We got there at about 8:15am for the 10:30am audience, which is good because we got in the wrong line and ended up going through security and everything to get into the Vatican grounds and museums, which isn't what we wanted! So we got into a different line and went through different security, finally ending up in the right place. At that point we had a little less than 2 hours to wait for the Pope. I killed most of the time making bad joke puns (Are you thirsty? Would you like some soda Pope? Do you want to go clubbing? I can Pope, lock and drop it!), looking pious
and playing with Kim's camera
When the event started, the Pope walked out and said some stuff in either Italian or Latin, I don't know because I was too busy taking photos!
Unfortunately my camera was dead, so they are on Kim's camera. Then different priests took turns reading a bible passage in Italian, the same passage in French, English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and what we think was Russian. Then the Pope gave a sermon in Italian, and I have no idea what it was about. After that, the same priests that read the bible passage came up and read a list of groups represented that spoke their language. For example, the guy that read the French passage named all the groups in the audience from France or other French-speaking places, then the Pope blessed them, their families and any religious artifacts they'd brought. Next up were all the Spanish speakers, etc. etc. It was all very exciting, and with 7 languages represented this simple service took 1.5 hours!
Next up Kim and I got out of Vatican City ASAP, and since we were exhausted and dressed approriately for the Pope but NOT for Roman sightseeing (no shorts, short skirts or bare shoulders are allowed to get into the Vatican), we headed back to the hostel.
After a brief break to recuperate and redress, Kim and I went out for.....wait for it, wait for it.....CHINESE FOOD!
That's right ladies and gentlemen, after a full week of pasta, pizza and ham and cheese paninis, we wanted a little change. At the Chinese restaurant, the woman next to us asked Kim in Italian what time it was, and Kim showed her Kim's digital watch (2:15pm). The woman looked VERY confused, and Kim and I were VERY entertained, because of course over here 2:15 means 2:15 in the morning, because if it was afternoon it would be 14:15. DUH.
Post-lunch we headed over to the Coliseum, which was large and impressive, like me in my gladiator days.
And we wandered the Roman Forum and the Palatine. We didn't take a tour or have any info on it, so we didn't really know what anything was except that they were ancient ruins....
After that we got the most delicious gelato ever: mela verde (green apple), pesce (peach) and blackberry ( I have no idea what that is in Italian, and I feel googling it would be cheating) and caught the bus to the train station. We learned the hard way to make train reservations early for the fast trains, so we wanted to make reservations for Friday's trip to Venice. The line at the ticket office turned out to be ONE AND A HALF HOURS LONG, so it's a good thing we didn't do it Friday morning. Behind us in line was the highlight of our evening: a group of 6 British girls, who had just started a trip together, and were doing just about everything wrong. They had some people watching the luggage, some people in line, some people gathering information, and most people having no idea what was going on. They were already fighting (6 people travelling together!?!?! TERRIBLE IDEA) and had blisters from their flip-flops. They were trying to catch an 8pm train, and were stressing about making it on time. Kim and I spent our time in line telling them how to use a Eurail pass, what documents they should have out, how much it would cost, what to see in Florence, how to make the most of their time in Florence, etc. etc. We were nearing the front of the line and they only had 10 minutes until their train, so Kim and I let them cut us. They had taken our advice and assembled their group all together, with their frame packs on, and documents and money out, and were ready to run to platform4. Kim and I watched them go, then took our turn at the ticket counter, when we were done, WE ran to platform 4 (all the way at the other end of the station!) and found the closest 2nd class car....and they were in it! We waved goodbye from the platform and blew them kisses,
Hostel review: Stargate Hotel is the best-located hostel we've stayed in so far. It's only 4 blocks from the main train station, so not only was it quick and easy to find once we got to Rome, but it is really easy for us to get around Rome when we can catch any bus or metro going to the train station and know it will take us to the hostel. This hostel is mostly a hotel (in fact, it's called Stargate Hotel) except instead of queen beds it has bunk beds that collapse, so you can have 2 bunk beds, or collapse them into a queen bed, or 1 bunk bed and one twin bed. I think you can rent the beds individually, or rent a private room. Kim and I have a private room (it was the only option when we reserved, plus we've found that private rooms are WAY better) so we have a private bathroom, air conditioning, and a minifridge! We left one of the beds a bunk bed, and covered the bottom bunk in ponchos and bathroom towels, then strung up clothing lines for wet laundry. We love free laundry opportunities!
Cons include: We have to give back our keys each time we leave, which is sort of annoying, especially if there's a long line at the front desk when we get back, or if the receptionist isn't there (so far that's happened only once). Also, on our key ring with the room key is a key to turn on and off the electricity in our room, so there is no way to leave the electricity on while we're gone, so the minifridge isn't on when we're out. The toilet runs almost constantly, and housekeeping came in while we were out to replace the toilet paper but left red sticky spots all over the bedroom and bathroom floor! Perhaps most annoying of all, the room didn't come with blankets! We were too tired and pj-ed to go down and get them last night, so we were just cold, but this morning the front desk said we could ask for them. What kind of hostel/hotel room doesn't come with blankets?!?!?!?!
I remember those gladiator days... Good times.
ReplyDeleteFail tourists are fail.