April 24-25
After leaving Spain for the final time (this time around), we flew to Rome. Rome is one of Michael’s favorite cities in the world and it was one of the cities that we didn’t think we were going to be able to swing, but we checked out trains between Rome and Florence and realized we could squeeze two days. So we did!
For anyone who reads this on the internet, we have a tab that you can click on that lists out all of the countries we’ve been to. I qualified that for the countries listed that we’ve “both” been to, we hadn’t necessarily been together. Vatican City was the finally country that we had both been to, but had never visited together. That is no more! Now, any country that Michael and I have both visited, we’ve visited together. I like that.
Our flight from Barcelona on the 23rd was delayed about an hour and a half and it was already an evening flight on top of a very full day of driving. So by the time we got our bags and headed out, we had already determined we would have to take a cab. Our hotel has a midnight limit on check in and we were going to be cutting it very close. Who knows what happens after midnight, but the threat was there. We shared a van with a family from the Netherlands which reaffirmed our belief that people from the Netherlands are genuinely the nicest people in the world. We don’t know what causes that, but everyone we’ve met has been awesome, eager to talk and very kind.
As we rolled into the city, we saw the colosseum lit up and Michael just kept saying “I love Rome”.
We got checked in to our hotel (11:58! Boom!) and slept hard. But there was no way Michael was letting us sleep in. We got up and went for a run in Villa Borghese park. This is an outdoor sculpture park that Michael loves and I hadn’t been to before.
(Editor’s note: when I say that I have or have not seen/done something in Rome, I must note the last time I was in Rome, I was on a family vaca and I was exhausted from being a new New Yorker and working crazy hours leading right up to the trip. There were many things that we did or see that I may not remember or that I physically slept through like that train ride through Cannes. So I could be wrong when I say that I’ve never been to Villa Borghese.)
The run was beautiful – more of a stop and smell the roses type of run where I spent more time gawking at the art than actually running.
Turtles:
Bolivar – famous everywhere:
After the run, we cleaned up and headed to the Vatican museum. Both of us have been before but as anyone who has been there knows, there is so much to see that you could spend days there.
First, we found Eataly in Italy:
On our way we stopped at Pizzeria Bonci (which apparently has a location in Chicago now). It was delicious! They make these huge sheets of pizza and cut off sections at a time when you order. Then you pay based on weight. Really delicious plus interesting combinations. And Pop Beer!
And then on to the art! We did not do a tour or get a skip the line pass. What we learned while standing in the line to enter when confronted by the 20th or so vendor trying to sell us a skip the line pass:
Man selling things: Where are you from?
Mike: United States
MST: Oh!! You’re American!!! Great! No American’s stand in line!
Mike: we do
MST: no way! American’s don’t wait in this line! You have so much money! You spend all of your money!
Mike: we’re going to just wait in this line. Thanks, though!
MST: but no American has ever waited in this line
Mike and Jane laugh.
Jane: well then I guess we’ll be the first
MST: no, but seriously. I’ll give you this deal – there’s no way you’re going to stand in this line.
This went on for about five minutes with him certain that we’d give in. The line was only about ten minutes longer than the amount of time we spent talking to him. Ridiculous.
Now… finally… the art!
Some men lounging:
Some people standing in long, beautiful hallways:
Lots of gorgeous ceilings:
The Raphael rooms are a favorite of ours:
This guy was my favorite. I think the official title is “Egyptian Dog Head Politician”. No need to fact check that one.
Here were some women working on renovating a portion of this room which I thought was cool. I can’t imagine how much work goes into keeping even the unofficial art, like these walls, taken care of in a museum so large.
Map of Sicily for GDM from the map room.
After all of this, we hit up the Sistine Chapel. It was amazing. No pictures allowed, so none to post. Feel free to google it if you want a reminder. It was nice to have the headset and just spend some time being reminded of all the incredible things in the room. Detail by detail of all the panels and each section of the ceiling. It is definitely a delight, but it was also really crowded and loud. The guards kept yelling at people to stop talking and kept doing the “shhhhhh” that you get in grade school, but most people just didn’t care and kept on yapping. That meant that in addition to the noisy tourists, you also had the noisy guards trying to quiet them. Oh well. Best to ignore and get absorbed into the art.
The next time I come to the Vatican, I want to skip all of the Greco-Roman stuff. Michael and I spent about 2.5 hours looking at it. The last time I was at the Vatican museum with my family, we did about the same, possibly more. And then, we get past the Sistine Chapel and you have a ton of more recent art work. We were exhausted and just skipped all of it. So next time, straight to the chapel and then off to see new things.
I did remember specifically seeing and loving this huge piece both times that I was at the Vatican museum:
After the Vatican we were exhausted and in need of some water, as soon as possible. But first thing’s first! We had to grab our invites to our private audience with the pope!
THEN… off to grab some meats, water and wine!
We did get a chance to pop into the Pantheon – one of the few remaining pagan temples that was converted into a Church.
Lots of us in that picture… not a lot of the Pantheon. But we all know what it looks like, right?
Also, it’s where Raphael was buried:
One more touristy thing to slide into our day:
Trevi fountain!! The internet gives mixed information on what coins need to be thrown by which hands over which shoulders. We threw coins and regardless of whether we got the tradition correct or not, we’ll be back for sure.
That night, we took a bus out of the touristy area for dinner. It was really easy getting there, but we ran into a bus issue on the way back. Apparently, the bus stop that we were standing at for 30 minutes is only the bus stop on Sundays… so we were one street off. Thanks for the heads up, bus signage! So we missed the last bus of the night and had to grab an Uber back.
But the food was worth it! Delicious legit Italian food:
With the bus fiasco leaving us stranded until well after midnight, we had a tough time waking up for our appointment with the pope the next morning. Then we got on the subway and realized that we screwed up by wearing shorts. Rookie mistake. So we went back to the hotel to put on pants and try again. This meant that we were not early for our 10am meeting. But, as it turns out, Pope Francis was 30 minutes early. That meant that we were just through security as the pope mobile was driving by. We missed our close up!!
We joined the crowds and actually ended up getting a pretty good angle to see the stage. Far away, but it was great. Oh – did I not clear up this little misunderstanding? It wasn’t a private audience. We were in St. Peter’s Square with thousands of our closest friends. What a cool experience! The crowds were amazing – packed in to get as close as they could to the Pope – to hear him and to see him.
Once the ceremony started, Pope Francis did a quick opening prayer and then there was a short reading. The reading was done in Italian and then another 10 or so languages, including English. I didn’t realize that they were going to do anything in a language other than Italian, so I was pumped! The reading was from the Philippians: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”.
After the reading, Pope Francis gave a homily in Italian. Then for each of the ten or so languages, the priest who proclaimed the reading in the respective language approached Pope Francis and told the Pope that all of the people who are represented by that language are so happy to be in attendance and wish his blessings on them. Afterwards, the priest responsible for each language gave a synopsis of the Pope’s homily. The main message? That through baptism we are strengthened with the oils of Catechumens which are meant to help us turn away from evil and sin. Then Pope Francis welcomed each group of people (in Italian which was then translated), telling us that he was so pleased that we were in attendance and that he was blessing each and every one of us. In addition, he was extending that blessing to all of our family and friends back home. That’s you all! You’re welcome. Also, he extended an extra blessing to the old, the sick, the young, the pregnant, and the newly married. So if you fall into that category while reading at home – an extra blessing!!
https://www.thatsonourlist.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/img_9199.trim_.movTwo things. First, the cool thing about Pope Francis welcoming us was that he named countries. So when he welcomed the English speakers, even though he was speaking in Italian, we knew that he was addressing each English speaking country – he listed Great Britain and Canada and the US and a handful of Asian countries that I think they lump into English because not every Asian language was being translated. The strange thing? He forgot Australia. Whoops. But it was cool hearing him personally welcoming us from the United States.
Second, when the Pope addressed people from Spanish speaking countries, it was the only time that he did not speak Italian. I thought that was really touching and cool for him to communicate in his own language.
So how was Pope Francis? Amazing. We love him. The crowds love him. And you can definitely feel an energy when he is around. It was a really cool experience and I would recommend it to every person who visits Rome. It’s free and easy to get tickets and it was very moving.
Afterwards, we wanted to go visit St. Peter’s Basilica, but they don’t open it on Wednesdays until the Pope gets a little distance, so we went and got the Best. Pizza. Ever. It’s true. We had it at Emma Emporio. Michael’s pizza was good.
Mine was the best. Both of us agree that it may be the best we’ve ever had.
Fresh burrata cheese and prosciutto. Amazing.
Afterwards we headed back to the Vatican to visit the Basilica.
Still crowded, but mostly just lined up to get into St. Peter’s.
Beautiful doors.
Yes – that’s carved into a door in the picture below.
And of course, a beautiful dome:
But most importantly? The Pieta.
Isn’t it amazing? This is my absolute favorite thing in all of Rome. I have loved the Pieta since I was a little girl and my grandmother would take me to the shrine in St. Louis that had a replica. Seeing the original by Michelangelo in person is overwhelming to me.
After St. Peter’s, we headed to a bar that had great craft beer and met a couple from California that we chatted with for a few hours. It is strange to be back in countries with so many tourists from the United States. After our time in South America and Africa, it is nice to have some random folks to talk to at a bar.
And that was it for us and Rome… or is it? Off to Florence tomorrow!