You Never Can Tell What You'll Find: The Pope

Wandering through Rome, as soon we we reach any elevation, the Vatican is in site.  It looks far from the magnificant Villa Borghese Park, but is only about 3km (1.9 miles) away, a 40 minute walk through Rome.

View of the Vatican from Villa Borghese Park

As we walk back to our hotel in the general direction of the Vatican, we see what appears to be a shortcut, down a street that heads in the right general direction.  At the end of the block,  there are a few policemen and an X-ray machine and metal detector, similar to an airport entry, at the passageway into the next courtyard.  It looks odd, but is still in the right general direction and we go through.

On the other side, we enter the courtyard from the side and find a large crowd.  Looking to our left, we realize we have entered St. Peter’s Square and there is the Pope, out in the square.  We later hear that he is greeting pilgrims from afar.

 We walk into the courtyard, only to find.

We can only hang around in the back for a bit, but it is thrilling to realize that we can just stumble on/into something like this.

View from the back

Keep wandering!