St. Peters Square
Today was Vatican Day -
We hopped aboard the train headed to Roma San Pietro Stazione. What a difference it makes when the train has a little screen that tells you what stop you are at rather than trying to look out the window and catch a glimpse of the little thing as you whiz by...
Anyhoo, we arrived and are meandering our way around Berninis marble columns of the arms that welcome you to St. Peters Square. We stop dead center looking the front of St. Peters Basilica head on.. we are trying to figure out why guards are not letting anyone into the Square... we are wondering if it is the Wednesday weekly audience that the pope gives. After all, it is Wednesday at 12:30. When, Lo and behold a little white blob seems to be at the front door of the basilica, and lo the little white blob is in the popemobile motorizing our way. Wow! Benedecto is in the house! and he's out and about.! I personally, am a little choked up. We didn't really thing we were going to see the papa! We didn't even know he was in town. His little vehicle doesn't make it our way, it turns to the right and heads out the street to disappear behind the Basilica. We see the little white hand up and waving up a storm. I can only imagine his little cute grin on his face. Our hearts are full. What a special little gift we received! We couldn't have timed that one if we tried. The pope himself has come out to welcome us to Vatican City! We smile at each other and continue to meander over to the Vatican Museum.
We are nearly there when we notice that the line to the Museum appears to be wrapped around three blocks. Oh, no, I think. We are never going to get in there today. We'll have to come back tomorrow. Its not quite all the way sunk in that this is the end of the line for the day. The Sistine chapel is the one thing mom wanted to see while on her vacation! Ah la la...
When out of no where, appears a little nymph who asks us, Do you speak English? Yes we blink back at it. (Was it the stupid looks on our faces that gave us away as Americans?) Would you like to bypass all these lines? We have a group tour in English that is just starting up now and the Guide is very knowledgeable and from South Aftica. We blink two times at her and can't seem to form any thoughts in response to this. Finally, I offer, well How much does it cost? Oh sorry, she says its 25 Euros each for the tour and 13 Euros for the standard fare to get into the Vatican museum. Sure I say, damn thats a steal to make a dream happen. We start following her around the crowds, one block, two blocks, she is getting farther and farther ahead of us... My mind starts kicking in now, Is she going to take our money and just run away with it? Are we really super dumb tourists? We get to the head of the line. Suddenly an Italian guard comes over and starts yelling at her in Italian. He is none to pleased. She is yelling back at him and gesturing to us and using the word Bano. She is yelling at him that the guide just went inside and we just missed him. Oh, shit. I think. We are cutting in line. She has no credentials. This is a complete rip off. Grazie I say to the guard. NO GRAZIE !!!!! NO! NO GRAZIE !!! He yells back at me. Oh my, what a pent up little fellow. He runs over to more guards and starts pointing at us an our nymph.. We slip inside before they make it over to us. The Security guards welcome the little nymph, and pull us out of line to quickly pass through security. I start to relax a bit. O.K., the guards inside recognize her perhaps this is somewhat legitimate.
She takes us to our Guide, Grant. Like Cary Grant the nymph beams. There are about 8 other Americans hovering about. He asks us our surname. Which one is that? Erika? I offer. Surname he says, oh Swinburne. He marks down EMILY ,2 next to our name. Ah, the nymph is named Emily. Some names are marked JAMES or JOHN. This is quite the underground Vatican Smuggling ring. "You are welcome to use the restroom, we'll wait for you" Cary Grant offers. We pay Cary Grant, then Mom and I slip out to the 10 minute line. Half way through we look at each other and mutter he is not going to be there when we get back from the restroom is he? Probably not she says. We laugh at ourselves. Amazingly, when we get back up, Cary Grant is still there, and the little nymph has managed to bring another dozen people smuggled through the line while we were in the restroom.
We start our travels. Cary Grant turned about to be the most amazing and knowledgeable guide. He delivered a 30 minute lecture on the Sistine Chapel, the life of Michaelangelo, etc out in the garden where they have pictures of the sistine chapel for group tours to look at. You are not allowed to talk or take pictures in the sistine chapel, so we must discuss it here. He guided us all through the treasures of the museum, which was a 2 hour tour. We had no idea there were so many statues and paintings from antiquity in the museum. Evidently, it was closed to the public and was a private museum and chapel only for the pope until Musollini who created Vatican City made it a stipulation that the public must gain access to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel as part of his negotians with the church in giving them their own country. Something Musolinni did right!
I was completely blown away by the Sistine Chapel. Oh my goodness, it is just as moving as the DAVID in Florence. The 4 year effort he put into this when he was not even a painter, but a sculptor was just extremely moving. It is so amazing how he noticed that the first 3 panels he painted were too small, once the scaffolding was moved away and he made them bigger and bigger moving outwards to the end. I spent 7 heavly minutes with my head bent as far backwards as possible. Mom and I held hands so we wouldn't get separated from each other in the crowd that is standing room only and ushered into the chapel. She would pull me along every minute or so to see the next of the 12 panels in the middle. Lovely!
Then,. one of our favorite parts was leaving the Sistine chapel through the back door, which only Museum guides are allowed to access. It leads down a back stairwell to the steps of St. Peters Basilica. Cary Grant told us that at the conclave after the election of the new pope, the new pope exists that exit and walks down the very steps that we are on to go to the balcony above the entrance of the Basilica tot meet the world. The pope goes to the right to the balcony and we went to the left to exit. Simply amazing .!
We came home to yet another very special treat. A home mass by MACS v ery dear friend Fr. Kim Schreck. He was just ordainened 103 days ago and this was his first home mass in Italy. How special to have this in the home! What a perfect way finish off a spiritual day. Starting with the Pope and ending with one of the churches newest fathers! We were soo so so blessed. He gave us a blessing on our pilgrimage and our visit! Following mass, M opened a bottle of wine and we toasted life and ate a delicious Pasta meal that MAC had prepared. Life is good!! So Good!
Salut!
We hopped aboard the train headed to Roma San Pietro Stazione. What a difference it makes when the train has a little screen that tells you what stop you are at rather than trying to look out the window and catch a glimpse of the little thing as you whiz by...
Anyhoo, we arrived and are meandering our way around Berninis marble columns of the arms that welcome you to St. Peters Square. We stop dead center looking the front of St. Peters Basilica head on.. we are trying to figure out why guards are not letting anyone into the Square... we are wondering if it is the Wednesday weekly audience that the pope gives. After all, it is Wednesday at 12:30. When, Lo and behold a little white blob seems to be at the front door of the basilica, and lo the little white blob is in the popemobile motorizing our way. Wow! Benedecto is in the house! and he's out and about.! I personally, am a little choked up. We didn't really thing we were going to see the papa! We didn't even know he was in town. His little vehicle doesn't make it our way, it turns to the right and heads out the street to disappear behind the Basilica. We see the little white hand up and waving up a storm. I can only imagine his little cute grin on his face. Our hearts are full. What a special little gift we received! We couldn't have timed that one if we tried. The pope himself has come out to welcome us to Vatican City! We smile at each other and continue to meander over to the Vatican Museum.
We are nearly there when we notice that the line to the Museum appears to be wrapped around three blocks. Oh, no, I think. We are never going to get in there today. We'll have to come back tomorrow. Its not quite all the way sunk in that this is the end of the line for the day. The Sistine chapel is the one thing mom wanted to see while on her vacation! Ah la la...
When out of no where, appears a little nymph who asks us, Do you speak English? Yes we blink back at it. (Was it the stupid looks on our faces that gave us away as Americans?) Would you like to bypass all these lines? We have a group tour in English that is just starting up now and the Guide is very knowledgeable and from South Aftica. We blink two times at her and can't seem to form any thoughts in response to this. Finally, I offer, well How much does it cost? Oh sorry, she says its 25 Euros each for the tour and 13 Euros for the standard fare to get into the Vatican museum. Sure I say, damn thats a steal to make a dream happen. We start following her around the crowds, one block, two blocks, she is getting farther and farther ahead of us... My mind starts kicking in now, Is she going to take our money and just run away with it? Are we really super dumb tourists? We get to the head of the line. Suddenly an Italian guard comes over and starts yelling at her in Italian. He is none to pleased. She is yelling back at him and gesturing to us and using the word Bano. She is yelling at him that the guide just went inside and we just missed him. Oh, shit. I think. We are cutting in line. She has no credentials. This is a complete rip off. Grazie I say to the guard. NO GRAZIE !!!!! NO! NO GRAZIE !!! He yells back at me. Oh my, what a pent up little fellow. He runs over to more guards and starts pointing at us an our nymph.. We slip inside before they make it over to us. The Security guards welcome the little nymph, and pull us out of line to quickly pass through security. I start to relax a bit. O.K., the guards inside recognize her perhaps this is somewhat legitimate.
She takes us to our Guide, Grant. Like Cary Grant the nymph beams. There are about 8 other Americans hovering about. He asks us our surname. Which one is that? Erika? I offer. Surname he says, oh Swinburne. He marks down EMILY ,2 next to our name. Ah, the nymph is named Emily. Some names are marked JAMES or JOHN. This is quite the underground Vatican Smuggling ring. "You are welcome to use the restroom, we'll wait for you" Cary Grant offers. We pay Cary Grant, then Mom and I slip out to the 10 minute line. Half way through we look at each other and mutter he is not going to be there when we get back from the restroom is he? Probably not she says. We laugh at ourselves. Amazingly, when we get back up, Cary Grant is still there, and the little nymph has managed to bring another dozen people smuggled through the line while we were in the restroom.
We start our travels. Cary Grant turned about to be the most amazing and knowledgeable guide. He delivered a 30 minute lecture on the Sistine Chapel, the life of Michaelangelo, etc out in the garden where they have pictures of the sistine chapel for group tours to look at. You are not allowed to talk or take pictures in the sistine chapel, so we must discuss it here. He guided us all through the treasures of the museum, which was a 2 hour tour. We had no idea there were so many statues and paintings from antiquity in the museum. Evidently, it was closed to the public and was a private museum and chapel only for the pope until Musollini who created Vatican City made it a stipulation that the public must gain access to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel as part of his negotians with the church in giving them their own country. Something Musolinni did right!
I was completely blown away by the Sistine Chapel. Oh my goodness, it is just as moving as the DAVID in Florence. The 4 year effort he put into this when he was not even a painter, but a sculptor was just extremely moving. It is so amazing how he noticed that the first 3 panels he painted were too small, once the scaffolding was moved away and he made them bigger and bigger moving outwards to the end. I spent 7 heavly minutes with my head bent as far backwards as possible. Mom and I held hands so we wouldn't get separated from each other in the crowd that is standing room only and ushered into the chapel. She would pull me along every minute or so to see the next of the 12 panels in the middle. Lovely!
Then,. one of our favorite parts was leaving the Sistine chapel through the back door, which only Museum guides are allowed to access. It leads down a back stairwell to the steps of St. Peters Basilica. Cary Grant told us that at the conclave after the election of the new pope, the new pope exists that exit and walks down the very steps that we are on to go to the balcony above the entrance of the Basilica tot meet the world. The pope goes to the right to the balcony and we went to the left to exit. Simply amazing .!
We came home to yet another very special treat. A home mass by MACS v ery dear friend Fr. Kim Schreck. He was just ordainened 103 days ago and this was his first home mass in Italy. How special to have this in the home! What a perfect way finish off a spiritual day. Starting with the Pope and ending with one of the churches newest fathers! We were soo so so blessed. He gave us a blessing on our pilgrimage and our visit! Following mass, M opened a bottle of wine and we toasted life and ate a delicious Pasta meal that MAC had prepared. Life is good!! So Good!
Salut!
posted by Rojo at 4:55 AM
1 Comments:
Good words.
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