Sunday, I slept late. After a late night with two other Americans and three Sikh girls from London, I had planned to get up early and race to St. Peters to stake out ground for mass. Instead, I slept until 9:50 for the 10:30 ceremony. Amazingly, I was able to shower, dress, and race across town in time to see the beginning.
The weather was ominous; short bursts of rain fell from the sky and heavy drops stung when they impacted with you. Still, the piazza was full with an estimated 50,000 people in attendance. Big screens showed close-ups of the ceremony as prayers began. At one point there was a commotion near me and I saw a priest given communion wafers to the crowd. I knew better than to take communion, but I wanted a picture of this. I forced my close to the railing for a shot, only to have a Swiss Guard pull the railing aside and allow me and thirty other people to file up a fenced walkway to almost the front of the square. I had left the cheap seats behind and was up with the paying customers now.
From this vantage, I watched the Pope’s Urbi et Orbi . As I understood it, he focused on the need for peace in the world and covered a surprisingly large number of conflicts from around the world.
Lastly, the Pope entered a small, open car and was driven around the square in these fenced in walkways. As he was just beginning his tour, the Pope’s car stopped right in front of where I had ended up. He looks over at me, smiles, and gives a wave before telling his driver to move on. The crowd then swelled in behind me. Shouts of ‘Pape, pape’ filled the square and the mass was over.
Thousands of people were filing out of St. Peters. I needed to plan an escape route that would take me to my next goal – the Pantheon. Examining my map, I noticed that a woman who had stood next to me at the front of the piazza was staring at me. I smiled and asked if she knew the way to the Pantheon. She surprised me by speaking excellent English. Her name was Marguret and she had heard me talking to some other Americans during the mass; she was hoping to practice her English with one of us. There are times that I am a lucky man.
Marguret was from Poland, but works in the tourist industry in Venice. She was in town for Easter and staying with some friends.
Instead of giving me directions, she took me on a personal tour of the city. Past the Vatican Corridor and Castel Sant’ Angelo we walked, crossing the Tiber and walking into Piazza Navona. There we saw the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, a fountain designed by Bernini before cutting across to Piazza della Rotonda – the site of the Pantheon.
The Pantheon is an amazing temple. It’s early pagan symbolism was obvious from the start – especially the hole in the center of the roof. The large open arean was filled with various beams of light drifting down from above. Raphaels tomb was on my left and tourist surrounded me.
After guiding me to the Pantheon, I told Marguret that I owed her a cup of coffee. We walked around to a little bar behind the Pantheon and had what we both agreed was the best cappucino ever. Instead of being merely foamy coffee, it held hints of chocolate and cinnamon within the foam. Throw in some biscotti and you had a snack that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
Marguret and I spent the rest of the afternoon walking and talking. She showed me Trevi and the Spanish Steps; I took her to High Tea in Babingtons – a tea restaurant in Piazza di Spagna. She loves tea, has friends in England, and was impressed with my knowing of a tea house. (Thank you, guide book!)
We parted ways in the Piazza del Popolo. I have an open invite to come to Venice and visit.
Feeling pretty socialized out, I returned to the hostel, washed up and had a great meal in the restaurant across the street. Bruschetta, a pasta course, and finally a Sicillian fish dish; it was a perfect meal. Following a small cup of espresso, I returned to the hostel and crashed.
The day after that – Joshua gets attacked by legonnaires in honor of Rome’s birthday and Bernini sculptures abound.