Tripping over the Pope. I do a good deed.

So we DIDN’T go to see St. Peter’s today.

Well, kinda.

The basilica was the last item on our list of things to see here in Rome.  We headed out there at a leisurely pace towards the Vatican.  When we got there, the crowds were incredible.  My first thought was ‘well, that means we won’t see the inside of the Basilica’.  I was right, but not in the way I had expected.  I soon was able to see that the 50,000 people or so hanging around St. Peter’s Square weren’t in line to enter the church.  (I wonder why they call it a square when it is most definitely round.)  I found someone who looked like they could speak English and I asked them what the heck is going on.  There were no forms of public torture so it couldn’t be a Communist rally.  The mosh pit really stank (though I tried to start one.) so it wasn’t a heavy metal concert.

Turns out the Pope was making a public address today.  The man himself rode in and around the crowd in a white jeep.  (Sans bullet proof glass, I guess he feels a more bullet proof then the last Pope.)  And I got a pretty good look.  Here is where my good deed comes in.

A little old English lady was behind me, and she desperately wanted to see the Pope.  Once i realized what was going on I elbowed and shoved my way in the crowd to give her my spot.  I was interested in seeing the Pope, but only means as much to me as seeing any other celebrity.  This woman was so happy to be able to see the Pope, that is what really made my day today.  “I saw him, I saw him, I can say that I’ve seen him! Thank you, thank you.”

Two good deeds in one lunar month, I am getting soft.  

S.P.Q.R.

C and I spent the day in the Ancient city here in Rome.  We were both kind of disappointed by the lack of character here.  Naples, Venice, Milan, and Florence all had a very distinctive, if dirty feel.  But Rome itself seems kind of… generic?  The drivers here even slow down for you when you cross the streets, a rarity in Naples. 

The Ancient City itself is rather impressive.  The Colliseo is much larger then I imagined.  It is currently (like EVERYWHERE else in Europe) undergoing a massive restoration.  I think they should just rebuild the whole thing, and bring back the man vs. animal fights.  Those animals have been getting uppity for too long now and we need to show them who is the dominant predator again.  (Pro tip- Don’t buy your tickets at the Colosseum itself.  The ticket is a joint ticket with the Colosseum and Hill together.  Buy your tickets at the hill where there is no line, then you can bypass the hour plus wait at the Colosseum and walk right in.  Be sure to snicker at all the suckers standing in the two hundred meter queue as you go straight to the gates.)  Inside the stadium there was a small museum set up, devoted to, strangely enough, ancient Roman theatre.  It wasn’t too bad for the price- (free) but I think a small museum where you could take a sword and hack up some fruit on human shaped stands, or possibly try your hand at persecuting some Christians would fit in better with the locale.

The other day C and I also got to see a full fledged Communist Party march.  (Again, its like finding someone who still believes in Santa Claus.  Who still follows this stuff?)    Most of the marchers looked like high-school students, and they were too busy taking pictures of each-other to really get a good rally going. 

One thing that popped up here in Rome that we haven’t seen since the Sacre Couer in Paris- the string men.  Strange men walk up to you and ask you (or yell at you) to put your finger in a loop of colorful strings.  I am not sure what their plan is, because if a dirty guy walks up to me and growls at me to put my finger someplace, you can better believe listening to him is the last thing I am going to do.  Still, however, how they plan on extracting money from this string thing is beyond me.   C theorizes that they tie a quick loop around your finger then demand money for the service.  Since your finger is now tied to a string they are holding it is difficult to make an escape.  Sounds plausible to me but who would fall for it, seriously?

In a small tragedy today, I lost count of how many Canadian flags I have seen in the past six weeks.  I am not sure of the exact number but it was at least 1.5 times as many people actually live in Canada.

Tomorrow is Sunday so the Vatican will have to wait until Monday.  (Apparently people are supposed to be in Church or something on that day, instead of sightseeing- pfft.)  So I will have to wait two more days to fulfill my lifelong dream of shopping at the Vatican gift shop.  (I am hoping they have Pope shaped Soap on a Rope, or matched Pontiff salt and pepper shakers.)