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Hey fellow adventurers! I’m sorry about not posting on Wednesday. I actually was summoned to the courthouse for jury duty. Fun! I know. Actually, a lot of my fellow juror members strangely enough expressed excitement to be there. And I was picked to be on a jury but it only lasted a couple days so now I’m writing again! I’m posting two blogs today since I’ve only posted one this week. So here it is!

I wasn’t originally planning on doing a food post since Vatican City is so small that it doesn’t have any food that it’s known for. There isn’t even  that many restaurants in Vatican City. As I’ve stated previously, there are a couple pizzerias and a few coffee shops in Vatican City. But I recently read that if Pope Francis could have one wish it would be to eat at a pizzeria without anyone recognizing him. Although he loves being Pope, it does come with some safety restrictions. That in mind, my husband and I decided to go to a pizzeria last night in honor of the Pope’s wish. Plus, it was an excuse to eat pizza. I love pizza as much as the Pope does apparently: A LOT!

We went to Pizzeria Luigi in North Park. Neither my husband or I had ever been there before. They have AMAZING pizza!!! 5/5 stars! If you live in San Diego, check it out! It’s worth it.

And then we decided, this meal just wouldn’t be complete without some yummy gelato so we went to a gelato restaurant too! (All in honor of the Pope, of course.)

If you want to know more about Pope Francis, click here: http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-popes-likes-dislike-daily-routine-and-favorite-foods-2015-9. It talks about his likes, dislikes and daily routine. If you’re interested in what the Pope eats, watch the video below! It talks about his farm! They even make olive oil!

Anyways, I hope you guys had a good week! Look forward to writing for you on Monday! Thank you so much for reading! And as always, until our next adventure!

Hey fellow adventurers! This is a fun post that I was not expecting to write when I chose to write about Vatican City this month, but I’m glad that I can. Vatican City, like many European countries, loves soccer! Vatican City even has its own (horrible) national soccer team! The only ones that are allowed to join though, are members of the Swiss guard and museum guards. That makes it very hard to meet up and practice, none-the-less compete. They are one of the only national teams in the world that are not a member of FIFA (The Fédération Internationale de Football Association). They’ve only competed in a few official games, and have never won. They’ve also competed a few times non-officially, and only won once I believe. If you want to learn more about them, I highly encourage it! I hope you get a kick out of reading about this team, like I did. It’s a short article:

http://vatican.com/articles/info/the_vaticans_national_football_team-a4142

However, that’s not even the biggest soccer news that comes from Vatican City. The Centro Sportivo Italiono (CSI) hosts the Clericus Cup, an annual soccer tournament in which teams from Roman Collages compete against each other. Players are generally studying to become priests, but a handful of players are ordained priests. Officially, the goal of the league is to “reinvigorate the tradition of sport in the Christian community” and has been called the “clerical equivalent of soccer’s World Cup.” Below I’ll post a short video of them playing in the Clericus Cup, and some players being interviewed.

That’s all for this post! Hopefully you enjoyed this even if you’re not a huge soccer fan. I prefer baseball or muggle quiditch personally. Thank you so much for reading! And as always, until our next adventure!

Hey fellow adventurers! This post is another fashion post!!! Now, I’m not talking about current trendy Italian fashion. I just want to focus on what people who live in Vatican City wear. Though let’s be honest, if the Pope wanted to, he could pull off some swaggy fashion.

 

Jokes aside, we know what popes and cardinals wear, but now it’s time to find out exactly what that is. Ordinarily the Pope wears:

• A cassock: an ankle length tunic

• A mozetta: a short shoulder cape

• A fascia: a sash worn above the waist

• A pectoral cross (on a gold chain): a cross worn on the chest

• Papal shoes: red leather shoes

• A zucchetto: a small cap worn on the head

• And a gold fisherman’s ring: a ring worn in honor of St. Peter, which gets destroyed after each pope’s death

When the Pope attends a special event or ceremony, he’ll wear choir dress.

For ceremonies that they host, such as celebrating mass, popes dress up a bit.

It looks like cardinals wear an outfit very similar to the Pope.

Same for when they’re in choir dress.

What about visitors? Should they wear something specific? Well according to multiple Vatican City guides, visitors need to cover their shoulders and knees. You won’t be allowed into some places if you don’t follow this rule. And apparently there are even cloaks for sale in case you didn’t want to wear a long sleeve all day, or just forgot. Though if you search Vatican City fashion on Google image, all these images will pop up of girls in sleeveless, mostly short dresses. I don’t know why but this made me laugh for several minutes. I’m not a Catholic but when visiting the Pope, I agree it’s best to dress more conservatively over wearing a short dress (I’m talking to both girls and guys).

Don’t get me wrong. Michael Spookshow is definitely pulling this off! Actually… I wonder if that dress is still for sale. Besides the point! Still, probably not the best thing to wear to Vatican City.

Not related to this post but when I was looking for information on what popes’ wear, I came across this interesting list of things you might not have known about the pope! I found it very interesting, so I decided to share it: http://www.toptenz.net/10-things-may-wondered-pope.php

Well that’s all for today’s post! Thank you so much for reading! And as always, until our next adventure!

Hey fellow adventurers! It’s time to talk about a subject that I’ve been excited to talk about! The unique car posts are some of my favorite to talk about. It could have something to do with the fact that my husband is a gear head. I don’t know, but today I wanted to talk about the popemobile!

The popemobile (pope + automobile) has such a cool sounding name. It sounds like the pope is going to save the world with his popemobile!

First used in 1965, there have been many different popemobiles since then. Ever since the attempted assignation of Pope John Paul II in 1981, they’ve added bulletproof glass windows to some popemobiles. Depending on the event and the level of security required, sometimes the pope will ride in an open air popemobile. However, if deemed necessary he will ride in one with bulletproof glass. All popemobiles are different. Some are designed so he can stand, while others are designed for him to sit. The popemobile is in an updated (and much better) version of sedia gestatoria.

😝 Bleh! How stuffy! Sometimes Pope Francis doesn’t bother with the popemobile at all. Preferring to travel around Vatican City in the Ford Focus.

Yesterday the Pope received attention for checking on a fallen police officer after she fell off her horse. Pope Francis asked the driver to stop his vehicle so he could watch over the woman until she was picked up by an ambulance.

Well whatever vehicle the Pope rides in, he does it stylishly! Just look at that handsome smile… as long as he can hold onto the car anyways.

That’s all for today’s post! Thank you so much for reading! And as always, until our next adventure!

Hey fellow adventurers! I’ve talked about popular stories in the past, and thought that it would be negligent to leave it out this month. Whether you believe in it or not, the bible is the most widely read and sold book in the world. Naturally, the bible is very important to everyone in Vatican City and the Holy See. That’s why I wanted to share some of the most popular stories from the bible below. If you’re uninterested or have read these stories multiple times, I understand. If you’re interested, or want to hear any of these stories again though, this post is for you! You can either listen to the lady from Bible Stories for Adults read to you, or you can Google these stories and read them for yourself.

Genesis

Noah’s Flood

David and Goliath

Daniel in Lion’s Den

The Birth of Jesus

Well that’s all for today’s post! If you like this lady, and want to see more of her videos, check her out here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTEvFQJTZqRGaeVxKG8_koA. Thank you so much for reading my blog! And as always, until our next adventure!

Hey fellow adventurers! Last post I talked about landmarks, but I purposefully left out artwork. There are so many beautiful pieces in Vatican City, that I felt it deserved its own post. I’ll display some of the most famous works held in Vatican City below and the name of the artist. I won’t go into detail though. If you want to learn more about any, or all, of these pieces, I highly encourage you do some research! Art history can be fun!

The Last Judgement

The Sistine Chapel Ceiling by Michelangelo

Pietà by Michelangelo

Laocoön and His Sons by Agesander of Rhodes, Athenodoros of Rhodes, and Polydorus of Rhodes

St. Jerome in the Wilderness by Leonardo da Vinci

St. Peter’s Baldachin by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Chair of Saint Peter by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

School of Athens by Raphael

Oddi Altarpiece by Raphael

The Parnassus by Raphael

Transfiguration by Raphael

The Entombment of Christ by Caravaggio

That’s all for today’s post! Thank you so much for visiting my blog! Hope today’s post was fun! And as always, until our next adventure!

Hey fellow adventurers! Welcome back! There is so much history in Vatican City! In 1984, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) added Vatican City as a World Heritage Site. The whole country! Even though it’s quite a small space, there’s a lot to see! Today I’ll talk about the most famous landmarks at Vatican Square (I’m not focusing on artistic aspects).

St. Peter’s Basilica

St. Peter’s Basilica is considered by many to be one of the most renowned works of Renaissance art, and one of the holiest Catholic shrines. With a length of 730 feet (220 meters), width of 500 feet (150 meters), and height of 448.1 feet (136.6 meters), it’s the largest church in the world. It is a popular destination for pilgrimages, with anywhere from 15,000 to 80,000 people visiting each year to pray here. It is also the burial site of St. Peter and the first Pope. Aesthetically, a lot of people’s favorite part of the basilica is the dome.

St. Peter’s Square

St. Peter’s Square is a large plaza located in front of St. Peter’s Basilica. It was built by Bernini between 1656 and 1667. Bernini planned on building more but after Alexander VII’s death, construction was halted, and never resumed. During the summer, they hold the Papal Audience in St. Peter’s Square. During a Papal Audience, the Pope will typically talk for an hour and a half to two hours.

Sistine Chapel

Sistine Chapel is a chapel within the Apostolic Palace (where the Pope lives). It is the site of the Papal Conclave (the process of choosing a new Pope). It holds the artwork of many talented artists, but is most known for The Last Judgement by Michelangelo.

Vatican Museums

With both religious and art museums to choose from (and little else in general), museums are one of the most popular tourist attractions in Vatican City. Some of the most valuable Renaissance art pieces and classical sculptures reside here. The museums own around 70,000 works but only 20,000 are on display to the public. And when you buy a museum ticket, proceeds go to the Catholic Church.

Vatican Gardens

This one is a less popular tourist attraction but I still feel it deserved some attention. The gardens are very peaceful and beautiful. Nicholas III moved to the Vatican and decided to plant an orchard, a lawn and a garden to protect his residence. But it has grown and changed considerably since then.

Vatican Library

This next one is not a tourist attraction but I wanted to include it… well, because I wanted to. It was a short enough post that I could. The Vatican Library is the library of the Holy See. Formally established in 1475 (though unofficially it was around for longer), the Vatican Library is one of the oldest libraries in the world. It has about 1.1 million printed books, including 75,000 codices (plural form of codex) throughout history and 8,500 incunabula (text that was printed before 1501). The library is primarily a research library for history, law, philosophy, science and theology, and therefore is only used by those who prove they need to use the library for means of research in one of the fields previously mentioned. The Vatican Secret Archives are separate from the library, and contains another 150,000 items.

Well that’s all for today’s post! I hope you have an amazing weekend! And as always, until our next adventure!

Hey fellow adventurers! Today I want to talk about the government of Vatican City since, like its economy, it’s so unique. I hope I’m not losing you guys since I normally talk about more fun things, but I genuinely find the Holy See and Vatican City interesting.  Anyhow, onto the topic!

Vatican City has an absolute theocratic elective monarchy. It appears that it is one of seventeen countries that have an elective monarchy. For those of you who don’t know, that means the head of the Catholic Church (the Pope) exercises the judicial, legislative, and executive power over Vatican City. In comparison, the United States distributes those roles amongst three branches:

• The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets the law and ensures that it’s being upheld, and resolves disputes. Those in the Judicial Branch are chosen by the president and confirmed by the senate.
• The Legislative Branch has the sole authority to enact legislation and declare war, and the right to confirm or reject many Presidential appointments. This branch consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate, which together form the United States Congress.
• The Executive Branch is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by Congress, and appoints the heads of the federal agencies, including the Cabinet. The President exercise power of the Executive Branch. The Vice President is also part of the Executive Branch, ready to assume the Presidency should the need arise.

But in a monarchy, one person (in this case: The Pope) oversees all of these responsibilities. Unlike most monarchies however, the Pope is elected. The cardinals who are under the age of eighty vote for the next Pope in the case that the previous Pope dies or resigns. And as I mentioned before, a theocracy is a type of government where the source of their authority comes from a deity. For the Pope, it’s God.

It is the Pope’s responsibility to represent Vatican City and manage relations with foreign nations. The Pope, assisted by a Secretary General and a Deputy Secretary General, also exercises executive power over the Governorate. The Governorate is a group of departments, divided into administrations and central offices. These offices include:

• State Accounting Administration
• General Services Administration
• Security and Civil Defense Services Department
• Department of Health and Hygiene
• Museums Administration
• Department of Technical Services
• Department of Telecommunications
• Department of Economic Services
• Department of Pontifical Villas
• Judicial Office
• Personnel Office
• Registry and Notary Office
• Philatelic and Numismatic Office
• Computer Systems Office
• State Archive
• Pilgrim and Tourist Office
• Worker’s Security and Health Service

If you’re interested, and want to learn more, I highly recommend you visit the official site of Vatican City: http://www.vaticanstate.va/content/vaticanstate/en/stato-e-governo.html. There’s a lot of good information there!

Well that’s all for this post! Thank you so much for reading! And as always, until our next adventure!

Hey fellow adventurers! I hope you’re doing okay. 2018 has already had its shares of up and downs even though it has just started. But we’re not here to talk about that! I’m covering Vatican City this month! And today, I wanted to talk a little about the economy of Vatican City! It’s not like any other countries’ economy so hopefully you find this interesting even if you’re not too interested in financial topics (I’m not).

Vatican City is a non-commercial economy that is supported by contributions (AKA Peter’s Pence), as well as the sale of museum admissions, books, postage stamps, and tourist mementos. The Holy See has been having issues with budget deficit the past several years. Most notably was 2013, when their expenditures were $348 million but their revenues were $315 million. But let’s talk about each source of revenue!

Peter’s Pence:

Peter’s Pence is a type of donation that goes directly to the Roman Catholic Church in Vatican City. For those who do donate, they’re not just helping spread the word of the Catholic Church, but also supporting the Pope’s humanitarian projects. Some of his main projects include helping those who are suffering because of war, oppression, natural disaster, and disease. If you want to support the Catholic Church (I’m not asking people to donate, just offering more information for anyone who wants to), you can find out more here: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/obolo_spietro/documents/index_en.htm.

Museum Admissions:

Vatican City has a lot of history, and the museums are a great place to explore that! The Museums include several monumental works of art, such as the Sistine Chapel, the Chapel of Beato Angelico, the Raphael Rooms and Loggia, and the Borgia Apartment. Though I’ve heard that they can also be ridiculously busy so don’t go expecting it to be as empty as your local museum on a normal day.

Books:

The Vatican Publishing House is a publisher established by the Holy See in 1926. According to the publisher’s website, it used to exist as Vatican Press which dates back to April 27, 1587 It publishes official documents of the Roman Catholic Church. If you want to learn more, you can check out the publishing website (I needed Chrome to translate the page for me): http://www.libreriaeditricevaticana.va/content/libreriaeditricevaticana/it.html

Postage stamps:

Vatican City has its own postal service, and their own stamps! And they’ve been a member of the Universal Postal Union since June 1, 1929. If you’re curious, you can check out their newest stamps here: http://www.vaticanstate.va/content/vaticanstate/en/servizi/ufficio-filatelico-e-numismatico/emissioni-filateliche/ultime-emissioni.html

Tourist mementos:

If you visit Vatican City, you will see street carts, small souvenir shops and stores almost everywhere. Every store sell different types of merchandise at different prices. Though if you’re hoping to buy something that has been blessed by the pope, best go to an official shop (sorry, sales people lie in Vatican City too). Plus, I would imagine that the official shops are the ones that collect revenue for the Holy See. I’m only guessing so don’t take that last sentence as fact.

Vatican City coins:

I don’t think they make a lot of money this way, but I thought it was interesting that the Vatican does have their own coins. You can check out their archive of coins here: http://www.vaticanstate.va/content/vaticanstate/en/servizi/ufficio-filatelico-e-numismatico/emissioni-numismatiche/archivio.html or just look at the newest coins here: http://www.vaticanstate.va/content/vaticanstate/en/servizi/ufficio-filatelico-e-numismatico/emissioni-numismatiche/ultime-emissioni.html

Well that’s all for today’s post! Thank you so much for reading my blog! And as always, until our next adventure!