But, for continuity's sake I will continue writing about my 23 day journey in Italy.
After Florence we were off to spend Christmas in Rome with our best friend, Pope Benedict XVI (aka Benny). A note about religion in Italy: they celebrate literally every single Christian holiday ever! Oh! It's a Tuesday! Jesus loves Tuesdays! Let's take the day off and go to the beach!! I'm sure there is much more religious significance to these random holidays than I'll ever care to comprehend and that many people take them seriously, but I thought the most interesting part was all the time everyone gets to take off from work.
Christmas with Benny:
Christmas day we headed over to the Vatican to receive our personal blessing from Benny. We got there a little early to beat the crowds, unexpectedly got 10th row seats, and I was actually able to make out darling old Benny's hands reaching out to send us God's love. I went there thinking that it would be a very pious event with serious and reserved undertones, but it was quite the opposite. There were school girls in their seats waving posters with "We love the pope!" written across as they chanted short little love cheers for Benny. Others waved their respective countries' flags and sang fight song-esque melodies to cheer on the pope's appearance. If anything, it was more like sitting in a crowd at a soccer match than at a religious service.
When the pope finally did come out, everyone went crazy! This whole experience made me realize the true magnitude of Benny's celebrity and the adoration and ecstasy he manages to inspire in millions across the globe.
Things I like about Benny:
- Even though he is technically God's representative on Earth to Catholics and is a kind of a big deal, he gave off a really friendly, buddy-buddy kind of vibe (hence, my nickname for him, Benny).
- He gives blessings in every language, and when he was speaking Korean, his accent wasn't half bad. In fact, I was able to make out maybe 40% of what he was trying to say in the language. Not too shabby.
- He wears designer loafers (Fendi, I think). It's nice to have a fashionable pope.
- Even after getting mauled by a crazy woman the night before at midnight mass, he still came out Christmas day to see us little people for the afternoon blessing. What a champ.
On one of our 5 days in Rome, we went on a tour of the Colosseum and the Palatine. At the Colosseum, rather than listing off interesting facts about the construction and use of the Colosseum, he decided to offer us a 20 minute philosophical musing about the Roman way of thinking and how that would translate to modern life. One quote he said kind of summed it up: "You take my money, I take your life." Then he asked us to envision the bank CEOs of the world being thrown into the pit with the lions as punishment for their part in creating the current economic crisis...which the merciless bitch in me found really amusing. I really enjoyed that he gave us a mini course on the character of the Roman people, which helped put the Colosseum and everything it represents in context.
Also, our Palatine tour guide had the most epic narration voice. It's the kind of voice that you imagine narrating really awesome quests or battles in movies.
The Award for Creepiest Church Ever Goes to...
The Capuchin Crypt in Rome. Alanna's mother had mentioned this church that houses sculptures made out of human bone as being an "interesting" experience worth a look. This description did not prepare us for what we would find.
Rows and rows of skulls lined up against the walls. Full human skeletons, sometimes with skin still on the face, dressed up in monks robes. A skeleton version of the grim reaper peering down at us from the ceiling. IT WAS THE CREEPIEST THING EVER!!!!
And, at the end of the crypt, was an inscription that, combined with all the bones and skeletons and halfway decomposed skin, sent chills through my body: "What you are now we used to be; what we are now you will be..."
Yeah...so be prepared for an emotional disturbance if you ever visit this Capuchin monastery in Rome...It was so affecting that we needed heaps of delicious gelato to recover.
The Awesome Nativity Scenes!Okay, being a little bit of a Christmas decorations fan, I think I can decently appreciate a good nativity scene. Rome was definitely the place to find the most elaborate and well designed ones ever.
I guess there's not much else to say about this...I just really enjoyed them.
Favorite Food Moment:
In Trastevere, we ended up going to this really great place called Pizzeria Sisini where I had suppli for the first time. They're little fried balls filled with risotto and some meat and tomato sauce and it was the best street food I had in Rome hands down.
Revisiting Rome was definitely a worthwhile experience. The dozens of piazzas, monuments, statues, art galleries, and historical spots can definitely be overwhelming to tourists, but it was really pleasant to walk around leisurely and take our time with the city. Christmas definitely didn't feel the same without being home, but it was memorable, special, and totally worth it. We weren't sick of pasta and pizza or each other yet (in fact, we had a huge moment when I asked Alanna what poisson reminded me of and she guessed The Little Mermaid correctly on the first try!). So, off we went to Venice to ring in 2010.
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