When you tell someone you are moving from San Diego to Naples, Italy, there is inevitably a conversation about the other person’s love of and experiences in Italy. This is followed by a request…”oh send me some Italian shoes!” or “I can’t wait for you to send us your favorite bottle of Italian wine” or “you must find the restaurant that is describe in Eat, Pray, Love.” My favorite request was from my Wii playing chicken nephew. His request was not for something but for me to find someone…Francesco Bernoulli. For those of you who don’t know Francesco, he is an Italian racecar from the movie Cars 2. So as we were saying good byes to the family, my nephew whispers again “keep your eyes out for Francesco!” You can imagine his excitement when I told him we met a man named Francesco, even though it wasn’t the real one. And when we found pistachio ice cream. But the best part happened on Christmas Eve.
Being our first Christmas with our baby and our first Christmas in Italy, we decided we needed to make it memorable, especially since we are living in a hotel! The USO was hosting a bus trip to Roma for Midnight Mass at the Vatican. Of course being Catholic, this seemed like a fantastic idea! I signed us up…not thinking about how much it actually cost, how long the bus trip would be, how we would get tickets, or what the weather would be like. After paying our bus fare, I decided to figure out about tickets. The Vatican does not accept email requests for Midnight Mass so I had to send a fax. And we were supposed to find out if we got them with a return fax. Of course, since we are living in a hotel, this was a difficult task. I was able to find a fax (where I could send FREE faxes) in the Fleet and Family Support Center. And not thinking about it, I put that number as the return fax. Well, after I sent the fax, I found out the fax machine had no ink and therefore I would probably never hear if we got the tickets. I was optimistic that our friends would have better luck or they would send the tickets to the address provided. I was also not going to be disappointed if we didn’t have tickets and were out in the square. Having a 3 month old baby in a two hour long service seemed like a bad idea. Now to figure out the other issues: the flyer said the bus would be back between 2:30-3:00 AM. So being a smart person, I decided that the bus trip couldn’t be more than an hour and a half since mass was at midnight and would be at least an hour and getting everyone back on the bus would take a few minutes so we would be headed back by 1:30. Seems logical right?? And the weather…this issue was a bit nerve-wracking. It was going to be cold, and we came from California so we were not prepared. So I determined I was going to wear layers, borrow Matt’s coat since I can zip his coat (breastfeeding has made zipping my jacket impossible), use my new hat, gloves, and scarf combo that Matt gave me for my birthday. The baby was going to wear a corduroy dress with long sleeve shirt, tights, a knit hat, socks, and be snuggled up to her daddy. Also, she had a coat, pajamas to put on with the tights and shirt if necessary, and two blankets. Matt had his warm clothes picked up so we were ready to go.
Before we could leave for the trip, I wanted to make sure everything was ready for Christmas morning. Every year, we have breakfast casserole as an intermission during present opening. It’s something that is prepared the night before and thrown in the oven when you get up. After looking for what Santa left and opening some presents, the casserole (and bubble bread usually) are ready to eat. Then you continue with the present opening! I was debating what to do because we were leaving at noon and I wasn’t sure how the egg casserole would do if it sat for 18 hours. And being in a foreign country, I couldn’t just call my mom and ask! So I decided I would shred the cheese and brown the sausage. When we got back at 2:00 AM, I would assemble the casserole and then sleep. Sounds like the perfect plan, right?
So we get everything ready and walk to meet the bus. We left 45 minutes early to meet the bus and get a sandwich to bring with us…and we were one of the last people there! We had to sit in the very way back of the bus. Looking at the bus, it reminded me of the charter buses we would take for long field trips in school; the buses were big and comfy (at least compared to the school bus) and had a bathroom in the back of the bus. This bus was not like the charter buses I remember. The leg room was nonexistent. There was no bathroom on this bus and the seats did not recline. For 90 minutes, we can handle this.
Well, make that 3 hours. The bus ride was 3 hours! Apparently my calculations were incorrect because Midnight Mass starts at 10:00, who knew!? We did stop about 40 minutes outside of Roma for a pit stop. The truck stop had nice bathrooms with toilet paper, lots of snack foods, and a full size snack bar. I was holding the baby and standing in the candy section looking for a Mars Bar (I have never had a Mars Bar and don’t think they are made anymore; Matt thinks they are still made so it has become a family joke to look EVERYwhere for a Mars Bar and I have yet to see one) and waiting for Matt. I was standing in the same spot for at least 5 minutes before I realized who was next to me! My wii playing chicken nephew would be so excited because I found him: Francesco Barnouilli!!
The Baby wasn’t nearly as impressed with the ride-in Francesco (which is good because it was 159 Euros!) but we could not resist the photo opportunity. And we couldn’t wait to get back and SKYPE with the family to tell our nephew all about finding Francesco.
We continued our journey to Roma. It is so fascinating to look out of the window as we drive through the country (and slightly nauseating) because everything is different. It is hard to describe how you will see a rundown shack surrounded by beautiful Roman ruins next to a farm and shopping center and brand new mansions. And of course the vegetation is different than the plush green rolling hills of North Carolina or the desert like environment of California. And there is no way to describe the beautiful architecture that has been around for 2000 years. We pull into St. Peter’s Square area at about 16:00 and are told to be back on the bus at midnight. Let the Roman adventure begin!
After our dinner, which was over-priced based because of the proximity to the Vatican, we walked down a street that had a river down the middle. We saw the castle Sant’Angelo and it was spectacular.
We wandered the street looking for street vendors and other interesting things. We took some really neat pictures even though it was dark.
Roma is amazing. And we saw the tiniest little bit of the city. I have noticed that there is marble everywhere in Italy. This makes for beautiful floors, counters, bathrooms, and stairs but not the best sidewalks. Yep, the sidewalks in Roma were marble. Seems nice, but is not a good idea in a rainy city. It makes for a very dangerous and slippery walk. As you can guess, it decided to rain on Christmas Eve and of course we did not have an umbrella, I had it in the diaper bag and took it out…silly Lizzie. Conveniently there was a man selling umbrellas on the street for 15 Euros. Great deal, right? NOT! He approached us and we were able to talk him down to 10 euro. I told Matt “absolutely not, let’s go!” in my attempt to haggle although Matt thought I was really upset about spending that much money! As we walked away and waited at the street corner to cross the man came back over and said we could have it for 8 euro. And we said deal! Half-price for an overpriced umbrella. My mom would be so proud.
It was about 20:00 at this time and we didn’t want to go stand in the cold for four hours especially since the square was not very crowded. Apparently cold and wet kept a lot of people at home. Since no one was driving, the boys wanted to find a pub and have a beer. Seems like an easy idea right? Well bars aren’t bars, they are coffee places or snack places. We think bars are tarvernas or pubs so we went looking for signs. We found a place called a tarverna and being the gentlemen they are, the men opened the doors for Mandi and me. We poke our heads in, had everyone stop and stare and realized very quickly that this is not where we would be able to get a beer. The restaurant was very fancy and the waiters were wearing tuxedos. Of course, Matt and Jamie didn’t believe us and wanted to look themselves so they stuck their heads through the door to receive several more stares. Onward we go. We found a little restaurant and decided we would stop there for a glass of wine (everyone else had a glass of wine; I had a bottle of aqua natural). After about 40 minutes of enjoying the wine, well drinking it because this was not the best wine in Italy, we got the impression that we were keeping the family from Christmas. So we paid our bill and headed back to the square.
Matt wanted to see if we would be able to get in without tickets. St. Peter’s Square is quite large and the line to get into mass literally weaved and wrapped through the square several times. It might have been the longest line I had seen in quite some time. I don’t think everyone from the line actually made it inside the church. So we picked a good spot, you can see the screen and the pope’s balcony. And we weren’t crowded. There were so many different kinds of people around some who felt that it was okay to drink and smoke while watching mass. Others who were moved to tears watching the Pope ride into mass. It was a very surreal atmosphere.
The majority of Mass was in Italian (at least I think it was Italian) but each part of the service had a different language. One reading was English; one reading was in Chinese, the homily Italian, the prayer requests in all the different languages. Of course we didn’t understand most of what was being said but it was one of the coolest experiences. Matt asked me how they were going to do communion and I said I had no idea…I thought that maybe only the clergy and the people who were part of the mass would be offered communion. If you are not Catholic, you are not supposed to take communion in a Catholic church and there was no way of knowing who was or wasn’t Catholic. I also think there are people who are not Catholic who would take communion in the Vatican just to say they did. So we were watching the different priests on the screen and suddenly Jamie realized that the priests were coming outside to the masses!! We looked at each other and immediately started to walk towards the barricades, just like thousands of other people. Jamie is a good person to bring to crowds or mosh pits, he is able to weave and get to the front without pushing and stepping on feet. So we were up on the barricade, probably two rows of people in front of him and three in front of me. The priests (about four different ones) each went to a different part and each was escorted by a photographer and a bodyguard. The first priest passed by and we were not able to receive communion because he seemed to only be able to reach taller people. More people were shoving and trying to push closer to the barricade. The priests ran out of hosts and returned to the basilica but another round or two of priests came out to the square. We continued to stay in the same spot and get elbowed and poked from all directions. People were so determined to get to the front of the barricade that they wouldn’t let people out for fear of losing spots. Suddenly, we were two and three and both Jamie and I received communion blessed by the Pope!! It was beyond anything I had ever thought would happen to boring old me! And to make the experience that more exciting, right after I received communion I got elbowed in the stomach and my foot stomped on by a mean girl in a red hat and big black rimmed glasses (they looked like the 3D glasses that teenagers take the lenses out of) as she tried to get up for communion. Not the exact attitude you should have at Christmas Eve mass. As I fought my way out of the crowd and back to my husband and baby, I couldn’t help but notice how many people were in tears. I think some were crying because they were in awe of receiving communion blessed by the Pope and others were pissed that they didn’t!
So after mass, we went back to the bus and got the baby changed and in her pajamas with a flashlight because the power was not on for some reason. After everyone who got to go inside the Vatican got back to the bus, we started our 3 hour journey home. The plan was to sleep the whole way back but since the bus was not as comfortable as one would like, it turned into several cat naps. But luckily the baby slept the whole way home. The cold walk back to our temporary lodging was enough to wake her up though! We changed her again, fed her, and laid her down to go to sleep. Instead she decided to chat with her butterfly mobile and tell it all about her adventures in Rome!
Being our first Christmas with our baby and our first Christmas in Italy, we decided we needed to make it memorable, especially since we are living in a hotel! The USO was hosting a bus trip to Roma for Midnight Mass at the Vatican. Of course being Catholic, this seemed like a fantastic idea! I signed us up…not thinking about how much it actually cost, how long the bus trip would be, how we would get tickets, or what the weather would be like. After paying our bus fare, I decided to figure out about tickets. The Vatican does not accept email requests for Midnight Mass so I had to send a fax. And we were supposed to find out if we got them with a return fax. Of course, since we are living in a hotel, this was a difficult task. I was able to find a fax (where I could send FREE faxes) in the Fleet and Family Support Center. And not thinking about it, I put that number as the return fax. Well, after I sent the fax, I found out the fax machine had no ink and therefore I would probably never hear if we got the tickets. I was optimistic that our friends would have better luck or they would send the tickets to the address provided. I was also not going to be disappointed if we didn’t have tickets and were out in the square. Having a 3 month old baby in a two hour long service seemed like a bad idea. Now to figure out the other issues: the flyer said the bus would be back between 2:30-3:00 AM. So being a smart person, I decided that the bus trip couldn’t be more than an hour and a half since mass was at midnight and would be at least an hour and getting everyone back on the bus would take a few minutes so we would be headed back by 1:30. Seems logical right?? And the weather…this issue was a bit nerve-wracking. It was going to be cold, and we came from California so we were not prepared. So I determined I was going to wear layers, borrow Matt’s coat since I can zip his coat (breastfeeding has made zipping my jacket impossible), use my new hat, gloves, and scarf combo that Matt gave me for my birthday. The baby was going to wear a corduroy dress with long sleeve shirt, tights, a knit hat, socks, and be snuggled up to her daddy. Also, she had a coat, pajamas to put on with the tights and shirt if necessary, and two blankets. Matt had his warm clothes picked up so we were ready to go.
Before we could leave for the trip, I wanted to make sure everything was ready for Christmas morning. Every year, we have breakfast casserole as an intermission during present opening. It’s something that is prepared the night before and thrown in the oven when you get up. After looking for what Santa left and opening some presents, the casserole (and bubble bread usually) are ready to eat. Then you continue with the present opening! I was debating what to do because we were leaving at noon and I wasn’t sure how the egg casserole would do if it sat for 18 hours. And being in a foreign country, I couldn’t just call my mom and ask! So I decided I would shred the cheese and brown the sausage. When we got back at 2:00 AM, I would assemble the casserole and then sleep. Sounds like the perfect plan, right?
So we get everything ready and walk to meet the bus. We left 45 minutes early to meet the bus and get a sandwich to bring with us…and we were one of the last people there! We had to sit in the very way back of the bus. Looking at the bus, it reminded me of the charter buses we would take for long field trips in school; the buses were big and comfy (at least compared to the school bus) and had a bathroom in the back of the bus. This bus was not like the charter buses I remember. The leg room was nonexistent. There was no bathroom on this bus and the seats did not recline. For 90 minutes, we can handle this.
Well, make that 3 hours. The bus ride was 3 hours! Apparently my calculations were incorrect because Midnight Mass starts at 10:00, who knew!? We did stop about 40 minutes outside of Roma for a pit stop. The truck stop had nice bathrooms with toilet paper, lots of snack foods, and a full size snack bar. I was holding the baby and standing in the candy section looking for a Mars Bar (I have never had a Mars Bar and don’t think they are made anymore; Matt thinks they are still made so it has become a family joke to look EVERYwhere for a Mars Bar and I have yet to see one) and waiting for Matt. I was standing in the same spot for at least 5 minutes before I realized who was next to me! My wii playing chicken nephew would be so excited because I found him: Francesco Barnouilli!!
We continued our journey to Roma. It is so fascinating to look out of the window as we drive through the country (and slightly nauseating) because everything is different. It is hard to describe how you will see a rundown shack surrounded by beautiful Roman ruins next to a farm and shopping center and brand new mansions. And of course the vegetation is different than the plush green rolling hills of North Carolina or the desert like environment of California. And there is no way to describe the beautiful architecture that has been around for 2000 years. We pull into St. Peter’s Square area at about 16:00 and are told to be back on the bus at midnight. Let the Roman adventure begin!
We never got tickets so we planned to roam around Rome until it was closer to time for mass to start. First stop was an espresso bar. I have not had a real Italian espresso because I am nursing and the baby does not do well with any amount of caffeine. But I had researched and learned that decaf was decaffeinato and decided now was a good time to try my first proper cappuccino. And it was delicious! Matt even got a latte macchiato, which is a lot of milk and a little espresso. The proper way to drink a café in Italy is to drink the café hot and quickly while standing at the bar so that is what we did. After our café, I decided it was time to go to the restroom before we wandered aimlessly around a city. This was a uni-sex bathroom with an attendant, who you are supposed to tip. She works very hard to tell you which stall to use. But at least there was toilet paper, no toilet seats though.
So we set off. First we went to the Square to see if the Vatican was open for touring and to see if we could go to the gift shop. Both were closed. We also watched the unveiling of the Nativity Scene, although we had no idea what they were saying.
We continued to wander around following Matt’s direction. And we ended up walking in a circle. Then we decided that we would want to eat dinner and since most things were closing we needed to locate an open restaurant. So we wandered some more. Eventually we found a restaurant that was open. We had a nice dinner and still had lots of time to kill so we decided to have another coffee and cannoli. Then we all had our bathroom breaks so we could start exploring again. And we needed to change the baby’s diaper. The bathrooms do not have convenient changing stations. And we had no place to put her to change her unless it was on the ground or outside in the cold rain. So Matt and I had an exciting diaper changing adventure. He held the baby vertically and I took off her bloomers and tights. Then I changed her diaper while he continued to hold her. She was laughing the whole time!! At least we know we can change her diaper in a pinch!!
After our dinner, which was over-priced based because of the proximity to the Vatican, we walked down a street that had a river down the middle. We saw the castle Sant’Angelo and it was spectacular.
We wandered the street looking for street vendors and other interesting things. We took some really neat pictures even though it was dark.
It was about 20:00 at this time and we didn’t want to go stand in the cold for four hours especially since the square was not very crowded. Apparently cold and wet kept a lot of people at home. Since no one was driving, the boys wanted to find a pub and have a beer. Seems like an easy idea right? Well bars aren’t bars, they are coffee places or snack places. We think bars are tarvernas or pubs so we went looking for signs. We found a place called a tarverna and being the gentlemen they are, the men opened the doors for Mandi and me. We poke our heads in, had everyone stop and stare and realized very quickly that this is not where we would be able to get a beer. The restaurant was very fancy and the waiters were wearing tuxedos. Of course, Matt and Jamie didn’t believe us and wanted to look themselves so they stuck their heads through the door to receive several more stares. Onward we go. We found a little restaurant and decided we would stop there for a glass of wine (everyone else had a glass of wine; I had a bottle of aqua natural). After about 40 minutes of enjoying the wine, well drinking it because this was not the best wine in Italy, we got the impression that we were keeping the family from Christmas. So we paid our bill and headed back to the square.
Matt wanted to see if we would be able to get in without tickets. St. Peter’s Square is quite large and the line to get into mass literally weaved and wrapped through the square several times. It might have been the longest line I had seen in quite some time. I don’t think everyone from the line actually made it inside the church. So we picked a good spot, you can see the screen and the pope’s balcony. And we weren’t crowded. There were so many different kinds of people around some who felt that it was okay to drink and smoke while watching mass. Others who were moved to tears watching the Pope ride into mass. It was a very surreal atmosphere.
The majority of Mass was in Italian (at least I think it was Italian) but each part of the service had a different language. One reading was English; one reading was in Chinese, the homily Italian, the prayer requests in all the different languages. Of course we didn’t understand most of what was being said but it was one of the coolest experiences. Matt asked me how they were going to do communion and I said I had no idea…I thought that maybe only the clergy and the people who were part of the mass would be offered communion. If you are not Catholic, you are not supposed to take communion in a Catholic church and there was no way of knowing who was or wasn’t Catholic. I also think there are people who are not Catholic who would take communion in the Vatican just to say they did. So we were watching the different priests on the screen and suddenly Jamie realized that the priests were coming outside to the masses!! We looked at each other and immediately started to walk towards the barricades, just like thousands of other people. Jamie is a good person to bring to crowds or mosh pits, he is able to weave and get to the front without pushing and stepping on feet. So we were up on the barricade, probably two rows of people in front of him and three in front of me. The priests (about four different ones) each went to a different part and each was escorted by a photographer and a bodyguard. The first priest passed by and we were not able to receive communion because he seemed to only be able to reach taller people. More people were shoving and trying to push closer to the barricade. The priests ran out of hosts and returned to the basilica but another round or two of priests came out to the square. We continued to stay in the same spot and get elbowed and poked from all directions. People were so determined to get to the front of the barricade that they wouldn’t let people out for fear of losing spots. Suddenly, we were two and three and both Jamie and I received communion blessed by the Pope!! It was beyond anything I had ever thought would happen to boring old me! And to make the experience that more exciting, right after I received communion I got elbowed in the stomach and my foot stomped on by a mean girl in a red hat and big black rimmed glasses (they looked like the 3D glasses that teenagers take the lenses out of) as she tried to get up for communion. Not the exact attitude you should have at Christmas Eve mass. As I fought my way out of the crowd and back to my husband and baby, I couldn’t help but notice how many people were in tears. I think some were crying because they were in awe of receiving communion blessed by the Pope and others were pissed that they didn’t!
So after mass, we went back to the bus and got the baby changed and in her pajamas with a flashlight because the power was not on for some reason. After everyone who got to go inside the Vatican got back to the bus, we started our 3 hour journey home. The plan was to sleep the whole way back but since the bus was not as comfortable as one would like, it turned into several cat naps. But luckily the baby slept the whole way home. The cold walk back to our temporary lodging was enough to wake her up though! We changed her again, fed her, and laid her down to go to sleep. Instead she decided to chat with her butterfly mobile and tell it all about her adventures in Rome!
Overall a pretty nice Christmas!
How exciting, you make it seem like we are there with you!
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