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Published: March 18th 2012
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<-- (Video Here) Our plan this morning was to leave early, find some breakfast on the run (since we didn't have our pantry stocked yet), then go to Vatican City for the 10:30 Latin mass in St. Peter's Basilica followed by a 12:00 blessing by Pope Benedict from his apartment window.
After stopping for some croissants and juice, we were slowed a bit by crowds and festivities surrounding the Rome marathon, which happened to be today. This was ok for a while, as it allowed us to stop and allow the kids to rest a little. However, it began to feel more like we were fish swimming upstream as we had to follow or cross the race path multiple times on the way across the city. By the time we reached Vatican City, it was just after 10:30, and we had not yet been through security, which wasn't too long but added another 10-15 minutes. Then we had to check the stroller. In the end, we were able to listen but not participate in mass as they roped off each area of the Basilica as a mass began. But, it was still a very beautiful and moving experience to hear
the music, see some very famous paintings and relics, and experience the ambiance of this amazing room. It is huge and is like a museum by itself.
After mass, we noticed a large migration to the exits, and so we thought it would be good to head out to hear the Pope's blessing. This was also not an easy thing to do because of the hundreds of people crowding through a set of double doors. We also had to retrieve our stroller from baggage check, but it turned out that this secured us a front row view of the blessing because we were allowed to leave through the entrance on the North side of the Basilica.
The entire experience was moving, and to see the pilgrims and groups from all around the world cheering, celebrating, and even dancing was a good cultural experience for all of us.
The rest of the day was spent meandering through central Rome, visiting several of the sights that are farther away from our apartment: The Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, and several famous plazas of Rome. We also found a pretty good pizzeria tucked out of the way from the big
crowds and had some more gelato for our birthday girl, Grace. After walking about 5 miles, we decided it would be best to take the Metro subway back to our apartment.
The marathon was just ending by this time (we witnessed the last place runner and closing of the course), but the crowds were even worse. The subway was very full, and it was a challenge to stick together and make a connection back to the Colisseum.
Back on foot, our plan was to find a grocery and make dinner in our apartment. We found a Fruteria and secured pasta and sauce and other various groceries for the next few meals. We learned from our previous vacation that a few meals at 'home' is a good way to not only save money, but also provide a needed break from the stress of finding, ordering, keeping kids under control, arguing over the bill in Italian, etc.
Tomorrow we plan to see the nearby attractions to get a break from walking before the last big hurrah.
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