Day Five Roma

I can't believe that it is already Day Five of our trip. Where has the time gone?

Last night on our way back to our hotel, my foot got caught in a hole in the sidewalk and I fell flat on my face. The worst part is not that I fell, but that I fell in full view of an outdoor resturante full of people! Yep that is right I have made a complete fool of my self on two continents now! Go me.  So what is a girl to do when she biffs it in front of 30ish people having dinner in Roma? Jump up, throw you hands in the air and yell, "Tada!", followed quickly by "I'm ok. Thanks I am ok."

So now I have a sprained ankle, but not to worry I have had many sprains before. I took some aspirina, went to bed and started fresh this morning. Sounds good right?  Except I didn't pack an ace bandage! I was going to...but figured I wouldn't need it. Funny thing about the entire mishap, I was so sure I would biff it in Pompeii. I never imagined that I would biff it here in Roma.  Oh well it will be a story to tell for years to come. And Jay now knows his way around the Farmacia! 

sitting among the other pilgrims at San Pietro

We headed to San Pietro via taxi in order to get to the square in time to get a decent seat for the papal audienc  Pleasant suprise for us when it only cost 10 Euro. We were not looking forward to walking the four miles from our hotel to the square that early in the morning.  The staff at Vatican City really know how to organize for large events. I have lived thru Husker football, and think UNL could learn a thing or two from Vatican City. It was neat and orderly. And we are not talking about 80,000 rabid Husker lunatics, we are talking about thousands of religious pilgrims from all over the world, speaking different languages. Still Vatican  City handled it with no problems.  We were sitting between a nice couple from Germany, and a nice couple from Eastern Europe.  It was so amazing to me to be sitting there with thousands of other people who also believe in God. I can't even begin to describe the feeling.

we were this close! 

The entire thing had the feeling of a concert or festival. It in no way felt like a religious ceremony. There was a band from South America, there to play for His Holiness. A group of hundreds of faithful from Senegal, in their colorful national dress. Flag throwers from Italy, huge groups from Iowa and Kansas. We heard blessings from His Holiness in Italian, French, English, Spanish and Portugese. It was amazing, and we can now say we have "chilled with the pontif"! LOL 

I am so thankful to the Church of Santa Susanna for the chance to get tickets to the audience. It was an amazing once in a life time opportunity. I also have to say out of all of the churches we have seen since arriving in Italy, Santa Susanna is one of the most beautiful. I don't know if that is because they have been so kind or if it is just because I love Baroque Art. If you ever get a chance to visit Roma, don't forget to stop at this "little church" on the Via XX Septtembre.

Papal Gentleman and Police Officer

So not only did we get to see the Pope, we also got to see more Swiss guards in full dress uniform. And we had the opportunity to see the Papal Gentlemen, who are the lay attendants of his Holiness. Of course I had seen a documentary that showed their role at Vatican City, so it was especially nice to see them this morning.

Swiss Guard 

After our blessing from His Holiness, we headed to the Musei Vaticani. We had purchased our tickets on line before we left home so that we could avoid the long lines.  When we were approaching the entrance, we were told by several tour operators that it would be a 2 to 3 hour wait in the que. I can't believe more people do not purchase online! It was quick and rather painless.  I once again didn't take many pictures of the artwork.

I had thought that the return trip from Pompeii was part of the circle of hell from Dante's Inferno...umm no that was just the warm up for swarms of people all pushing and shoving inside the Musei. And remember we are in Europe, so no aircon and men don't always wear Degree. Can we say smelly locker room?  At least they throw open all the windows and have fans going.

at Musei Vaticani with the garden behind us

I was amazed by the artwork we saw. DaVinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Van Gough, Rodin....the list could go on and on.   I was most disappointed as much of the Musei was closed. Two of the galleries that I most wanted to see were off limits. The Gallery of the Statues and the Braccio Nuovo.  I guess we will just have to make a return trip to Roma!  I also wish that they would limit the number of pushy tour guides they let in at once.  I can't tell you how many times, I was shoved into and told "You can't stop here!" Umm hello, I am admiring some of the finest masterpieces in the world....not my fault you don't think it is interesting enough to tell your group about.  It was very annoying. In fact the group tours made it impossible to enjoy the Capella Sistina. I have to rant for a moment, hello you morons, the signs all say not photography! they do that for a reason, not just to get you to buy stuff. Every time you set off your flashes, you are ruining the chance of future generations seeing this amazing work of art. Oh and don't get all uppity tourist when you get caught and escorted out. Pleading ignorance is no excuse....the signs are in almost every language under the sun! Rant over.

After what felt like days we finally made it out alive. I can honestly say that to truly admire and appreciate all of the works would take a life time. Thank you to the staff at Musei Vaticani for putting up with as many as 15,000 visitors a day.

Tomorrow we head out on our last day trip from Roma.  We head north this time to Firenze and the home of the Medici. My advisor at Doane is sure that I will like Firenze better than Roma...I don't know, I feel at home here in the Eternal City. But we shall see what adventures await!