Am I loving Rome? Is the Pope Catholic?

On Sunday I went to St. Peter's and attended Mass. Kind of funny, considering I'm not Catholic and it was all in Latin and Italian, so I really didn't understand much. But somehow, it was still a very moving experience.

I went with 2 co-workers and we arrived a bit early, so we went to visit the tombs of the Popes while we waited for the service to start. They have to let you in in small groups because so many people stop to ponder or pray at John Paul II's tomb. There were about 30 people stopped and many of them were crying as they knelt in prayer in front of his tomb. The ground was covered with flowers and icons that mourners still bring regularly. Whether you agree with his theology or not, he was a man who touched the life of many people and he is still missed. I have asked Italian co-workers here about him and what things were like in Rome when he passed away... Many of them actually went to the Piazza at St-Peter's to mourn his passing even though they admit to not being practising Catholics. One even had tears in her eyes as she spoke with me about JP. Popey was a special man.

The Swiss Guards' uniforms are hilarious. It's easy to forget that the men in the red, orange and blue clown pants are actually trained mercenary soldiers.

Although it's hard to tell, the picture above is me as we entered the Basilica. Can't you just hear a chorus of angels singing in the background?

New Friends

It is so easy to meet people here!

I met my neighbor as I was leaving my apartment yesterday morning on my way to work. Arthur is a retired university professor from Cleveland and he is here with his wife for a month. He's teaching an economics summer class at an American university in Rome. They invited me over for drinks on Friday after work! Heh.

Then, last night I left the office planning to go home, eat a quiet meal, work a bit, and then hit the hay early.

As I was waiting to catch the bus, a co-worker struck up a conversation. It turns out that he and two other engineers are over from our Australia office, working in Rome until the middle of next week. We talked most of the way into town, and he invited me to go to dinner with his co-workers and an American friend of theirs. So, I thought what the heck, went home, dropped off my stuff and met them at the restaurant at 8:30.

It was a tiny mom and pop joint with a set menu. You pay a fixed amount and get:

Antipasto coming out your yang (Bruschetta, grilled eggplant, deep fried zucchini flowers stuffed with cheese, Fresh Mozzarella and more)
2 different pasta courses, one after the other!
Veal with roasted potatoes in gravy.
Dessert and coffee.
All the red wine and sparkling water a girl could want.
And a glass of grappa.

And every bite was scrum-diddly-umptious.

Lynette, the American girl, is here for two years and wants to see Europe on week-ends. We've already started making plans. She's also from Houston, so we spent a good part of the evening trying to explain the wonders of Texas barbecue to the Aussies.

My new friends were a lot of fun and seem to be pretty hard core. I vaguely recall talk of a pub crawl tonight with a bunch of other expats. We'll have to see about that one. I'm not sure I could handle being out late two school nights in a row. I think drinks with Arthur and his wife might be more my pace...