Honeymoon in Rome and Vatican City - Day 11

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samuraislice/sets/72157607826156343/

The silver lining with missing our flight the previous day is that Sophia got to eat at her first Waffle House for breakfast before we caught the shuttle back to the airport. We got the allstar breakfast with waffle, eggs, hash browns, and bacon. It was delicious.

After the Waffle House, we came back to the hotel and rode the shuttle bus back to the Atlanta airport, checked in, got our tickets, went through security, and waited at gate D32 for our flight. This time, the gate didn´t change and we got on the plane and made it back to Ft. Wayne.

But, there was one small incident. Our luggage wasn´t at the baggage claim, so we had to go back to the front check-in desk and ask the desk person where our luggage was. They promptly brought it out from a back room and then we were truly back home in one piece.

Honeymoon in Rome and Vatican City - Day 10

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samuraislice/sets/72157607818022342/

Today, Sophia and I left Rome. We woke up early so we could get breakfast at a nearby pizza stand and do some last minute souvenir shopping. We checked out of the hotel, got a taxi, and made it to the airport with planty of time to spare.

Out flight to Atlanta was easier than the first time and there were 3 movies shown to pass the time.

We arrived in Atlanta and, compared to last time, it was a nightmare. We had to get our baggage at the baggage claim and then had to re-check in and go through security again. Thankfully, our layover was 3 hours, so we had plenty of time to catch our flight home. Or, so we thought.

Sophia and I waited at our gate and, about 5 minutes before outlr flight left, there was an anmouncement that our gate had changed. The new gate was in a whole other terminal, so we had to run to the other gate. It was a valient effort, but we ended up missing our flight.

The desk clerk informed us that there were no more flights to Ft. Wayne fir the rest of the night and that the next flight was at 10am the next day. Delta gave us a voucher for the Red Roof Inn and instructions for catching the shuttle bus.

We exited the airport and took the shuttle bus to the Inn and spent the night in Atlanta, Georgia.

Honeymoon in Rome and Vatican City - Day 9

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samuraislice/sets/72157607825732105/

Sophia and I were meeting Msgr. Mangan at 9am, so we got up around 7:30 and got ready. We caught the train to the Vatican at about 8:30 and we made it to the rendezvous point in St. Peter's Square at about 8:50. The rendezvous point was right in front of the be obelisk in the middle of St. Peter's Square. While we waited for him, I took some more pictures of the square.

Msgr. came by a little after 9 am we were able to give him Sophia's mother's musical items. He was also sweet enough to give us a small present and a blessing for our marriage. After talking with Msgr. briefly and taking some pictures with him, we said our goodbyes and set off to our next task: souvenir shopping.

Before getting into the heavy shopping, we decided to grab breakfast at a nearby cafe. We ordered omlettes and cappucini and I also got some OJ. Unfortunately, we should've known better because the cafe didn't list prices in their menu and our bill ended up being about 52 euros. To get our money's worth, Sophia addressed and wrote some postcards while I walked around the nearby area and snapped some photos.

After breakfast, we shopped for all the people on our souvenir list by visiting the souvenir shops along the main road leading to St. Peter's Square. We finished off the list and decided to come back to the hotel room to plan for our next move. We were so tired when we came back to the hotel room that we decided to just relax and get some pizza for dinner for our last night in Rome. We also did as much pre-packing as we could and cleaned up the room. It felt so strange that our time in Rome had come to an end, but it was time to come back home and continue with life.

Honeymoon in Rome and Vatican City - Day 8

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samuraislice/sets/72157607824784129/

Our plan today was to climb climb to the top of the dome on St. Peter's Basilica. After that, we wanted to start buying souvenirs for everyone at home, so we slept in for a little longer to rest for the big climb. We got up around lunchtime, finished the meat we bought at the supermarket a couple days ago, and took off to conquer the dome.

Compared to the first time we stood in line in St. Peter's Square for the Basilica, this line was quite a bit longer. Once we got through the security check, we made our way to the Basilica and asked a security guard where to go for the dome. The guard pointed us in the right direction and we followed the signs marked for the Cupola. We could have paid a couple extra euros to take an elevator, which would have saved us 171 steps, but Sophia and i chose to walk up the full 491.

After entering the elevator tower, we walked up an incline, then the stairs started. The first set of stairs wrapped around the elevator and the first 171 steps seemed to last for longer than I had expected. At the top of the elevator tower was the flat portion of the roof of St. Peter's Basilica. It made for a good resting point and the view of Rome and the Vatican was breathtaking, but it was only a preview of what we would see at the top of the dome.

After a short rest, Sophia and i entered the actual dome staircase and continued our climb. Before ascending much, there was a doorway and an entrance to the inside of the Basilica and Sophia and I found ourselves looking down at the interior of the Basilica. We were quite high, probably at least a hundred feet up, and I was getting pretty nervous. Thankfully, a fence separated us from the interior.

We entered the staircase again and continued our journey to the top. Sophia started getting exhausted during the first portion of these steps and I started getting exhausted about halfway through this portion. But we both knew it would be worth the climb. The stairs themselves actually changed shape as we climbed higher up the dome. The hall narrowed to be just wide enough for 1 person as we traveled around the dome, then the stairs turned into a spiral staircase. Once we got to the top of the spiral, we were at the top of the dome.

The climb was definitely worth the view, because the view was magnificent, and that is an understatement! We could see all of Rome and we had an awesome view of St. Peter's Square and the rest of Vatican City. I'm typically afraid of heights, but I wasn't nervous to be at the top of the Dome. I felt very relaxed (or exhausted is probably more accurate) and along with the hand rails and the cooling wind, I was at the top of the world with my lovely wife.

I don't know how long we stayed, but after getting some nice wide shots, it was time to leave and make room for more people. The trip down the stairs was, not surprisingly, a breeze compared to the climb up. Once again, there was a stop on the flat roof of the Basilica and there was even a souvenir shop and refreshment stand this time. Sophia and I bought some souvenirs, then finished our trip down the descending elevator tower. We exited the stairs just inside the entrance to the Basilica.

On our way out of St. Peter's Square, we stopped by a post office to mail some cards. After that, we walked down the main street from the square to check out the souvenir shops. Both sides of the street were lined with souvenir shops and we were bombarded with lots of the same things: icons, rosaries, crucfixes, statues, etc. We bought more souvenirs as we made our way through our souvenir list.

Around 6:30, the shops started closing, so we decided to call it a day and catch the subway to come back to our hotel room. But before coming back to the hotel, we decided to mix things up a little and try a Chinese restaurant we had seen near by the Spanish Steps. It was quite an interesting experience hearing the Chinese folks speaking Italian. Their menu was even catered towards the Italians, with fried gelato being an item and the rice noodles being called spaghetti. Sophia ordered chicken with cashews, I ordered beef with mushrooms and bamboo, we both got the wonton soup, and for desert we tried the fried gelato and fried nutella. It was all very good and the portions were not too big, unlike the portions we have become used to in the States. The taste of the food was even different and it seemed that there wasn't much sauce or spices added, which brought out the flavor of the ingredients.

After stuffing ourselves with the Chinese food, we came back to the hotel and made and appointment for meeting a Monsignor Charles Mangan the next day to drop off some more of Sophia's mother's music items.

Honeymoon in Rome and Vatican City - Day 7

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samuraislice/sets/72157607704057343/

Today was a very exciting day because we were going to attend the Pope's Wednesday audience. Since we had picked up tickets on Monday, we were guaranteed seats, so we got up really early (I set our alarm to 7 am), got ready, we took the subway, and walked from the station to St. Peter's Square.

Unlike Monday, there were lines and security checkpoints at the entrance to the square. Once we got in, we saw the seats and the stage that was setup on Monday in front of St. Peter's Basilica. We got as close to the stage as possible, around 10 rows back from the front row, and grabbed a couple seats. We were in an awesome spot to see Pope Benedict XVI. I also put my telephoto lens on my camera so I could get good close up shots of the Pope.

Since we got to the square so early, we had to wait for around 90 minutes before the audience started. In the meantime, Sophia and I watched the seats and the square slowly fill up. This was truly a multi-national event, because we heard people talking Russian, German, French, English, an lots of other languages. I also took some test photos to make sure my photos would look good in the harsh sunlight.

The Pope's helicopter arrived around 10 am and shortly thereafter, the Pope entered the square on his Pope-mobile. The Pope was standing in the vehicle, which was a Mercedez-Benz jeep-like vehicle and there was no glass casing, so the Pope was exposed. He passed by fairly close to Sophia and I and I was able to get a couple good shots by standing on my chair (Sophia's idea). The Pope continued along around the entire square, working the crowd.

The Pope eventually made it to the front stage where he proceeded to start the audience with the sign of the cross. There were some quick introductions of major groups in attendance in multiple languages, then some readings from the Bible. The Pope then gave a homily in Italian. Even though Sophia and I didn't understand the homily, it was still awesome to hear the Pope's voice.

After the homily, there was a thorough introduction of all the groups in attendance. There were many, many groups, and each introduction was done in the native language of the group. There was Italian, French, German, English, Spanish, and Russian. Amazingly, after each language group was introduced, the Pope gave a shot homily in that language. Pope Benedict XVI is truly a universal Pope who can communicate with everyone. I also loved how he saluted each group after they were called because the groups would usually yell and cheer when they were called. He looked like he was having a good time.

After all the groups were introduced and the Pope gave his shot homilies, he gave us his Papal blessing, which he also extended to all our families and to all who were sick. Then he closed the audience by singing the Our Father in Latin. A line of bishops and cardinals formed in front of the Pope and the crowd in the square started to disperse, so Sophia and I made our way out of the Square.

Our next stop was to visit Sr. Irene at the Newman Center. Sophia's mom wanted us to drop off some music and CD's to her. We had talked t St. Irene earlier in the week and got directions to her place, so we went to the nearest bus stop and hopped a bus. We made it to her place without any incidence. She welcomed us into the Newman Center and we gave her the music she was expecting. She was very friendly and excited to receive all the materials.

We stayed for about 15 minutes and said bye to Sr. Irene and the Newman Center. Sophia and I wanted to go back to the Vatican and see the museum, including the Sistine Chapel, so we stood at the nearest bus stop to catch a bus back. Unfortunately, the bus we wanted didn't stop for some reason, so we decided to just walk back to the Vatican. It took us around a half hour to walk back, but it was really good exercise going up and down Rome's hills.

We got some gelato at a nearby cafeteria, then walked around to the entrance to the museum which was located on the opposite side of where the bus stop was located. The line into the museum wasn't long, surprisingly, and we picked up our tickets and a couple audio guides, which were basically cellphone-like devices. In each room of the museum and at lots of the art pieces, there was a number up to 3 digits big that could be dialed into the audio guide and a narrator would talk about the art piece or room. It was much more convenient than having a tour guide because Sophia and I could take as much time as we wanted at each location.

I can't even begin to describe all of the rooms and works of art we saw in the museum. It was easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of pieces contained in the museum. We skipped a couple sections of the museum that really didn't interest us, like the Egyptian and Etruscan sections. We were here to see the Sistine Chapel and that is what we were going to do.

After going through the Maps room, Tapestry room, and Candelabra rooms, we took a shortcut to the Sistine Chapel. As we walked down a flight of stairs to the Sistine Chapel, some announcements sounded through a PA system. The multi-language announcement stated that no pictures were allowed and that silence should be kept in the chapel. At the bottom of the stairs, we merged into the line entering the chapel.

The Sistine Chapel was very dark inside, but this did not take away from all the breathtaking art. Unfortunately, many people were ignoring the requests made over the PA and there were people taking pictures and lots of people were talking. i people have forgotten that this room is a chapel first and, in fact, there was an altar right below the wall which contained Michelangelo's Last Judgment. The PA announcement sounded again and there were Vatican guards inside telling people not to take pictures and to be silent, but most people were ignoring them, which was a shame.

We stayed inside for what must have been about 15 minutes. I saw all the famous works I had seen or read about over the years: the creation of Adam, the Last Judgment, the creation story, parts of the Moses story, the resurrection, etc. It was almost surreal seeing all these works in person.

Unfortunately, all the talking and photo taking was very distracting and Sophia and I left after getting our fill of people's lack of reverence. There were many other rooms of great art on the way to the exit, but they were definitely not as good as the rooms before the Sistine Chapel. One room I particularly enjoyed, which was also part of the gift shop, was a room which had painting of the various councils of the church.

Sophia bought a rosary and we made our way to the exit. Near the exit was a Vatican post office, so Sophia and I mailed a couple postcards. We were pretty tired by this time, so we decided to walk to the subway and head back to the hotel.

For dinner, we decided to go out to a sit down restaurant because we hadn't done that yet. We also wanted to try more pasta. So we walked around a couple blocks near the Spanish Steps and found a wine bar that was right across from a pizzeria we ate at. We ordered a glass of amarone, Sophia ordered cheese stuffed tortellini, I ordered the spaghetti in duck sauce, and for an appetizer we tried the foccacia bread. Everything was very good, but I think the tortellini was the best dish because the cheese was just outstanding. The amarone was very strong and Sophia and I aren't wine drinkers, so we couldn't judge how good it was objectively, but we thought it was pretty good.

We stopped by a meat shop to pick up some bottles of Fanta and mineral water with peach flavoring, and then headed back to the hotel room to turn in for the night.

Honeymoon in Rome and Vatican City - Day 6

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samuraislice/sets/72157607678632087/

Today, Sophia and I decided to visit the Colosseum and the ruins which surround the Colosseum. We hopped on the subway once again, but had to transfer to the other subway line (there are only 2 subway lines in Rome) to finally get to the Colosseum.

The exit from the subway is right in front of the Colosseum, so we didn't have to walk far to get to it. We were also able to get our tickets immediately without waiting in line because we had reserved them the day before. So we entered the Colosseum and took our time walking around both the ground level (level 0) and the upper level (level 1). There were also views out to the ruins of the Roman Forum from the upper level. The Colosseum, like St. Peter's Square and Basilica, were massively big and it is amazing to think the construction was basically brick and cement.

We bought a book at the souvenir shop, grabbed some cappuccinos, and walked across the street to see Constantine's arch and the rest of the Roman Forum ruins. There area containing the ruins was enormous and it must have taken us at least 2 hours to see most of it (we definitely didn't see all of it). Most impressive in the ruins was what once was the Circus Maximus and the area of the ruins which contained the actual forums. Not much was left of the numerous building which stood here, but it was still impressive to see the impressions the buildings left.

Once we got to the exit of the complex, it started to rain pretty heavily, so we found temporary shelter in what was once St. Paul's cell, located just outside the exit of the Roman Forum. A flight of stairs takes you down to the musty, damp underground room where now an alter stands in honor of St. Paul. It was a great reminder that this is the Paulin year.

Sophia and I braved the rain to get back to the subway and we came straight back to our hotel room to take it easy for the rest of the night.

Honeymoon in Rome and Vatican City - Day 5

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samuraislice/sets/72157607667136084/

Today, Sophia and i decided to go visit the place we came to see: Vatican City. We had a quick lunch of the meat and cheese we had bought the night before. Then we walked to the nearest tabacchi (tobacco shop) to buy some week long metro (good for bus, subway, or rail car) passes, grabbed some cappuccinos at a nearby cafe, then walked down the Spanish Steps again to go to the nearest subway station.

After a couple stops, we got off at the stop nearest to St. Peter's Square and walked a couple block. We entered St. Peter's Square from the north side and the sheer scale of the square was unbelievable. Sophia and I had seen pictures and videos, but nothing can capture the size of the square. It was truly a marvelous sight.

We decided to go into St. Peter's Basilica, so we got in line and went through all the security checks. St. Peter's Basilica was also of a massive scale and beautiful as can be. There are many popes and saint entombed in the Basilica and there were many, many alters, all with gorgeous artwork and architecture. One truly feels awe-inspired by all the sites.

Contained in the Basilica was the Historic Art Museum, which housed many beautiful and ancient works dating all the way back to the Renaissance. There were even some pieces which contained relics of saints and even one with pieces of the original cross of Jesus' crucifixion. There were also many Byzantine works. Unfortunately, we could not see all the pieces of art because the church and, hence, the museum were closing. We bought some souvenirs at the shop for people back home and we left the Basilica and St. Peter's Square.

We hopped the subway back to the hotel and stopped by a Pizza stand to grab some dinner. Instead of walking up the Spanish Steps, we took a side elevator up to the level where our hotel was. The Spanish Steps are an awesome sight, but climbing up the 135 steps isn't always the easiest thing to do at the end of a long day of walking.

We enjoyed our pizza in our room and filled out postcards before turning in for the night.