Sun.Sept. 2, Bella Roma

Sunday, Sept. 2-

They brought around breakfast about an hour and half before we landed in Rome. I saw the sunrise over Italy, but I was so far up I could not see what Italy looked like. We came into Rome and through the Passport Authority and found our driver. His name was Pino, but of course I thought he said Lino, and I got really happy! I thought that was a good omen, but Pino did turn out to be awesome. Even thought he did not speak much English, he did identify a few landmarks, which I could usually translate from Italian to English. Not because my Italian is any good, I could just recognize them. 

In the airport, RT found out that there was a difference in Italian coffees and Caffee Americano. We got for 2 Euros = 2 tiny espressos. We made our way from the airport to the Hotel Anglo Americano and checked in early. While we were waiting, we enjoyed our first complimentary breakfast.

After getting settled, we were on our way to explore. The first stop was the Trevi Fountain- well- known to most Rome visitors. We threw the coin in so we could come back again, like every tourist does. 

  Fontana delle Naiadi

 Mass here was beautiful.

Spanish Steps- It was sprinkling a bit.

We discovered the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and Martyrs and after a quick trip to McDonald’s (yes, really) for a bottled water, we made our way to mass at noon. What an experience to celebrate mass in Italian. Even though we did not know most of the words, our bilingual masses at St. Gregory’s came in handy. Hearing Spanish every Sunday really helped us recognize some of the Italian we were hearing. I began to cry at Eucharist, because it struck me that we are truly the Universal Church. I was doing the same thing my brothers and sisters all over the world were doing. It was so overwhelming!

We enjoyed lunch and came back to the hotel to rest for a little bit. Being up and traveling for 24 hours straight was very tiring, so we took a 2 hour nap before heading to find the Spanish Steps. We walked around in that area for a good while, had some gelati and made our way back to a quaint family restaurant. We could not get past the first course and soup. That was plenty to eat. 

Now back at the hotel to upload the blog and get some rest. 

Ciao!