The basilica of St. Peter is an amazing place. My wife and I are not Catholic, but it was still a fantastic experience to visit the basilica. The artwork and architecture are amazing, and it is a humbling experience to stand inside and just stare and take in the surroundings. For one thing, the cavernous interior makes you feel as small as an ant.

The main dome is spectacular. I circled around a few times before I composed this shot. I used a mini-tripod and laid down on the floor. I had to take a few pictures in a trial-and-error attempt to get the composition just like I wanted. With the camera low to the ground and pointing up, it was difficult to see through the viewfinder.

In mid-April of 2004, my wife and I took a long vacation to Italy and Switzerland.
We stayed in Rome and Florence for a total of 6 days, and had a wonderful time.

This trip was my first serious outing with the Canon Digital Rebel. I used the kit
lens (18-55mm) about 90% of the time and it did well! I used mostly f/8 for DOF
and sharpness, and I kept it at ISO at 100 for smaller file sizes (shooting JPGs)
and minimum noise.