Dec 28- St. Peter's and Basilica

28 December 2008. On Sunday the 28th we woke at 9:00 AM, had breakfast, and napped until 11. We went to St Peter’s, got in line for 45 minutes to enter the Basilica; it had been too crowded and late to really see the whole place at Midnight Mass. We visited the grottoes with the Popes’ burial sites. Saw among many, Paul the VI and John Paul II. Many people, including both of us, were shedding tears. We saw the burial site of St Peter and the original building of the emperor Constantine. We went back outside and into the Basilica. We saw the Pieta of Michelangelo, and burial sites of John XXIII and Pius XII. Then we shopped successfully. Found a sweatshirt, sterling cross and chain, and wooden rosary. We had lunch at Piazza del Risorgimento. We were back at the apartment by 3:30 PM.