Vatican City

Vatican City is the smallest sovereign nation in the world with a population of 829. It's also certainly the richest nation per capita, but the Vatican does not release it financial information, so no one knows for sure. What is sure is that the Catholic Church has amassed an obscene amount of priceless works of art, likely the most valuable art collection on Earth. For a fee they'll let you look at it. We spent a couple hours touring the Vatican Museums, which include the Sistine Chapel. There are entirely too many people in all the tourist spots of Italy, and the Sistine Chapel is no exception. We stood on the edge of the chapel while uniformed guards continually shouted at people to be quiet. The din of conversation echoed off the five hundred year old frescoes. Every inch of floor space was occupied by chattering tourists. We didn't stay long. We passed through the endless galleries with our audio guides pressed to our ears. We gained an appreciation for Raphael and Botticelli. I liked Caravaggio. I hope when I'm old I gain an appreciation for the great works of art, but for now as I trudge through art museums I feel like I'm on a mandatory class trip with a quiz at the end.

St Peters Basilica St Peter's square (which is actually round).Inside St. Peters. One big church. You don't really need to see any other churches after you've seen this one. St. Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world. The inside of the dome is 136 feet high.

St Peter's looking up.

Swiss guard. Recruits to the guards must be Catholic, single males with Swiss citizenship who have completed basic training with the Swiss military and can obtain certificates of good conduct. Recruits must have a professional degree or high school diploma and must be between 19 and 30 years of age and at least 174 cm (5 ft 9 in) tall. Must also be willing to wear a silly outfit for hours at a time.