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!!

Not Quite Gilligan's Island

Far from sunny but not quite rotten, it rained all day which only compounded the travel issues of the day. I knew ahead of time there would be construction on the metro a few stops from Piraeus (the port city W of Athens where most ferries, boats and trains depart) and that I would need to take a bus to a spot further down the metro line. Frances, who I met at the hostel a few days earlier, had informed me of all this when she made the trip to Hydra with her Dad. The only thing I didn't know was that the X13 bus that kept circling past the spot where I was waiting for the bus went to where I needed to go. I ended up waiting a good 20 minutes for a bus I knew was headed in the right direction. Unfortunately I got off at the next metro stop only to find that there was still construction going on. Assuming I'd need to wait another 20 minutes for a bus, I learned from the next X13 bus driver that he was heading to Piraeus.

I finally made it to the metro stop where I was supposed to be to go one more stop into the town. Once in Piraeus I had to ask around for where the Hellenic Seaways Co. was so I could pick up my tickets. A guy directed me to a large building at Gate 7 with their name on it, but it was closed--being Sunday and all. I asked at a nearby ferry company where I should go and they said there would be a kiosk at Gate 8 on the docks. With tickets procured and a good 45 minutes before the boat left, I walked across the street for a cappuccino.
The ferry ride to Aegina Island was nice and smooth. When I got off the rain was just barely falling, but warranted an umbrella. I walked down to the nearby sight of a temple to Apollo and a very old city which had been built over multiple times throughout history. I was debating whether or not to take the bus across the island to see the Temple of Aphaia or to just wander around town for the next 3 hours in the drizzle and cold. I grabbed some lunch from a cafe which was delightfully warm and tasty. It was a pastry dough shell with ham, cheese and a thin spread of spaghetti sauce inside. When I returned to the bus kiosk, no one was there. I opted to just wander town and see some of the streets and shops. Most things were closed, but the architecture was nice. I'm sure in summer this is a sunny, bustling island. I dropped into a church and enjoyed the fresco icons painted all over the walls and ceilings. It was warm, smoke free and quiet inside.

Along the waterfront are numerous stands with pistachios for sale. Aegina Island is considered to have the best pistachios in Greece. Having had enough of the rain, I boarded my ferry back to Piraeus at 5:30pm. It was on this return trip that I discovered I had been using the men's bathroom both times on the boat. The pictures are so small and very hard to see on a moving boat. At least now I know why the guy was staring at me when I walked in on the boat ride over.

I meandered back to the metro, got my ticket and headed toward the metro car. People were making quite a commotion in Greek and it seemed like there wasn't going to be any metro from this station. Rather disappointed I inquired at the ticket booth how else I could get back to Athens. A bus runs from Piraeus to Syntagma Square in Athens, but the stop was about 10 minutes from the docks. The lady informed me which bus to take to get to the right stop to transfer back to Athens.

I missed the bus just as I was about to cross the street. After about 20 minutes another one failed to show up. I started walking and passed two of the three stops to the transfer point. Somehow after this I got horribly lost. None of the street names matched anything in my book (which I thankfully remembered to take!) but I did recognize that I was by the small marina. I happened across a street listed in my book and discovered I was a good 10-15 blocks from where I needed to be. Fortunately I found the bus stop I needed and in another half hour I was back in Athens only a short walk from the hostel.

What a long day! I still had to do laundry, pack up and figure out how to get to Korinthos the next day after checking out. Laundry went fairly smooth and I was able to wash just about everything with me for a pricey E5. I opted to skip the E2 dryer and hang things up in my room. Hopefully tomorrow's travels will be smoother.

Ask The Oracle

Instead of trying to find my own way to Delphi and spending the night, I opted to take the day trip from the hostel. For the price it would have cost to stay one night in Delphi, I had transportation arranged, entrance to the historical site, a guide, lunch and people to travel with. Can't beat a deal like that!

It took about 2.5 hours to drive to the site where we spent about 3 hours seeing the ancient city and walking the museum. Delphi is known for the woman oracle who sat near the Temple of Apollo inhaling fumes emitting from a chasm in the Earth. In her state of trance/ecstasy, she made prophecies for those who stopped in to ask her a question. Her advice was taken seriously for day to day business, impending wars and personal matters. I was too slow to make it to Athena's temple a 15 minute walk down the road. I did, however, get some great photos of the surrounding valley and the mountainous villages on either side of Delphi.

We stopped for coffee in the less touristy village and took in the gorgeous sight of the sun shining on the Corinthian Sea. After the long ride back I enjoyed a delicious dinner of stuffed eggplant including zucchini, red pepper, onion, mushrooms, feta cheese and topped with some shredded mozzarella. Back at the hostel I researched ferries to Aegina Island and purchased tickets for Sunday. When you're here, you feel like your visit just isn't complete without a trip to an island. Hopefully the weather will continue to be good as it has been up to now.