains.

Me at Trajan's Column

Trajan's Column has one long continuous relief sculpture that spirals up the body of the column. It depicts events from the Dacian wars.

Teri is being a good tourist and is checking her map.

The Roman Forum, where many famous Roman philosophers preached.

Me with the remains of the gigantic statue of Constantine.

Tickle, tickle.

Me with the famous statue of Romulus and Remus suckling the she-wolf. Rome is named after Romulus.

Me doing my best impersonation of an arch.

CLICK HERE TO SEE A PANORAMIC SHOT OF CONSTANTINE'S BASILICA

Me with Constantine's Arch. The colosseum is in the background.

Roman "guards" outside The Colisseum.

The interior of the Colisseum. The maze-like pit is where slaves and wild animals were kept before they were released onto the stage (which has been partially reconstructed).

Me inside the Colosseum.

Me with the Colisseum.

One of the tiny little micro cars that zoom down the streets of Rome.

San Giovanni in Laterano. While St. Peter's is the largest church in Rome, it isn't the cathedral of Rome. A church is only a cathedral if it is a seat for a bishop. The Pope is the bishop of Rome and this is where his seat is.

The interior of San Giovanni. All the way at the front is a tower over the altar. Inside are the skulls of St. Peter and St. Paul.

The tower. There are two statues inside of St. Peter and St. Paul.

A closer picture of the statues.

Just above the two statues was a beautiful royal blue ceiling with gold stars painted on it.

The bishop's seat at San Giovanni.

San Giovanni in Laterano has a beautiful cloister with these famous columns that we studied in Art History in college.

Absolutely beautiful.

I never knew there was mosaic work on some of the columns.