My Dad and brother left the hotel early Easter Sunday morning, but I slept in until around 11:00 AM. I was worn out! At around 11:45 AM, I left the room and headed for Saint Peter's Square. The Pope always gives a speech at noon on Sunday from his balcony above Saint Peter's Basilica and I decided I would try and go. I figured it would be a long shot, but figured it was worth a try.
I have no idea how I did it, but I somehow got in! There were lines of people waiting to get in, but I got lucky. Around 2 minutes after I arrived, the curtains on the Pope's balcony opened and the Pope came out. He gave about a 20 minute speech in Italian (yes, I actually understood some of it) before saying "Christ has Risen" in every language on Earth. It gave me goosebumps then and I have goosebumps now just thinking about it. One thing on my bucket list of things to do in Rome was to see the Pope speak, but I never imagined I would see him on Easter Sunday! It is truly something I will remember for the rest of my life.
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| The view from my spot without zoom |
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| The Pope |
Easter celebration, however, was not over. In Italy, we need two days to celebrate Easter. Easter Monday is a national holiday called "Pasquetta" or "Little Easter". Normally it is celebrated with a BBQ in a park with family and friends. My ISC, Silvio, decided to have a bunch of his friends over for a lunch/evening party. We had penne with pesto sauce, chocolate Easter eggs, and played lots of board games. I had a great time and some of Silvio's friends complimented me on my Italian.
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| One of my friends, Tahli, talking to one of Silvio's friends at Pasquetta |
Then, one of my friends, Tahli, came over and Zach, Tahli, and I went to Monte Carlo Pizzeria (again) for dinner. It was great!
Ciao,
Mike
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