Soaking Up the City
9.18.16 Sunday - Rome, Italy
We got up and had breakfast with Daniele, the owner of the B&B. He got married last year-ish and had his honeymoon in the US (San Francisco, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, etc.). He was really funny and had a lot of stories for us. As we left the dining room he was on the phone and told us to wait a minute, then reached in a cupboard and pulled out A BIG FAT PACKAGE! Just for MEEEEEEE! And would you guess who it was from?! Well my good friend EZ in Germany of course! And she even included MY FAVORITE Ritter sport bar, as well as one for EP and one for Simona, who she spoke with at the B&B. THANK YOU EZ! It made my day and I love my gifts!!! You are so thoughtful (EP said so too)!
Our plan was to head to the Vatican to buy our souvenirs, go to mass, and then see the Pope. Unfortunately, we took too long buying things! So we decided to go to mass later and get our spot for the Pope. It was great, we just hung out and chatted as more people filed in. At about five minutes to twelve they rolled a velvet looking flag out the window where the Pope would be and everyone cheered. It was great! Pope Francis came out at noon and waved to the crowd and said hello; He then prayed the Angelus and afterward gave his Apostolic blessing, which extends to the crowd and any devotional items they have brought to be blessed. I put everything on and we waved!!! I'll upload a video when I get home.
Following that, we got in line for the Holy Door, which is technically called "The Holy Door of Mercy". Apparently the door was just opened by Pope Francis in December 2015 for the first time since Pope JPII opened it in 2000 (it has been covered by a brick wall since then!) and it launched the Catholic Church's "Year of Mercy". You couldn't take pictures of the door but when you walk through it if you go to confession and receive communion within 8 days before or after you are absolved of all of your sins and have a free pass to Heaven (according to a nice priest from South Dakota). After passing through the door you enter St. Peter's Basilica, that gigantic church (church in Italian is "chiesa") that I began to tell you about yesterday. In the center of the church, which you are allowed to take photos of, is a gilded bronze canopy where only the Pope may celebrate mass. Also in the basilica is Michelangelo's sculpture, 'Pietà', which depicts Mary holding Jesus' lifeless body in her lap. We hurried to where they were having mass and made it for 1pm. It was quite hot but we survived. Afterward we took in the rest of the sights in the basilica. The lines that everyone complains about were not bad at all, we got in fairly quickly when we were waiting for the pope (you have to go through metal detectors and put your bags through X-ray to get in) and after that almost everyone mad dashed to the basilica but even then it wasn't much of a wait.
At this point we were starved, as usual. We went to the Zigaetana place again since it was so good but unfortunately they are closed on Sundays. We walked back toward the B&B and stopped at the next place serving food that we saw. I could eat here every day for at least another month. I LOVE the food here (but Emily I will need a Mexican Fiesta date when I get back!!!). The place was cute, there were Italians in there and Lourdes told us that means the food is good! We got pizza, our favorite, and the "large" beer I ordered ended up being a litre... Lol. So EP helped me since I am not at Oktoberfest and therefore do not need a Maß.
The rain was still holding off, we were very lucky because originally the forecast predicted rain for Sunday and Monday. We decided to check out the castle near our B&B that Lourdes recommended for beautiful views of the city. It's called "Castel Sant' Angelo" (also known as 'The Masoleum of Hadrian') and it's right on the Tiber river (the third longest river in Italy!). It was built in 123AD and while originally built as a Masoleum it functioned as a fortress and defensive bastion for many years. The bridge that connects the castle to land is known as the bridge of angels (Ponte Sant'Angelo). Sculpted by Bernini, it depicts ten angels in total along the bridge (five on each side), each one carrying a symbol of the passion of Christ. Touring the castle was cool, we got to see the treasury room which had a GIANT trunk where they kept their treasures. Climbing to the top did indeed give us beautiful views and it wasn't too crowded, probably because everyone was anticipating rain.
Our next stop was the Spanish Steps and then dinner. We took the subway and when we got out we were welcomed by POURING rain. We ran to a gelato shop to have a cone and the lady made sure to tell us there was a bathroom with napkins, we must've looked awful. People kept trying to sell us ponchos and umbrellas but really what's the point?! We have raincoats we just didn't think to bring them and we were already soaked! The steps were feet away, we almost missed them because of some restoration happening, there was a lot of scaffolding and such set up. So we took a rainy selfie and some blurry photos.. Guess we'll have to come back!
When we exited the subway near our B&B we could only laugh at the situation. It was POURING, harder than it has in awhile at home. We just ran and we both ended up stepping in a gigantic puddle, soaking our shoes. You should've heard us squishing into the building! Honestly, we were so exhausted and still full from eating lunch so late that we both just passed out and never got dinner. EP did a better job starting to pack than I did but I have a blog to keep up! I was VERY sad to miss a meal in Italy but it just gives me another reason to come back, as if I need another reason to come to Europe 😉 Plus we needed the rest!
There are 23 photos today.. Enjoy! Ciao!