St. Peter's Basilica and Roma beats Lazio!

Today was a great day in Rome. I'm not sure whether the first half or second half was the best part, but it is a day I will never forget.

I started my day with a fun ichat with my dearest friend, and then set off to San Pietro. I had high hopes that I would see the Pope at noon. But noon came and all I saw was a video of the Pope giving mass somewhere, not St. Peter's. I was very touched by a group of Poles who had pictures and signs for their president who recently passed away.

I was getting hungry and the sun was starting to be too intense (it has been a while since I spent a summer in Texas). So what does one do when they are tired and in Rome? Eat of course! I found a wonderful little family restaurant, again Rick Steve's recommendation. I had pizza funghi and una birra piccolo. Yummy. I also made friends with the people sitting next to me. One guy spoke english and told me his wife was from California.

Refreshed I went back to the Vatican this time to go inside the Basilica. There are very few words in the english language to describe how magnificent St. Peter's is. These pictures barely do it justice. A few fun facts: it can hold 60,000 people, it is built to appear smaller and thereby more welcoming (example: the baby cupids at the bottom of the huge pillars, are about as big a grown man), St. Peter is actually buried underneath the church, it was built on the spot where St. Peter was crucified, and the church covers 6 acres. Huge.

The dome was Michelangelo's design, however, he died before it was completed. To give you an idea of size: is it 430 feet from the floor to the top of the dome.

Finally I made it to Michelangelo's Pieta (which means pity). It depicts Mary holding Christ after he was taken down from the cross. Michelangelo was only 24 when he made it (my age!). Sadly, it is behind bullet proof glass because in the 70's some crazy guy took a hammer to the sculpture. Very awful, but the Pieta was very moving and very beautiful.

After doing my audio tour courtesy of Rick Steves' I made it just in time for mass. They had the main part of the alter closed off, I assume for sunday mass. If you notice in my pictures, I wasn't able to walk up to the main alter which is underneath the massive bronze canopy. However, I was able to get behind the barricades to attend mass. So I got to see things up close anyway! To clarify, the alter underneath the massive iron structure is only for the Pope to give mass. The second alter is behind it, underneath the big gold structure and the gold stained glass with the dove. It is hard to see in the picture, but just look on the very farthest wall. That is were I sat for mass. Factoid: the dove is as big across as an adult.

I didn't take any pictures while I was there, just enjoyed the moment. I actually understood some of the readings and the homily. For such an enormous church it felt very intimate. Probably because the entire church was behind me. They only let people who are going to mass into the fenced off area. There were lots of nuns and clergy, and people from all over the world. It was one of my favorite moments in Rome. After mass I sat and enjoyed the view, only to be handed the printed booklet for vespers. So, having enough time left and not ready to leave, I stayed for vespers. It was beautiful, moving, and everything it should have been. There was incense and priests and bishops leading us. The guy next to me was American (we found out when we both said 'peace be with you' instead of just pace during mass) and loaned me his copy of the evening prayers in english. Soon enough it was over, and about 2.5 hours after I started my tour, I emerged from the basilica.

My way home was really tiring, I waited for my bus for at least 45 minutes. Ug. Those are the times I wish I had a car! But I made it. I came into the house and smack dab into a huge group of italians watching futbol (soccer). I was quickly told this was the big Roma vs. Lazio game. To put this into perspective. It is like A&M vs. UT, UT vs. OU, Dallas vs. Redskins. It is a BIG DEAL. Roma and Lazio are both based in Rome and are bitter enemies. Guidebooks warn you not to take sides openly as a tourist as it can lead to brawls. Since my family is 'da roma' so am I. And... WE WON! Yay! People were jumping and cheering and waving flags in the living room. Then everyone started kissing me on the cheek. Thankfully, there was a woman who spoke wonderful english and explained what was going on. Apparently, roma was losing during the first part of the game. But I showed up for the second part and we won. Therefore, roma won because of me. Yep, that was the logic, and any of you diehard sports fans out there must agree. I was Santa Elisabetta, savior of roma and making friends fast.

After this, we ate. My family has a huge outdoor patio which they had lit with lots of candles. We had homemade lasagna, a parmagianno baked something, some sort of quiche, veggies, prosecco, and then assorted sweets. I talked a lot with the woman who spoke english. There were kids and adults, prosecco and coke, and lots and lots of food. It was loud and crazy and wonderful. We raised our glasses to roma. People kept asking me 'who is the best team' to which I replied, 'da roma!'. Looking at the table of loud, wonderful italians I felt like I was in a movie or a dream. It was just what you imagine italian parties to be. I was so happy and couldn't stop grinning. Everyone was happy, car horns were honking in the streets, and I had one of the most memorable evenings in Rome.