Day 10 - Christmas Day

Yes, the guy in the middle is the Pope

After packing, we returned to St. Peter's square where Pope Francis addressed the gathered crowd at about noon.  It is called the Urbi et Orbi (CNN tells me that means City and World).  This time, the crowd was allowed to applaud him when he came out on the balcony, and they did.  The address was not particularly long.  He spoke in Italian, but we were able to pick up themes- Israeli/Palestinian peace, an end to the conflict in Syria, an end to terrorism, peace in war-torn countries in Africa and South America, an end to human trafficking.  He has a very pleasant, kind voice.  The whole event was accompanied by much pomp. The Swiss Guard once again made an appearance, this time wearing armor over their little outfits.  There were other military groups there too, perhaps different factions of the Swiss Guard, or maybe the Italian Army.  There were two bands that played at specific points in the ceremony.  The pope blessed those in attendance and said a few words and left.  The whole thing took less than a half hour.  We were standing relatively close, but the Pope was very high up on a balcony and our poor little cameras couldn't get a good picture.


The military pomp for the Pope

After the Urbi et Orbi, we again passed a group of young priests singing Christmas carols, this time in English.  Strolling back, there were a surprising number of stores open, like the liquor and pasta store.  I suppose that is not so crazy.  Anyone could need liquor and pasta on Christmas.  We found a new restaurant for lunch.  We had good food, though.  To start, Tony had minestrone and I had olives stuffed with meat, breaded and fried.  We were both happy.  We then went back to the pasta well with cacio e pepe and carbonara.  Again, we were very satisfied, but we were missing just one last taste of Rome- Gelato di San Crispino.  It is soooooooooo good.  I am going to miss that.  With the gelato, and one last winding through the streets and getting lost adventure, we said ciao to Rome.  I am going to miss it's crazy streets and uneven sidewalks, and gigantic monuments, and its gelato, but not its taxi drivers.

We took the bullet train to Milan, which is, we were told, incredibly scenic, but we were going at sunset, so we saw very little.  We arrived to a cold and crisp Milan around 7:30.  The train station had lights projecting snowflakes on the building.  My first impression of Milan was that it was like any other big city, missing the endearing chaos of Rome, but adding the order of a better plan.  The route took us past streets that were lit in Christmas lights, but everyone was in for the evening. Our hotel is very nice.  Once again, we have Isabel to thank for an upgraded room and a never-ending parade of gifts upon our arrival.  There was the chocolate cake when we came in the room, along with an Park Hyatt Milan ornament.  Not long after we entered the room, there was a knock on the door with a plate of fresh cut fruit.  Then, another knock and more water and chocolates, of course.  They also gave us a free glass of Prosecco with dinner.  It is difficult to believe we are going to have to go back to real life.