Our Final Day in Italy

Buon giorno, mama! (Good morning, Mom!)

I can't believe this is our final day in Italy! Where did the week go?

We had a bit of adventure to end the day yesterday and begin the day this morning. Turns out our EF tours folks made a slight miscalculation in the hotel reservation (they had us leaving this morning instead of tomorrow morning) and we didn't have a place reserved to stay tonight. Fortunately, all was worked out, but we will have to change hotels this morning. We packed our bags and loaded them on a bus, and our rooms will be ready for us when we finish our tour of the Vatican. A couple of folks were grumbling a bit about this, but the way I see it, travel is an adventure and adventure is bound to have a couple of unexpected glitches in it now and then. As long as it all works out, then we just have better stories to tell when we get home.

About 8:30 we were divided into four groups and walked to Vatican City. Technically speaking, we walked into another country as the Vatican is the smallest independent city-state in the world. We did not need passports or other papers to get in. We did have to go through security to get into the Vatican Museums, though.

Our guide took us through some of the museums (it would probably take more than a full day to see everything), the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. I made sure to point out to the students who took the Bernini art module the baldacchino, bishop's throne, and Holy Spirit stained glass window which were all designed by Bernini. Of course, I also noted the colonnades and saint statues in the square were also Bernini works as well. The art nerd was back on duty!

We went to the Vatican bookstore, but it was so packed I decided to walk back later to mail postcards. Because Vatican City is its own country, it also has its own post office and stamps. I had mailed a few postcards from Florence, but saved a few to mail from the Vatican just for the novelty of it. I have a few friends who work at Benedictine College, a Catholic college, so I mailed their postcards from the Vatican. I sent your postcard from there as well, mamma. Watch your mail. (I'm pretty sure I'll get to Missouri before your postcard does, though.)

We were bused to the new hotel which was only about seven blocks farther away than the one we had been in the night before. The EF people sure made it up to us. The Hotel Cicerone (pronounced chee-cher-oh-nay) is a four-star affair and very nice. I have a big bed and a huge bathroom. The hair dryer, although a nice touch, is completely wasted on me, however. I'm at that point in my life where I can dry my hair with a washrag.

After checking in at the new hotel, I bought a panini (salami, of course) from a street vendor and walked back to St. Peter's. I went into the bookstore and mailed my postcards and picked out a few souvenirs as well. I was waited on by a very nice woman with a British accent. I asked how she came to work at the Vatican, and she said her father lived in Italy. I can't believe how many UK citizens I've come across working in Italy and mentioned it to her. She said there are a large number of US citizens working in Italy as well. If I were younger, it might be fun to try working overseas somewhere for a short time. As it is now, I have too many responsibilities at home, like my cat. Well, ok, I'm not too concerned about the cat, but I think I'd miss you, the boys, and my grandson Alex.

After souvenir shopping, I decided to visit the Castle Sant' Angelo which was originally designed as the mausoleum of the emperor Hadrian, but was later turned into a fortress and used by popes for their own safety and security. I can see how it was a great fortress. It is built on a hill with the Tiber River on one side. A moat could be flooded between the outer battlements and the inside walls which are incredibly thick. Plus, with catapults, and later cannons, a small army could rain ordnance down on approaching enemies quite easily.

The castle at first doesn't seem so big, but there are walkways, battlements, tunnels, and rooms galore. Every time I thought I'd seen everything, I'd find another room or another stairway leading up to another level. I finally reached the top terrace level and took some great photos of the city. I also took a few photos of the statue of the archangel Michael on the top. One of the popes had a dream in which Michael came to him in a dream and sheathed his sword. This signified that the plague in Rome in 590 was ending and the fortress was renamed for the angel, thus the name Saint Angel's Castle. Several centuries later a statue of the angel was placed on top of the castle. (Actually, the statue on top now is a replacement constructed in the late 1700s. The first angel statue is in a courtyard inside the castle.)

It was getting late and I still had a couple of stops. First I went to the market I discovered a couple of days earlier to buy some pasta to bring home. I ended up buying two bags: one was a lemon and pepper linguine, and the other was a tricolored twisty pasta. One of the clerks in the store started talking to me in Italian, but I didn't understand her. I told her I didn't speak Italian and she pointed at my pasta and said "Bella gusto, si?" That I understood, She said, "Beautiful taste, yes?" I grinned and said, "Si, bella gusto!"

I decided to visit the Piazza del Popolo which literally means the People's Square. It was a bit of a walk from the area around Vatican City to the piazza, but well worth it as I had a beautiful evening to stroll. I crossed the Tiber and got some great photos of boats and the city. The piazza was bustling with activity including a trio playing folk music in the middle of the square. One guy played bass, another played a steel guitar, and the last played a percussion box. They were really good, and I enjoyed standing in a Roman square listening to American-style folk music in the shadow of an Egyptian obelisk. Where else could I have that experience?

On the walk back to the hotel, I had the one moment all week when I desperately wished I could speak Italian. As I was walking along with my little bag of Italian groceries, two VERY cute young women on a scooter stopped me to ask directions. I asked if they could "parla Inglese" and they said no. I can't tell you how much it hurt to tell them "No parlo Italiano" and watch them drive away. There went my chance to flirt with Italian women, darn it.

Our farewell dinner was held at a nice restaurant called Villa dei Cesari. The students all looked so nice dressed up for the occasion and were so excited about their week. I had a great time visiting with them and hearing about all the exciting things they had been doing. Some of them were worn out from a full week of exploring though, and I think are ready to sleep for a few days. I'm feeling a little of that myself. I feel like I've walked a hundred miles this week, but it has so been worth it to see the art, eat the food, and meet people.

Speaking of food, the dinner was, of course, incredible. We had an antipasti course of very fresh mozzarella cheese, a first plate of risotto and pasta (bowtie pasta in a salmon sauce, oh my) a second plate of stuffed, breaded turkey, and a little dolce of spumoni, which is whipped and molded pistachio ice cream.

We also had entertainment at dinner. A singer with an electronic keyboard would play and sing periodically through the evening. He started with "Rat Pack" music, stuff from Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra, like "Summer Wind" but eventually moved into more contemporary music from Billy Joel. I told Glenn Rogers that I would be disappointed if he didn't play "That's Amore" and we both laughed over that.

Between the second plate and dessert, he began to play a mambo-style music and students were up and dancing, truly celebrating their Italian experience. It was so much fun to see them dancing and laughing and having such a good time. We all sat down for dessert and that's when our entertainer belted out the words, "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie." "That's amore!" Glenn and I exclaimed together. Ah, my Roman evening was complete.

It has been such a wonderful week, mamma. The students have been great, the weather was perfect, I couldn't have asked for better food or friends with whom to share it. With apologies to Deano, that's amore. What a great experience for the students and for those of us who accompanied them.

I'll be home shortly and can't wait to show you the photos and eat some pasta.
a prestissimo (see you very soon),
your loving son,