It was a beautiful Saturday morning (Oct. 26th). The sky was a brilliant Carolina blue, it was in the 60sF with a light breeze, and everything was clear and clean and sharply in focus. You had to work at it to take a bad picture on this morning. Yuliya, our Russian daughter, and I had taken a taxi to the Vatican to arrive in time for: 1) the reception; 2) the final two papers at the conference on the Historical Jesus; 3) the lunch with the Pope; 4) the audience with Pope Francis in Salle Clementia in the Vatican; 5) the private tour of St. Peter’s, the crypt where Peter was buried, the art and sculpture galleries and the Sistine Chapel, followed by; 6) a gala final dinner. It would be a very full, rich day. A day to remember, indeed a day we would never forget.
When we got out of the taxi in St. Peter’s Square, the obelisk, the Bernini statues, the Michaelangelo Pieta etc. awaited us. 
Even the Papal apartments glistened in the sun.
We were directed to the entrance on the far left side of St. Peter’s Square.
Of course there was plenty of security, and without wearing our conference badges they would not let us in. Security coming mainly in the form of the Swiss guards—
We passed one of the Vatican vehicles— something like a Papal Hum-V…
And here’s our Yuliya all dressed up, and looking fine, to meet the Pope on his own turf.
To be continued……
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