Doing the Vatican Rock

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With an early tour we went to the Lido early. I did my potatoes and sausage thing, with a couple of croissants and cheese (and a chocolate milk). Sharon did her potatoes and toast with apple juice. Our tour was to assemble in the Showroom before 7 AM; and, ours was the second tour called. We were on the short, 9-hour papal visit tour and the one just ahead of us was the longer 11-hour papal visit tour. In ours, we have lunch after the papal audience and then we do some Rome touring by coach. The other tour included a 2 hr shopping stop at the Peoples Square.

Our guide informed us that it will be over one hour to drive to Rome this morning from Civitavecchia. This is the port created by Trajan. We drove by an old fort designed by Michelangelo. We approached the highway where we saw next to the onramp, what our guide called an hold-trash-can home (or at least that is what Sharon heard). It’s just the way our guide pronounces English words beginning with a vowel; so, to translate: “an old Etruscan home”. By the time she told us that November is the time for harvest of the crops from these gnarly trees that we were passing by, for which they will be making the “hoalive hoyle”. It is harvest season and there is much to do. It’s time for tomatoes and bruschetta. Pine trees are common in Rome, what the locals call “umbrella trees”. We may need some today. Pine nuts are used to make the pesto.

Today is also a thrill for our guide… it will be her first time to see the pope. This morning we were in a good mood, humming a tune. It seems an ear worms has got a hold of me, can’t seem to shake. Her lyrics were just a bit amiss from the original… “We’re off to see the popeee, the wonderful holy see.” This of course is from one of our favorite musical series at the La Comedia Dinner Theatre where we have seen four installments of “The Church Basement Ladies”. It’s about a group of Minnesotan Lutheran woman who support church functions with their cooking. In one episode they are forced to use the kitchen in a catholic church, and the elder woman gets a little bit tipsy from drinking what she believes to be a cordial, and has a conversation with the pope whose picture is hanging on the wall, and she refers to him fondly as “The Popeee”.

Guide pointed to the yellow building where pope takes his residence… not in the papal palace as his predecessors did, but in this monastery. After the bus drops us off we make our way to St. Peters square. There was some question whether the weather would make this an inside event. We were supposed to have reserved seating, but on the bus our guide alluded that this may not happen. Not looking forward to standing for 1.5 hours. A small gift shop just outside the fenced off area is our muster point. We were encouraged to take this opportunity to use the Water Closet (WC). The men’s room was just four side by side urinals, so I guess that answers that question. When the door opens those outside easily see into the small room. Nothing is left to the imagination. Outside, we got our tickets; but, there was one left over. Fifteen minutes later our guide discovered that she’d been given an extra ticket. We follow our guide through the barrier. But it is too late for getting to our reserved seating. That section has been closed to access by the security forces. We wound up in the very back standing. Then our group was ushered into side coral and we got much closer and next to the end of the pope-route around and through the crowds. This was a twenty minute journey, watching him waving and smiling and standing the whole time. The steps in front of St. Peters lead up to the platform. Cardinals are assembled on either side as they awaited the Pope. A congress of bishops is also in the Vatican. The event started an hour early. We were not sure why: It could be the weather, church business… In the fine print the event is nominally scheduled to start at 10:30 AM although it may start at 10 in summer months (perhaps due to temperature and sunlight), or at other times at the discretion of the pope. If you have seats you need to get there 90 minutes early (whenever that may be) to get those seats. Despite what everyone said about being accessible by handicapped motorized carts… long flight of marble stairs from bus terminal made that problematic. Some with walking/standing issues in our group. Ruth decided not to come after checking with staff and checking online reviews, and conflicting info worried her justly. She asked us to get a small rock for her while we were in Rome. She collects them from her travels.

The pope made his grand entrance to the square in his modest pope-mobile. It is nothing like the “bubble-boy” pope mobile of John Paul II, introduced after he’s been shot. This was a much simpler cart with a sheet that covers over him from the front to the back in one smooth arching form; while, being open on the sides. I’ll bet it’s a fiat. I got a couple of good shots early with the zoom pushed to maximum, one of him waving and from the side so there was no distortion from the glass protective sheet, which looks to be more for protection from the rain than anything else. The today ON LOCATION promised thunderstorms today, and any hopes we might have had for an inside ceremony were dashed when we saw the crowds already assembled in the square (in our seats). The pope was driven all around, starting in the front just in front of the steps of St. Peters Cathedral, then back across the front to our side, then directly towards us where I got a couple decent shots. I hoped he’d come all the way to us; but they turned to go back across in the path separating the people in front of us into the front and rear seated sections. They then came to the back row, again heading towards us; but we were standing against the far side railing as he approached us and there were a few rows of people standing in front of us on our side of the railing, and a few more rows of people standing on the other side behind the seating. Sharon said, “Get ready to take his picture.” But the angle was not good and I said, “Doubt that will happen, as soon as he gets close all of the cell phones and iPads will block any view I have.” No sooner than having said that, up they went like a curtain. And when they turned to go back up the side towards the front directly in front of us, where I would have the best angle and look at them, the pope was mostly obscured by the person standing on the rear of the vehicle. He looked like a cameraman; but, I suppose he could have been security as well, all dressed out in heavy black fatigues.

A reading from Mark commences the ceremony. It was done in French and English and German and about 7 other languages that I didn’t recognize, no doubt Spanish and Italian, and probably Polish as well. A large group was here from Chile sitting up front in the center section, with about half a dozen flags to their rear. Learned later were a contingent of the miners that had been trapped for days in 2010 while we were on our first trip here. The pope then spoke while seated for about fifteen minutes, in is calm reassuring voice so many have come to love. Then came the translations, summaries of what he had said, which seemed to take about five minutes per language. His talk had focused on children and the family, and the importance of doing right by the children. The event ended with “Our Father” in Latin, which had been printed on the back of our purple entry tickets. During the speeches, we saw more than one bride and groom making their way to the front, she in her formal wedding gown and he in his formal best. On these Wednesday the pope will bless the marriages of those who come to him, as he gave all in attendance his blessing.

After the papal audience, we had the hour and one-half to kill at the end. We got a Coke and Sprite from a street vendor and his cart that sold a wide array of edibles, at a cost of 4 Euros per soda. Water was also available for 2 Euros. We found marble benches along the building and a spot where we both could sit beside a street vendor selling his papal jewelry. I finished my soda and then walked up and down a couple back alleyways and could find no loose stones for Ruth. And I was the constant target of beggars. I went back to where Sharon was still seated and we decided to take a walk and maybe find a gelateria. After going as far as we dared, we relented and decided to go with another street vendor in his similar cart and Sharon got a scoop of chocolate and I went with a pistachio cone. One scoop was 4 Euro (two would have been 5 Euro, but lunch was coming up soon). Then I notice a baseball cap, black with red-white-green stitching for “Roma” and white stitching for the colosseum, St. Peter’s Dome, Trajan’s Arch and Trevia Fountain s. And the edge of the brim has “Italia” stitched in red and green. For 5 Euros it was a bargain. Of course, the moment I opened my wallet to pay for the cap a couple of beggars appeared with their hands out. The street vendor shooed them away. We went back to where Sharon and I had been sitting previously and found our seats were still there, next to another couple from our tour. He was one of the ones with walking and standing issues. They had been told they could bring the scooter, so he had left his portable cane that can fold down a seat if needed back at the ship. This would have been ideal for him today. Fortunately someone with a seat, saw his plight and had invited him to alternately share their spot. This person also had similar standing issues; but, each could stand for a short time and so they got through the presentation. He said people behind the barrier were trying to figure out why they kept exchanging the seat. Then we were confronted by a street vendor from Somalia. He was selling various knick-knacks and engaged the four of us in conversation, in fairly good English, complimenting us on America (I guess I’ll have to swap out my Alaska hat for the Roma hat I just bought). He went down the row and was shaking each of our hands, and I did think, okay, my ring and watch are on my left hand so I suppose it’s okay to shake his hand. Sharon had left her rings back in the safe in our cabin, I probably should too. The guide had warned us about pickpockets. The Somalian continued congratulating us on being able to travel, and being two happy couples… how he has a wife back in Somalia, and a new baby girl… and you can see where this is going. He then said that he wanted to give us something, because it is such a wonderful day and he wants to share the joy he feels for having a new baby (to take care of). Since Americans maybe are a little extra dense he did finally get around to suggesting that maybe we could give him a little something for all of the joy we are feeling. It was clear he wasn’t going away easily, and I did have 2 Euro change in my pocket from the ice cream so I gave it to him. He still pressed the others for something, and the lady did extend her hand which he took thinking it was money, but she was just returning his animal figurine.

We still had thirty minutes to kill looking for a stone for Ruth, so we walked on the cobblestones beyond the barriers for watching the pope’s address. We both spotted a likely small stone that appeared to be wedged between two large cobblestones. All around are standing policeman in their black uniforms. I kneel down as if to tie my shoe, and try to wiggle the small stone free. To my surprise, it does seem to move a little bit, and isn’t like some others that I’d tried to free and part of a larger stone deeply embedded in the roadway. But I just can’t seem to get my fingers into the tight space between the two larger stones to get a good grip on this prize. Then I spot a broken pen wedged between two nearby cobblestones and I am able to get it free. I use that as a lever slipping it under the stone I was trying to free, and voila… the stone is going into Ruth’s collection, direct from St. Peter’s Square. I hope I haven’t broken any archeological or historic site antiquities rules. I was later to tell Ruth that there’s no telling how many popes have stepped on this exact pebble!

Our guide led us from St. Peter’s to a restaurant up a nearby side street, under and beyond the aqueduct archway. They were ready for us in the seating area in the basement. The tables were already set, and salads were quickly provided. Water and red wine was on the table. They brought around lasagna for us to eat, and I told Sharon that it was almost as good as my lasagna. I ate both my serving, and Sharon’s too. They brought around slabs of vanilla and chocolate ice cream. Doubles of that were available if you wanted, but one serving was enough for Sharon (and me).

After lunch, we went on a one hour tour of Rome. We drove by the Colosseum (which is being cleaned and surrounded some by scaffolding… it did appear that the surfaces we say were much less stained by eons of soot and smog), the Forum, the Palentine hill where the emperors lived. As an aside, the Colosseum did not sustain any damage from smoke or fire when Rome burned under Nero; because, it hadn’t been built yet! And the entire arena took just six years to build. What we see today is just a shell of its former glory as the marble facades were scavenged for St. Peters Cathedral. We saw the Circus Maximus where the chariot races occurred. We drove by the neighborhood where the rich and famous stay and dine at places such as the Hard Rock Café. We didn’t get to Trevia Fountain since the buses can’t get down the street, but saw the alleyway that led on up to it. It is under renovation and there is just a bit of water in it now. We wound up back at the Vatican, and it was time to head back to the ship. We were running a bit late, but the ship doesn’t sail until 9PM; and we should be back by 5PM. This rapid fire tour-about-town format was great to revisit Rome, and when added to a Papal visit; but, I’d recommend a more intensive much, much longer walking tour as we took five years ago for first time visitors. That tour had us walking from Trevia Fountain down past the Forum along the Circus Maximus and winding up at the Colosseum. There was lunch on that tour as well, and then a visit to the Vatican to see the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Cathedral. We’ll get our chance for an in depth visit next week when we return before boarding the Zuiderdam for our Atlantic crossing.

We returned with 10 minutes to spare to get up to the Crow’s Nest for Team Trivia. Sharon hurried off to mass. I was still wearing my Number 3 HAL sticker for the tour. I walked in at 5 PM sharp and went up to get my, what Dave calls, “Future Answer Sheet”. Dave hadn’t started just yet and I found a table by myself. Before we started, he asked to let him know if he’d already asked any of the questions, which he proceeded to do with the first question… I shouted out “Repeat.” Some people grumbled because they knew the answer. I felt embarrassed missing the first question, but Dave didn’t give a clue as to what field the acronym “IMF” belongs to; so, I guess that must mean that it should be obvious. I drew a blank and made something up. After our trip to the Holy Land it’s good that I knew where the “Wailing Wall” is, or Sharon probably would have me committed. What sport uses terms like, hooker and scrum? It had to be rugby; because, even though Dave is an American he asks a lot of rugby questions. Then came an interesting question, “What year follows 1BC?” As with the Roman numbering system, notice how so many ancient dates are given in Roman Numerals, and there is no zero in this numbering system; and, so the answer just had to be 1 AD… and it was! I couldn’t even guess what group is made up of Benny, Bjorn, Agatha and Frieda. Sharon would have correctly come up with Abba; and, she would have known who Justin Timberlake is currently married to (Jessica Biel). The final regular fifteen trivia questions was one I should have known; but, I couldn’t come up with the name of the actor currently playing James Bond in the movies. It is Daniel Craig. Getting just 10 points for the first fifteen questions things did not look too good for me. I told Dave that the first question was a repeat from the previous cruise… which didn’t seem to worry about and asked the question anyway… What is the world’s highest waterfall; and, what country is it in? Angel Falls in Venezuela was worth 4 points in this bonus round. I knew what word is derived from the Latin for “terrible lizard”, the event you would be attending to see a female athlete hoist the Venus Rose Water Dish, and which language (after English) is the one officially used in 29 countries (more than any other, except for English). Cruise directors like ‘dinosaur’ questions, Grand Slam Tennis questions (‘Wimbledon’) and Country/Language questions (‘French’). I was the top scoring team, by myself, with 20 points. With Sharon it would have been a slam dunk!

Mass ran long and Sharon said the room was full to hear the priest from Malta. We went to dinner and I enjoyed the Bruschetta with goat cheese, tomato, and pesto. I followed that with a beef/chicken satay with a tasty peanut sauce. And I also tried the watermelon gazpacho, as Sharon did as well, and that was quite good and refreshing. We both ordered the Prime Rib with Baked Potato. We both enjoyed ample servings cooked the way we requested. We both ordered the Crème Brule for dessert, seeing no gotta-have-it chocolate dessert tonight.

We stopped by the Ocean Bar to check in with Ruth and friends who are now the holders of the Trivia Champagne bottle. They’re going to save it for the next cruise when there should be more people at their dinner table to share it with. There was no show tonight except the Dancing with the Stars at Sea Finale. We both decided to turn in early and get ready for our next private tour day.

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