Roman Roamin' I

Most of my time in Rome, awaiting Vicki's return, was spent in non-touristic activities: assorted repairs and maintenance of the Grey Wanderer, washing and waxing it, finding a lavanderia a gettone (coin wash) and doing the wash (finally, near Basilico San Paulo), dealing with my dead Asus eee 900 computer, trying to repair it, bussing to the internet shoppe to maintain connection with loved ones, dealing with jet-lag (the worst I have experienced; don't know why), trips to the grocery and other places. I have almost felt like I was becoming a resident, especially after working through a couple or more transportation worker strikes. (I had to take the taxi home from the Metro station one night.) Nevertheless, I did get out now and then to see bits of Rome. My first trip out was to get to the Beatification of John-Paul II at the Vatican. This was, of course, a very big deal in Rome. Alas, I did not actually get to the Mass, but somehow they carried on without me.

J-P2 mementos and souvenirs were everywhere;  Saturday

night a candle-light procession passed by the campground at

4AM; way out on the most distant edge of Rome

The whole city was covered in placards and

banners

At Piazza Reppublica the morning of the Beatification Mass

Transportation plan notices on the Metro that morning, in

Italian, English and Polish (he was Polish, bishop of Krakow)

J-P2 Event Staff at  the Lepanto Metro stop near (somewhat

near) the Vatican; this was as far as I got; unbeknownst to me,

and to other travelers and pilgrims, the transit system had

pulled busses off the outlying routes in order to provide

continuous free shuttles from Termini (grand central station)

to the Vatican; thus, despite waiting for a bus from 6:30AM, I

did not actually arrive in the Vatican area until after 11, when

the Mass was over (well, I was up that early because of jet-lag,

not devotion)

I could have been part of this

But I wasn't; I did admire the man, nonetheless, for his
international work, and particularly for his courageous
aiding and comforting the Polish revolution that overthrew
the communist regime there and led, fairly directly I believe,
to the overthrow of communism throughout eastern Europe