Rome Day 5: Seeing St. Peter's Square for the 1st Time!

Today was a pretty epic day.  In fact the last three days have been so busy that I finally have a chance to start updating this blog now. On Day 5 I finally had my History of Rome class and it looks like it will be pretty interesting.  I have class for three hours straight but the history we talk about is pretty exciting.  My class will be going to a lot of trips to visit various historical Roman sites.  For the past three days Ashley and I have been stuck eating two slices of toast with butter because the bar is out of everything else breakfast related.  One kid was so fed up he got lasagna and a Coke for breakfast.

Wednesday was a holiday for everyone in Rome.  It was the fest of St. Peter and St. Paul.  It was also the 60th anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI's ordination as a priest. EVERYTHING was closed (except for Loyola of course!)  Every year they have fireworks down in the city to celebrate.  So Ashley and I decided to take the bus downtown (and we also wanted to celebrate the 4th of July early).  We got off right near Vatican City's walls, which if you don't already know is the smallest country in the world.  It is only 1 mile long and it has massive walls surrounding it.

The Vatican walls

We walked a little bit and fell into a small cafe called the Bar Lux Jem that had its outdoor menu in English.  We sat outside on the sidewalk and had a great time people watching.  Ashley and I both ordered lasagna and we got a bruschetta for an appetizer.  The bruschetta was DELICIOUS! Tomatoes here taste nothing like they do back home.  However, the lasagna was only OK.  So far the lasagna made in the Olive Garden or San Vitos is the tastiest I have had yet.

the street cafe

the food

After we ate we walked towards Vatican City. It was such a thrill. Ashley said I was acting like a kid in a candy store. When we finally came out into St. Peter's Square is was breathtaking.  It wasn't as big as it seems it Shoes of the Fisherman but it was still big. And they had photos of Pope John Paul II all over the place because of his recent beatification.  They also had a free exhibit on him, but by the time we got to it, it was already closed.  After walking around the square, we sat under one of the columns for an hour just taking it all in.

Pope Benedict's lights were on in his room on the top right window behind me

While we were sitting under the columns waiting for it to get dark for the fireworks, the Vatican marching band came out of nowhere. We had no idea the Vatican even had a marching band.  Ashley and I followed them all the way out of St. Peter's Square and Vatican City into Rome near Castel Sant'Angelo.

We waited outside the castle for awhile to the sky to get dark.  As it got darker and darker thousands of people showed up.  We ended up getting front row seats to a pretty awesome firework show.  It was unlike anything done in the United States.  The shows was clearly planned with care and style and they didn't use extremely loud exploding fireworks.

 
By the time it was done we were tired and walked to take the bus home.  As we did we waived good night to the Pope whose light was still on in his bed room.

Good night Pope!