Rome - Day Quattro

Welcome to Thinking Out Loud Thursday!  I'm still thinking about our big trip to Rome this year and working my way through the days.  Today I'm on Day Four.  If you've missing one through three, here's the links to catch up.

Day Uno       |       Day Due       |       Day Tre

Day four began early because we had someplace exciting to be -- back to the Vatican to see the Pope!  Since our day was starting early, we decided to pop in on the Trevi Fountain.  I was hoping to get some pictures without a lot of people in the background, which is not an easy thing to do.  At 7:15 am there were not a lot of people and we were able to get some great shots.  Some of them are strong contenders for our Christmas card photo.

After our experience with Bus 62 and getting to the Vatican on day three, we decided a new plan was in order.  We still arrived via bus, but this time we caught our ride at a different stop and took a different bus.  All was well and it was a smooth trip across the river.

You could feel the buzz in the air from the moment we started walking down the street.  We flashed our ticket and was directed to the chairs up front.  Oh yeah -- we were feeling pretty special!

The sights around St. Peters Square were electric.  People were chatting for the Pope and waving flags and banners.  The atmosphere was almost Disney like.  It wasn't hard to catch the enthusiasm of the crowd.  All eyes were waiting to see the 266th Pope!

All the information about the Papal Audience reflected the starting time being 10:00 am.  The gates open around 8:00 pm and we were there pretty close to that to get to our seats.  Having never been to this event before, we choose seats near the center for better viewing of where he would be sitting.  As the ceremony began, we realized that the Pope cruises around the perimeter of the seating area in the Pope Mobile.  If I were to do this again, I think I would try to sit near the outside aisles to see him a bit better.  

We didn't have to wait until 10:00 am for the festivities to begin.  Right around 9:30 am, several Cardinals came to the stage and began welcoming varies groups from around the world.  Seeing so many people from so many different places truly made the world feel a little smaller.   Each message was delivered in several languages and thank goodness one of them was English.

As cheers from the crowd erupted, Pope Francis arrived and cheerfully rode around the crowd with a huge smile on his face before taking his seat.

After the Papal visit had concluded, we decided to do a bit of exploring in that region of the city.  We found an overlook that was amazing!

Our bellies were letting us know it was time for lunch.  We were planning to visit The National Museum of Rome and decided lunch near that attraction was our destination.  Ristorante del Passeggero looked inviting with their outdoor seating.   It definitely hit the spot!

There are tons of reasons I did not want to rent a car in Rome.  Here is just one example why:

We were watching people park while having lunch and were amazed at their techniques.  Can you even image getting out of this spot?!?

The National Museum of Rome was a rather small museum and we covered it fairly quickly.  You will find a huge collection of Roman sculptures to browse through.

The weather was absolutely beautiful the entire week we were in Rome.  We spent the remainder of the afternoon and early evening wandering the streets taking in the city.

We found another great restaurant for dinner - unfortunately, I did not make note of it's name.  Pasta and wine were a wonderful way to cap off the day.

As we made our way back to the hotel, of course we stopped for the 34738473 time to take pictures in front of the Trevi Fountain.  This time we got a little silly!

The next day we were taking a train to Florence and were excited to see that part of the country.  I'll be recapping Day Five soon!

So that's what I'm thinking out loud about today.  What's on your mind?  Link up and share!

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