Il Papa and The Opera

Today I had three goals.
1. Get to St. Peter's Square by 12pm to witness the Pope bless the crowd.
2. Relax.
3. Attend the opera Mefistofele.
I left the hostel around 10:30am to head to St. Peter's and read for a bit while the crowds were assembling. Before I got too far I decided to check out the grocery store for some fruit which turned into a pear, mandarin oranges, a box of cereal, Nutella and a sunscreen stick (I think it might be chapstick, but it's hard to tell since I don't read Italian very well). Rather than carry around the weight I dropped off my goods and headed for the square. I arrived at just the right time. There was still plenty of space to move about and find a good spot--key for short people--plus I had a chance to read some of Romans while still in Roma. About 10 minutes to 12pm a deep maroon banner with the Pope's seal in gold rolled down from the 3rd story window of the building just to the right of the square to signify from where Il Papa would be speaking. Groups scattered throughout the crowd had banners and scarves/fabric/flags in bright colors to wave for the Pope's attention. Right on cue at 12pm Il Papa emerged and greeted his cheering public. He spoke in Italian briefly and then led a responsive prayer in Latin. He officially blessed all gathered wishing us a blessed Sunday and week. He continued on by making the same brief comments from before in French, English, Spanish, German, Polish and I think one or two other languages I didn't recognize. Each time he changed languages he recognized any groups present he was aware of and they would cheer, jump and generally be excited. All in all, it was very cool and a great way to wind down my time in Roma.

After most of the crowds cleared out I munched my lunch on the steps of the square until it got breezy. Having some time to burn before I could return to the hostel (closed for cleaning), I wandered the mostly closed up streets for a cafe where I could sit and read. I finally found one about 4 blocks from the hostel named Piccolo Diavolo (Little Devil--fitting for a Sunday afternoon post Pope blessing). Nothing like some Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice along with a cappuccino.

A quick drop in at the hostel for a change into my "dressy" clothes which meant my black crinkle skirt (I think I got this one in high school??) and my colorful stained glass looking shirt from Lisa. With my red trekking shoes, it was quite a stylish outfit. I arrived at the Teatro dell'Opera at just the right time to get my seat and have the show begin. Four hours of excellent music, costumes, scenery and atmosphere made for a lovely evening. I'm no opera guru so I'm sure what I call great another would critique. For being quite literally in the last row at the top of the theater (probably 4 or 5 stories up) I thought is was tons of fun and a great way to spend the evening. I felt cultured and like a local for the night. For those of you not acquainted with Mefistofele, check out Wikipedia's short article. This gave me the background I needed to understand what was going on since there were no subtitles :) The Faustian themed Mefistofele is the only completed opera by the Italian composer-librettist Arrigo Boito.

I was finally able to dig into my second dessert--the chocolate mystery! Turns out it was two 1/2" layers of light chocolate cake with a spiced, orange/yellow jelly and a layer of sweet red jelly in-between. The entire treat was covered with a black colored dark chocolate coating. Definitely worth waiting for!!