Thoughts, Theories and Things: Italia day 2 in ROMA

Day two in Rome started as the sun was rising... 6am baby!! Our group was scheduled to be at mass by 6:45am at St. Peter's Basilica to hear Cardinal Wuerl give the blessings. That was VERY early for a girl who a) had done SOOO much walking, traveling, exploring, drinking and eating the night before and b) for a girl who doesn't really attend mass in the first place, let alone at 6:45am with a group of people she doesn't know. All I can say is that I had NO motivation to go.

After we were transferred in our private shuttle, we arrived as the sun was casting a warm glow onto St. Peter's square. I was pleasantly surprised by this truly breathtaking sight. The smell of buttery croissants and strong espresso filled the morning air and the fresh dew gave me goosebumps as I stepped out of the shuttle. The different aromas, the touch of the cool morning mist on my skin and the sound of shop keepers opening their cafes brought me back to my days in Buenos Aires and even 5 year ago to Luxembourg...a brief nostalgia came across me of days gone by.

The warm glow on St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Square in early morning

We made our way through the metal detectors (and each and every one of us beeped as we walked through) this did not even faze the guards...oh, Rome! As we entered the INCREDIBLE Basilica, (for the second time in my life) I was yet again overcome by its enormity and of course detail. The art and history that emanates throughout this Church is indescribable and must be seen with your own eyes to truly believe the magnitude that it permeates. We were directed to a private sector in the basement of the Basilica (a very rare occurrence for most people) and arrived at the Tomb of St. Peter where we sat on very stiff wooden benches and then had to kneel on VERY uncomfortable stools (my knees actually did scrape from this). It was here that I began to truly take in the scenario around me. I was at mass with a CARDINAL (a Prince to the Catholic Church), 6 very religious young priests, and a group of holy Archdiocese lay people, in the basement of the holiest and most powerful Basilica's in the entire world. Just another standard Friday morning...no big deal. All I could say was that I felt extremely safe.

Mass in the basement of the Basilica

Cardinal Wuerl

Eucharistic Blessing

The Pieta of course!

After mass we walked to a cute Italian cafe, San Pietro, for a stand up Roman-style breakfast of chocolate croissants and espressos! My coworker, Galina and I sat with two young priests who had graduated form Dematha and just chatted away. It was here that I had no shame and asked them every question under the sun. Why priests can't marry, why women can't be priests, do they miss women, why does the Catholic church not allow gay marriage and my questions went on and on. It was a great conversation because these young men were extremely honest and had lots to say. They said it was a true calling for them and yes, most of their lives they did want to get married, however the calling to God was a stronger desire. I found this to all be extremely interesting.

We continued our day with a private tour of the Vatican gardens. This was a lovely part of our morning. The gardens are grandiose, well manicured and extremely private and therefore peaceful. We walked the gardens for quite some time and enjoyed learning the history.

me in front of the Vatican

Guido and Maryanne

Cherubs (love.)

St. Peter's Basilica in the distance

Vatican City

Adorable nuns meandering the gardens....

Of course we were all ready for lunch by the time our garden tour terminated...so we headed over for a VERY unique, and special lunch at Cardinal Wuerl's favorite place (the name escapes me). As we wandered through Vatican city we passed nun and priest stores EVERYWHERE. There was an overwhelming amount of holy people walking around, nuns on bikes, priests in their robes and hats buying bread, wine etc. It is humorous to see so many church people in their habits and "uniforms?" walking about the city...there really is nothing quite like it. An entire country (Vatican City) of holy people... We enjoyed our lunch with the entire group- this consisted of meat pasta, meat lasagna and meat vegetables and meat other things (yes, very challenging for a vegetarian turned vegan turned vegetarian again, but what are you gonna do when the Cardinal chooses the menu??) Regardless of the meat situation (I just ate around it and filled up on the endless bottles of wine placed at our tables), it was delicious and fun!!

Cardinal Wuerl's favorite restaurant

Galina and I had free time after the meal so we set out to tour the entire city of Rome. We visited Hadrian's Tomb (BEAUTIFUL terrace view that overlooked the entire city), we went over to the Trastevere district, walked around Piazza Navona and admired the delicate paintings and crowds of people lounging by the fountains. We literally walked and walked until we were about to collapse. After our long day and a few hours where we separated (Galina read a book at the hotel and I of course shopped!) we met up again and walked through the plaza near our hotel to find a restaurant for dinner. I had heard that Scusate il RitardoTrevi Fountain one last time- it's truly spectacular at night because it is all lit up! An overall great day, full of sight-seeing, holy times, great food and of course wine!