Ok mom, I know you're reading this and honestly, I'm a college kid- what did you expect. Everyone skips class. I have her voice in my head saying, "Well you're not everyone, don't skip class, Marie! She calls me Marie, in case you're wondering. But anyway, I feel I had quite a legitimate reason for skipping class. First off, I KNOW I am not the first person to confuse Piazza Vittorio Emmanuel with the Vittorio Emmanuel monument. So, when we had to meet at the piazza and I went to the monument, you can imagine my ponders over whether or not I should make the trek over to this piazza I have never been to for my least favorite class. Well, yours truly was a good girl and tried to get there. I walked to the Colosseum to get on the metro so I could get to the piazza. For some reason I couldn't find the metro - not that I tried uber hard, though. So, I just stayed around the Colosseum and decided to explore a couple churches I had been wanted to check out. First off though, allow me to explain how entertaining hanging around the Colosseum is. I got asked in english if I speak French and would like a French speaking tour. I had this gladiator guy try to say hello to me in every language he could think of. When he got through about 7 languages - non of which being english - I turned to him and replied "Hello." He gave a defiant sigh of why-didn't-I-think-of-that. As I continued my stroll, I came across a jogger who was lost. She spoke english with an accent I couldn't place. This was our conversation:
Dumb woman: "Do you mind if I borrow your map? I'm lost."
Me: "Sure!" *points to the Colosseum on the map* "This is where we are right now."
Dumb woman: "No, no, you're pointing to the big Colosseum, but we're at the small Colosseum right now."
Me: *gives her a look of stupidity* "Nope, we're at THE Colosseum."
Dumb woman: "No, no, there is a big Colosseum and a little Colosseum. You're pointing to the big one on the map but we're at the small one, look. *points to the Colosseum*
Me: "There is one and only one Colosseum in Rome, and this is it."
Woman: *pauses to look around* No, no, you're wrong. *pauses again* Are you sure?
Me: I would bet my life on it.
Woman: But its so small.
She then just accepted the fact she was lost and ran away. I stood in utter amazement for a few moments before I continued my church quest. I finally came across San Giovanni in Laterano. This church has the head of Peter and Paul. It is also one of the four major basilica's in Rome. One is St Peters (obviously), another is St. Paul outside the Walls, and the last is San Maria Maggiore which I visited after San Giovanni. After my beautiful self guided tour of San Giovanni (included it's gorgeous cloister), and before I head over to St. Mary Major, I decided to visit the Scala Santa (the sacred steps). The was a last minute decision, but going there, I realized it was Holy Thursday. I subconsciously picked a good day to go, huh?. I just went to look at them, but I decided that I wanted to kneel up them. A small history lesson for all of you in slight confusion, you ask? The sacred steps are the steps that Jesus walked up before he was condemned by Pontius Pilate. There are 28 marble stairs that are now encased by wood to protect them. Christians kneel up them, saying a prayer at each step, as a sign of devotion. Now, I have not had the strongest faith these past few years, but I still wanted to have this experience. Boy, was it worth it. And boy did it hurt. At one point, though, I joking prayed for a pillow so my knees wouldn't hurt. Then they suddenly stopped hurting. Thanks, God. As you kneel up them, you can see spaces in the wood where allegedly some of Jesus's blood fell. There are also spaces where you can touch the marble underneath. All in all, a very worthwhile experience and for where I am in my faith right now, it was definitely something I needed to do.
As I left the Scala Santa and looked at my map to see where I had to go to find St. Mary Major, I noticed Piazza Vittorio Emmanuel... a block away. Whoops! I guess it wasn't so hard to find after all. But it was almost 12 by this point and that was when my class ended. So I just kept my eyes out for my class who I later found out had moved far away from that piazza anyway. When I arrived at St Mary Major, the first thing I wanted to do was find Bernini's tomb and his famous statue The Ecstasy of St. Teresa. Well, after walking around the whole church and finding neither, I went into the gift shop and tracked down a tourist booklet. I discovered Bernini's tomb was hidden on the floor at the front of the altar. I also discovered that Bernini's sculpture was not at this church, but at a church near Termini. Regardless, after seeing his tomb and enjoying the rest of the church, I walked outside and realized it was almost 1:00. That meant that the market at Campo di'Fiori was about to shut down and I still needed my make-your-own trail mix fix! Well I booked it on over there and found my friend Manuel. He knows me by name now and lets me try the fruit and nuts before I put them into my bag to make sure I'll like them. He also gives me discounts. I strolled around there for a bit longer, when I came across a fresh fruit smoothie place. I ask you, what's a better lunch than trail mix and a fruit smoothie? Nothing, that's what. It was when I was walking over to the Vittorio Emmanuel monument to go to the Capitoline Museum that I realized a.) I could NEVER do any of this in Johnston, and therefore b.) I didn't want to leave. There is never a dull moment here. Never! But the thing is, my family and friends are not here. Four months without seeing them is tolerable, but to never see them in unfathomable. If they would move here, I would move here in a heartbeat. But that itself is pretty unfathomable, so I just have to enjoy this last month and go back to my friends, my family, and my landfill.
I especially missed the family on Easter, though. Don't get me wrong, spending Easter at St. Peters sitting 20 rows back from the altar listening to the Pope say mass was an incredible experience. But I would have traded it for Easter with my family. It was my first Easter away form home and I got really homesick after mass. That, or I was just really cranky for waking up at 5:00 to sit in the rain for 2 hours.
Speaking of sleep, I'm gonna go get me a large serving of that. Stay tuned to hear about the most beautiful place in the world!
