"Today I am going to see the pope."

We were both so glad to be heading out of Naples that we didn’t care that we had to get up early for our train. Not that it was easy after staying up half the night. But off we went and I could already tell it was going to be a better experience for me at least. While we were waiting in line for our taxi I turned yet again to Jason and said, “Today I’m going to see the pope”. He laughed.

After dropping our bags off at the monastery which is sooo very nice and air-conditioned and quiet we headed directly for the Vatican. I’ve been soo excited about see it and seeing the Pope. As we went through security what did we hear? What did we see? It was the POPE!!! I looking at him and laughed. I don’t know what it is or why but ever since I decided on coming to Rome I’ve been sure I was going to see him. Perhaps the positive thoughts really helped? Perhaps, I just really needed his blessing. Either way, there we were and the world held still moment. He spoke in French, English, Spanish Portuguese, Italian and Polish. The big reason for this event? Well, it was the beautification of John Paul II. The ceremony ended with singing of the Lord’s Prayer and a blessing for everyone present and all our loved ones at home. It was amazing! The weirdest thing I heard “this could take hours”… like you can just go see the Pope any day. Seriously? Where’s the respect people, even if you aren’t Catholic he’s still and elder. We also hit up the Sistine Chapel, which I actually found somewhat disappointing. Perhaps it’s because the basilica was so amazing, free and didn’t have as many people. However, I’m glad we did it, and I snuck a picture. I don’t normally break rules in places like that regarding art however, since they allowed us all to be packed in there like sardines, no one was being silent and everyone was taking flash photos, I quickly snapped a photo for myself. It’s slightly blurry and now flash was used but it’ll help me with my “mind photo”.

We also wanted to see the Coliseum, the forum, the severan complex, the palatine hill and the Trevi fountain. For me, yet again the shear complexity and size of the Roman architecture blew my mind. I can’t fathom what life would have been like but I can say I’m totally impressed by the details and even the idea of how much time, effort and sweat was put into making these structures.

I have to say Rome has made up for Naples, but I wouldn’t want to miss Pompeii… so I’m not sure what I would recommend should anyone ask. I feel so lucky to have Jason with me, as he’s been an incredible tour guide, he’s such a wealth of knowledge on all this stuff. Pretty fun to get to play 100 questions with your tour guide and take him home. ;)  We’re off to Eze tomorrow where I really might not be able to get online, due to the price…  my next blog may be in 5 days as a summery of our time in Eze and the surrounding areas.  Blessings to all of you. I feel like I can say that now that I’ve been blessed. ;)