Italy, Our Final Day

We decided to sleep in and relax on our final day in Rome. It was Sunday, as well as the first Sunday of the month, which meant that there was free entry into all museums. CROWDS. So we went had breakfast and talked about what we should do that day. Well, what do most people do on Sunday while in Rome? See the Pope of course! We had about 2 hours to wander over towards the Vatican, so we set out on our adventure.

Bright eyed and bushy tailed!

That the top of the Spanish Steps.

Which were closed off for restoration.

Jay asked if these were pajamas. No. Do you wear them in the bedroom? Nope. Men's suit.

WOW! Look at the bead work!

Stylin!

Gas station. Very interesting. We didn't really think about gas stations in Rome until we pass this one. It's ON the road. You pull over, an attendant fills you up and you on on your way.

Castle of St. Angelo

There it is! Our first view.

Getting closer! At this point we were ushered into 4 lines. At the end of each of the lines were 4-6 guards surveying the crowd, we then had to open our bags, and were searched with a wand metal detector and patted down. I had our 2 Oggi water bottles, and were told they were not allowed. I placed them into the cardboard boxes and were told we could retrieve them later.

And closer! Once inside you could hear the enormous choir singing (click to view video) being broadcast from huge speakers placed through out the square. There were people with special golden tickets (yes, they were really golden) that got a special place up front. The rest were herded into a central area. We hung back and watched the crowd and listened, not wanting to get stuck in the crowd, wanting to be able to leave when we wanted. At this point a guard told us in Italian, "Mr. and Mrs, Either you are here or not, please come forward and find a spot." They then closed of the area behind us. We were in.

Waiting... it's now 12:10 and he is late.

. There were a lot of curious onlookers like us, and other very Catholic people in the area. We lined up against a fence thinking that the Pope was going to appear from the window just above the white banner, wave his hand and be done with it. Next thing I know I hear the woman next to me saying "Mio Dio, Mio Dio!" My God! My God! and there he was, walking and waving to the crowd. We lost sight of him, but the crowd, which was silent(!) up until that time started to get excited!

A few moments later we saw why.

Nice frock!

**Click Here To See The Video Of The Pope**

There he goes! Well that was fun. I felt like I was seeing some celebrity that I have seen in movies my whole life. * please see notation. There was a camera man on the back filming the whole thing, which was broadcast just outside the square onto a HUGE screen for anyone who didn't make the cut off to see.

The most popular car in all of Rome.

The smallest electric car I have ever seen! Sat one in front and a small child directly behind.

Grabbing some lunch in front of the Pantheon.

Pastries!

We were done for the day. We wandered around some more and headed back to the hotel to pack up and get ready to leave in the morning. Our flight left at 9:30 am, but we had a train to catch.

Jay having one last espresso.

My Latte Machiatto and Nutella croissant. 

Goodbye Italy!

Hello Israel!

*While I am a Christian, I am not Catholic and do not personally hold the Pope in any position other than a religious leader no higher than Pastor Scott at Sparks Christian Fellowship.*