Day Four: Vatican City

Our fourth day in Italy was all about the Vatican. Most Wednesdays, the Pope has his papal address for the public in St. Peter's Square. We planned our days in Rome so that we would be there for this event. With the kids in Catholic school and Matt a newly converted Catholic, the Wednesday audience quickly became a highly anticipated event.

We got up early and walked over the Tiber into the Vatican. Even though we got there about an hour and a half early, there were crowds forming. Before jumping in line, I bought a ton of rosaries in a shop bordering St. Peter's Square. The Pope gives a blessing during his audience and I was determined to get some items blessed while we were there. I didnt think to bring rosaries from home. That would have been a smart move on my part, but it completely escaped my attention. Matt practically died when he saw the amount and price of the rosaries I bought. It was a hefty sum, but I felt I didnt have much of a choice. I wasnt sure Id ever be back to attend a papal audience and I knew I had to stock up on some blessed rosaries as gifts for my kids, godchildren, holy communions, confirmations, etc.

Our seats seemed ok - not in the front section but not in the back. We had to wait a while for the event to begin but the boys behaved fantastically. The weather was perfect - sunny, but not hot. That definitely helped their mood and ours. I also think the setting had Seamus and Finn pretty awestruck. Many among the crowds were singing and jumping around with anticipation. There were tons of banners and flags waving in the air. It was all very festive. Everything at St. Peter's was super sized. The statues in the square and on the buildings were huge - like two and three stories high. The basilica, which stood as the backdrop for the papal audience, was gigantic and looming. There were alert swiss guards dressed in colorful costumes with swords holstered at their waist. There were also dozens and dozens of priests and nuns walking among the crowds in full uniform. At one point, Finn asked me "Why are there so many priests here?" When I told him that they probably came to see their boss, the Pope, Finn commented, "Oh yeah. I forgot about that."

There was a surprising lack of fanfare announcing Pope Benedict's arrival, but within seconds the band kicked in and the audience responded with resounding cheers. He drove in on his "pope mobile" and slowly made his way between the various sections of the audience. By luck, we happened to get super close to him. Although we were in the second section of the audience which was far away from the altar area, we were practically standing on the road where the Pope was traveling. When he drove by, he was literally within 10 to 12 feet of us. It was nutty! I was kind of shocked how accessible to the crowds Pope Benedict seemed. When we came in, we didnt go through any metal detectors; they merely checked my bag. His "popemobile" didnt have any glass surrounding it like John Paul II used to have. If someone had the ambition, they could run right up to his vehicle and grab him! Of course, Im positive they've got this particular event down as far as security is concerned, but to the casual eye the Pope seemed uncomfortably vulnerable.

After about two and a half hours, the papal audience concluded. Although it was long, it was a neat experience for all of us. St. Peter's Square was really jammed packed with people afterward and we were wiped out by the end of the service. We decided to go rest back at the B&B for a bit before returning to tour the inside of the basilica in the late afternoon.

Did I mentioned that Matt and the boys decided prior to our trip that they were going to geo-cache their way around Italy? I didnt tell you that? Well, that's probably because I didnt fully realize their plans until we got to Rome. Once we were in Rome, many of our walks from one landmark to another included sniffing out nearby caches. The pictures taken below were taken geo-caching at the Castel Sant'Angelo. We passed the castle on our way back to St. Peter and Matt thought it would be fun to hunt down the cache on the way. Let me take a small moment here to say that I wish I could describe what geo-cacheing is to those of you who dont know, but whenever I try I dont seem to find the right words. I dont seem to describe the activity well. You can go here to get a proper idea of what the hobby entails, but essentially geo-cacheing is a lot like treasure hunting except there isnt always a treasure at the end. Sometimes you will find little trinkets or coins in an altoid box, but most of the time you just find a log and sign your name. Matt had a geo-cache app on his iphone and he had made notes to himself where to find various caches in Italy. All in all, I believe Matt and the boys found 10 caches in Italy. I must admit that this activity made the incredible amount of walking and sight seeing very fun for the boys. The possibility of a geo-cache around every corner kept my sons (and husband) very happy and alert.


What can I say about St. Peter's Basilica that hasnt been said before? Nothing, really. Its all been said a million times by a million different people, you know? I will say this: The mastery of artwork, sculpture, mosaics and architecture at St. Peters is mind blowing. Its so over the top. I actually felt guilty the day I saw St. Peters and the Vatican Museum for the first time. The amount of wealth and privilege required to create such an impressive place is shocking. We didnt think Finn could make it up to the cupola (the dome at the top of St. Peters) so instead we headed down to the vault where the tombs of the popes are kept. That was pretty cool. We saw the supposed tomb of St. Peter, the first pope of the Catholic church. Pope John Paul II's grave was also among the tombs. It was guarded by two men and there were many pilgrims there praying and paying homage to it.


Back in 2007, Matt and I toured St. Peters and the Vatican Museums in one day. It was exhausting and it took us all day to complete. Once we were done, I wanted to do some shopping in the square, but Matt had had enough for one day. He went straight up to the first vendor he saw, bought a large beer and proceeded to drink it in the shadow of St. Peter's Square. As I recall, Matt even followed me into a shop while drinking his beer straight out of the bottle. I acted like I was mortified, but secretly I got a chuckle out of it. Matt loves beer and he had certainly earned it following his Catholic wife all over the Vatican. This year, we didnt tour the Vatican Museums. We didnt think the kids could handle it given its large size and even larger lines. But Matt wasnt about to break with tradition. After we toured the basilica, Matt made a bee-line to the exact same vendor as in 2007 and bought his beer. As I was taking the picture below, a couple of nuns walked by and apparently they acknowledged Matt and his beer by smiling at him. I didnt see it, but Matt swears it true.

For dinner, we made our way to the Campo di Fiore - a smallish piazza near our B&B. We ate dinner at a restaurant there called La Carbonara. They have really good pasta carbonara (pasta mixed with eggs and bacon) and I was anxious to taste their succulent version again. After dinner, Matt lead us on another hunt for another nearby geocache. It was kind of spooky going down dark side streets in pursuit of the cache. Once we found it, we grabbed some gelato and took some pictures in front of the large Bruno statue in the piazza. At this point, the four of us got separated. It wasnt planned; it just happened. I had Finn and since we were somewhat close to our B&B I made the decision to walk home. I felt confident I could navigate the streets successfully. It was a little unnerving not knowing what had happened to Matt, but I guessed that he would also make his way home after a short search for us. For a few seconds, I started to panic hoping that Matt was with Seamus and that the two of them werent separated as well. But I quickly put the thought out of my mind, and continued on with Finn's hand grasped firmly in my own. We were about 4 blocks from our neighborhood when I heard Seamus call out "Mama" from behind. We had just crossed a main street and waited for them to catch up. As Matt got closer, I noticed he had a worried look on his face and tears in his eyes. He grabbed on to me and held me tight for a few seconds. Clearly, he was freaked out not knowing what had happened to us. I assured him everything was fine.

Before we went to bed that night, the four of us walked a few miles over the the Trevi Fountain to throw our coins into the water. The legend says that if you throw a coin into the fountain, a return trip to Rome is in the future. The Trevi was super crowded with tourists and teenagers, but it was also so beautiful when lit up at night. It was a lovely way to end our fourth day in Italy.

Phew - day four over! Im telling you, these blog posts take a long time to write and put together given our eventful days. I wish I could write them better, but I think you get the gist.

Happy Monday!