I woke this morning with two things on the agenda....(1) going to the big park with the Borghese Museum and (2) seeing the Pope, or atleast Vatican City. Molly was up for (1), but not (2), which seemed fine with me. If she tells you she met the Pope, she is telling a lie.
First we mailed another box of clothes home. I thought it was safe, since we will be heading further south and the weather should be warmer. All the boots and shoes Molly bought are in the box. Mine too. We are about 15 pounds lighter after that and so much better!
Anyways, we hit the big park first. Molly wanted to run and I found a bike to rent. We tried to stay together, but my picture taking seperated us in the first 10 minutes as she ran one way and I biked off another. It was another lovely day too. I biked by the Borghese Museum, by the zoo, by the Modern Art Museum, by statues and gardens and arches and fountains. I met up with Molly back at the bike rental and we headed into the metropolitan termoil again.
We saw the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps (again), had a kabob for lunch and parted ways. By the way, kabobs are popular everywhere in Europe. A cheap, fast, easy meal on almost every street courner. So what if that was what gave me food poisoning, it was time to try again............
I headed to the Vatican. Got off the subway and was lost. My map didn't help. I had a lightbulb idea and followed the only nun I could find, figuring she would lead me to Vatican City......and she did! Thank God.
Anyways, I waited in line to get into the Basilica and hoped to see the Pope and where he lived. Instead, for free, all I saw was where he gave his Wednesday morning sermons (and the biggest screen tv I have ever seen) and I also saw all the entombed Popes from the Past, including Pope John Paul the II, who died in 2005. A very active crypt I might say, similar to Jim Morrison's grave with guard and candles.
Next I found the entrance to the Sistine Chapel, where Michelangelo painted the ceiling. That was a long, long, journey through the relics of Catholic history. Room after room of guilded decor, expansive tapestries, marble statues, jeweled instraments and religious paintings. Finally coming to the chapel itself. Wow. My feet were tired, but also, the room was amazingly painted with naked men from floor to ceiling. I could not imaging the intensity of painting while craning your neck to the high ceiling for as many years as this took. Amazing. I was so thrilled to have pursued that vision.
I thought of Angels and Demons a lot that day. I also thought of the power and the extravagance of the Catholic Church. After visiting the Colosseum the day before, and knowing of the richness of the Church in a time of the meager survival of the average class, I had a thought. It is interesting to learn that some believe an estimated 1,500,000 people were killed in medievel times for heresy. That is about the number of Jews killed in Birkenau, Poland during WWII.
There was a post office in Vatican City, but no Starbucks. I saw some priests outside the brick walls having gelato. I never saw the Pope.
