Inspired by reading Passeggiata (review) (and borrowing from the wonderful Lenore), I thought I would share a few memories of my own time in Italy (spent with my friend V while we were on break from a college semester in Denmark).
1. We headed to the Vatican once we got to Rome, wanting to see all the fabulous buildings we'd been studying. What we hadn't realized was that it was a Sunday and, not just any Sunday, but the celebration for Pope John Paul II's anniversary of being pope. St. Peter's Square was packed! It was - hands down - the largest Mass I've ever been to.
2. In Florence, we were walking along the Arno River, just enjoying the view, when an American couple stopped us and asked if we would take their photo. After chatting for a few moments, we discoverd that they knew my friend's family. The gentleman, in fact, was the mayor of the small southern town where V's aunt and uncle lived. Its a very small world.
3. V had never had gelato (Italian ice cream) before, so I insisted we have some as soon as we got to Florence. After that, we had it for lunch every day, it was so good.
4. Also in Florence, we stayed at a tiny little pensione, as the hostel was full. We had a small room with twin beds and a tiny private bathroom. The landlady at the pensione offered to find us more girls to share the room with (to save on money) but we declined and enjoyed the luxury of our bathroom for a few days. It turned out to be fine, though, as the pensione was inexpensive and, since it was closer to the city center than the hostel would have been, it saved us the time and cost of having to travel around the city.
5. At Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square) in Venice, we watched an Italian TV commercial being filmed. The star would walk through a gathering of pigeons, sending them all flying as he spoke into the camera. Everytime they did a retake, an assistant would run out and spread some bird seed, to get the pigeons to come back for the next shot.
I'd love to hear about some of your memories of travelling. Please share them in the comments.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
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That sounds wonderful! My dad's family came from Calabria. I would love to visit someday. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteCool! The day we were in Florence, it happened to be the 500th anniversary of SOMEthing so all the museums were free!
ReplyDeleteDid you take Communion at the Pope's anniversary mass? I'm just curious, how did they administer to so many people? Is it pre-consecrated?
ReplyDeleteYes, we had communion. There was a legion of priests handing it out, too, spread out all over the Square.
ReplyDelete