Il Papa and the Pantheon

After what we went through to obtain "required" tickets to the Papal Audience, we were surprised by the lack of security and scrutiny at St. Peter’s Piazza. We arrived an hour early to get seats close to a barricade where he would pass close by. He came bareheaded through the crowd on a modified Mercedes landing craft – no barrier. The photo shows the back of Spring’s head. (He was that close!) He presented greetings and a teaching on St. Theresa of Lisieux in seven languages. The crowd was jubilant and at moments, downright rowdy. Some groups came with song offerings which were acknowledged. Like at any good demonstration, the banners of parishes from all over were propped up against the walls of the Basilica. They were blessed by Il Papa, as were any objects brought (Spring had Gran Grans’ rosary; David and I had St Anthony/Francis medals; Janna had her Donna Leon book), us, and our relations, which we suppose extends to most of you reading this blog. Afterwards, we shopped at the Vatican Post Office, sent off a few post cards, and took ourselves to a Taverna off the tourist track for lunch. (Click here for more photos of the day)

After lunch, David retired to our B&B to recuperate, and the three of us got on one of the ubiquitous tour buses. We were disappointed by the lack of interpretive information imparted over the uncomfortable earphones, and it was too hot a spring day to sit in Rome traffic. So we jumped off near the Piazza Venezia and happened onto a delightful demonstration for peace in Kurdistan which involved dancers and leafleters. Then we wended our way through back streets and Vespas to the very impressive Pantheon. By then all our feet had given out and we staggered back to where we had caught our neighborhood bus the day before...but then we made a BIG mistake: we got on the bus without tickets. We won’t bore you with the rationalizations, just suffice it to say we got off with a €50 bill to the bus police that busted us (and threatened us with €100 fines EACH). We hope this serves as a warning to anyone else who might be tempted. TAKE THE TIME TO BUY A TICKET.