The Vatican, St. Peter’s Basilica, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, and more……

Breaktime!

Trevi Fountain

Dinner time

            Whistling off the balcony near midnight was a bit much, I hope I didn’t wake too many of the neighbors. Nevertheless, all waved as they emerged from the taxi exhausted after the long trek from California to Rome. Before long all were in the sack dreaming dreams of this romantic city.

            Our coffee bar attendant was shocked to see eight Americanos come into his small and quaint establishment. The coffee and pastries, like yesterday, hit the spot. We take cabs to the Vatican.

            Alesio, our guide, meets us in the usual place before passing though the lines of people waiting to enter the grounds and buildings. He is almost feeling like an old friend. He recognizes Debbie and me right off, and after three Vatican tours, I think I qualify as his agent in America. The tour is fantastic. The statues, artwork, frescos, mosaics, and the Basilica are special for sure. I am amazed that I stay with the group for the three-hour duration. An extra morphine pill is surely a factor.

            When introduced to Angela, Alesio could tell automatically that she was indeed Italian, but when he learned that she could not speak the language, he backtracked, and said, “Well then, she doesn’t count.” We all had a good laugh and it set the tone for the rest of the tour. He is a very likeable soul comfortable with himself and others.

            The ease with which he moved us through the lines and crowds was a work of art in and of itself. Moreover, his university degree being in art history, and a native of Rome, I watched in fascination as he got into his dialogue about the famous artists, their works, and relationships. We (Debbie and I) visited for the first time a room by Rafael’s students, and one that is solely a product of his work. It was simply magnificent. He worked in the faces of all the artists of the time along with historical personalities such as Plato and Aristotle. Alesio was animated the most during this portion of the tour.

            We thought that in late October, with kids in school, the crowds would be smaller than in the summer. I am very wrong for two reasons. One, there was a special program in St. Peter’s Square beginning at 5:00pm and the multitudes were forming. And two, “Papa Francesco” (the new Pope) is so popular that on Wednesdays (albeit today was Saturday) a usual crowd of 15,000 to participate in a service orchestrated by the Pope has grown to a weekly gathering of 80,000! He is definitely a popular Pope of the people – even refusing to live in the lavish quarters of the previous Pope. At any rate, there are throngs of people from all over the world filling the Square this day. And inside the Basilica, which can hold 20,000 (the world’s largest church), people were in every nook and cranny, and filled the main aisles. Michelangelo’s Pietà is our favorite statue; his first at age 23, and we think the most beautiful carved out of a single block of marble.

            We returned to the apartment by bus and the great majority of us napped for up to two hours, and for some, longer (like me). It was a great morning and it was important for our jet-lagged group to be fresh for an evening stroll beginning at the Trevi Fountain, down to the Pantheon, and then on to Piazza Novona. Along the way there were a number of Mime’s, some amateurs, others very professional and experienced. I enjoyed them all. From there we continued on to the Piazza de Flori where we found an outstanding restaurant. To call it a feast would be an understatement. With Brian’s generosity, we had multiple appetizers, a great salad, and main dishes that ranged from huge steaks to calamari, to sea bass and spaghetti. Flagging down taxi’s we returned to Gregorio VII and our favorite gelato place. It was a fitting end to a wonderful day.

            A great learning occurred late in the evening when we discovered that the Missouri Tigers versus South Carolina football game kickoff was going to be at 4:00pm USA Central Time, thus 11:00pm Rome time. We will at least start off listening to the beginning, and who knows, maybe to the end. If the Tigers win, it will be worth the effort.

            Tomorrow we depart Rome for Civitvechhia, the port city, at 10:30am. This will surely follow another fantastic breakfast at the “Bar Gregorio VII,” our favorite coffee house a half block distant. It will be good to see “Sandro,” the owner and server who was so helpful earlier this day in finding us taxis to the Vatican.