Ahhh, what a day!
Just waking up to the Italian sunrise is enough to quirk my lips into a grin; especially with my hotel room’s great overlook of the Rome city streets.
Today though, the sky was littered with gray clouds, promising rain showers throughout the day.
That didn’t bother the group one bit.
In fact, we managed to enter two countries today.
The first one was the Vatican. It was only the Vatican because the most important man in the world was present. The one and only Papa Francesco, or, The Pope! A sea of people flooded the country, surrounding Saint Peter’s Basilica, preparing for the Pope to speak.
We all anxiously awaited his arrival, pressing our bodies against the iron bars and clutching our cameras.
We watched as he rode through the stone roadways in his white Mercedes, passing and waving with his famous Francesco smile (He was so adorable; I honestly teared up. It was such an amazing time to be alive)!
He addressed all of the different countries and organizations in attendance, and at the end he blessed sacred items of the civilians.
It lasted for approximately two hours (not long enough), and we did get rained on quite a bit.
Luckily the people around us were polite, and they beckoned us under their umbrellas when the rain fell.
After being in the presence of the Pope (and feeling like nothing could top that), we were given some free roam around Rome time, so my roommate Sara-Kay and I went to the
Italian supermarket.
On the way there, Sara-Kay bought a cup of gelato to add to her list of different flavors. (It’s this really intense record breaking game where the kids try to beat the record of 32 tasted flavors of gelato; so far she’s kicking ultimate butt.) And on the way back, she bought ANOTHER different flavor! Yeah, she’s going to win. Team Sara-Kay!
When our small break was over, we met with Jill and rode a tourist bus to the Embassy of the Holy See (this was our second country visited today, as stepping on the ground of the Holy See is considered stepping on American Soil).
We were allowed to question the economic foreign affairs officer on her position, how she got there, what is required to earn such a title, and some of the conflicts they have to face.
After that rewarding sit down, we reentered the country of Italy, and Jill toured us around a few places.
We went to a park near the fourth oldest church in Rome, and I was floored by the amazing view (you can see the Challenger posed right next to it). We also went to a place called the Knights of Malta (which is a sovereignty without any land) and peeked through a keyhole that held an amazing sight (which is super secret and I can’t tell you because I mustn’t ruin the surprise…hehehe).
Our last visit was the the Circus Maximus, (where a Rolling Stones concert was held the weekend prior to our arrival…we were just a bit too late unfortunately) where the first ever chariot races and major sporting competitions were held.
Now we’re off to dine at a new Italian restaurant! I have no doubt that the food will be delicious! I won’t describe any foods because I don’t want your mouths to water in envy, but I will say the food is better than anything I’ve ever tasted, and fresher. So fresh!
Okay, that’s all I’ll divulge.
Time to take my five year old brother’s match box toy car to dine with me.
Until tomorrow,
Drive safely 🙂