Italy Bellissimo Travelogue, continued

Day 1 of Tour- Evening post Welcome Dinner

My son, my friend and I decided to go for a walk after dinner. I entertained the idea of going back to the piazzas and fountains to see it illuminated and spectate a passegiatta, but my type- A rational self, overruled against it. The negative things I've read about Rome resurfaced, thinking a different scenario that could happen at night despite a very positive experience earlier in the day.

My friend was determined to discover a unique gelato flavor and on the prowl for the best Italian pizza. She is a self- professed foodie and loves cooking. We found a gelateria but the flavors weren't unique enough for her. We people watched during this walk and decided it was time to go back to the hotel after seeing 2 undesirable human elements. I was itching to go back to the piazzas, but at that point, my son was ready to call it a night and my friend agreed.

Back at the hotel, I tried to shower before hitting the bed, but I couldn't get the hot water control to work. Since it was so late, I just gritted my teeth, and endured cold water to wash what's necessary. I decided using dry shampoo for my hair would be wiser than a cold water torture.

Day 2 of Tour- St. Peter's Square

One night down in Rome. We had buffet breakfast as part of the tour package. While I prepared myself to eat a lot of carbs during this trip, I found out quickly that Italian breakfast consisted of a variety of pastries. At that I point, the low- carb diet was completely thrown out the window for the trip's entirety. I notified the front desk of our shower issues, and by the time I ran upstairs to retrieve something, someone was already there fixing it.

We were scheduled to go to the Vatican Museums on the tour's second day but it was a Sunday, so the museums were closed. Our Travel Director decided to take us to St. Peter's Square to watch the Pope appear from his window to give a speech and blessing to the faithful and pray the Angelus at noon. Unfortunately for us, road closures due to the Rome Marathon complicated our situation. Our Travel Director was like a platoon leader, handing us radios before disembarking from the bus, and herding us to squeeze through a crowd of marathon spectators, pilgrims and tourists. At one point, I had some genuine concerns about our security, but I surrendered it all to the Guy Above and the Italian police. Our Tour Director alerted us on costumed pickpockets and be on guard for our belongings. We got through the walled state after passing 2 security and metal detector checks.

Photos from L to R: The Rome Marathon runners passing just outside St. Peter's Square, Our group squeezing through a throng of spectators, tourists and pilgrims. Lastly, we were warned about pickpockets dressed like this elderly woman. Marathon Photo courtesy of my friend, Filgie Jarina. Last 2 photos on the right, courtesy of my son, Alex.

As soon as I stepped on the grounds of St. Peter's Square, I was in awe by its enormity. Its rings of Doric columns, 56 ft high welcomed and embraced me as intended by the Baroque architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini who designed it. Despite its grandiosity, it felt like a motherly embrace for everyone present, not just for Catholics. I looked at my mom and I saw pure joy in her eyes. We looked at each other. There were no words needed, and we just hugged. The wonder and amazement in my son's eyes filled me with so much emotion. These days, young people get stereotyped for not appreciating history and art enough, but here was a tech- savvy young man, in awe of what was in front of him. Who in their right mind wouldn't appreciate the genius of the design, architecture and skills of the builders without any of the technology we have today? Evidently, the square was designed like a saucer so people in the periphery could see beyond the crowd. Then there was St. Peter's Basilica right in front of us- the largest and grandest church on earth and the most famous Renaissance architecture.

St. Peter's Square. Unfortunately, my SD card of ourRome and Pompeii visits got corrupted so I'll update my photos as soon as I recover them.

The crowd increased and moved closer to the center of the square. We stood close to the 2,000 year old Egyptian obelisk. At the struck of noon, he emerged from his window and began to speak in Italian, his voice soothing and gentle. None of the words he said I comprehended, except the Angelus prayer at the end, which he recited in Latin- something I prayed in English during my years in Catholic grade and high school. There were big screen TVs but my gaze was on his window, even though I could hardly make out his silhouette from where I was standing. He spoke for about 40 minutes. His popularity was so palpable among young people as he especially mentioned young delegates of cities/ countries who made the pilgrimage. This pope has been a symbol of change and acceptance for all people and his ecumenical efforts in reaching out to other religious leaders give me so much hope for humanity.

We opted to stay in the city instead of going back to the hotel with our tour group. I didn't want to leave Rome without having to see Caravaggio's work inside San Luigi's and having to step inside the Pantheon. My friend's quest of that gelato continues in my next blog of Day 2 of our free- time.

Tags: #VaticanCity #HolyCity #PopeFrancis #Blessing #RomanCatholic #Christian #History #Architecture #StPetersSquare #Angelus #Italian #Latin #Italy #RomeMarathon #Renaissance #Baroque #Doric #Bernini #ItalyBellissimo #TrafalgarTours #SimplyTrafalgar #Travel #Travelogue #Europe