Yes, yes, so that was friday. Getting to the hotel was followed promptly by a lot of lounging around and then some television. The only english channels available are CNN, BBC world, and Bloomberg, so I'm currently well-versed in the state of the world. Among things I've learned, people consume more chocolate and beer when the economy tanks, the high-end market for online dating is unaffected by the ''wintry economic climate,'' Croatia is looking to boost its tourism, and Macedonia is an EU candidate that really wants to attract international business.

After TV, it was time for pizza. Since I arrived in Italy the only food I have eaten, apart from breakfast, has been pizza and gelato, it's just that good. Wait, no, broke the streak last night with some pasta and soup for dinner. And then I had a sandwich for lunch. But still, before that, we're talking like 4 pizzas in a row. My favorite has been this great place Stephanie took me to on Saturday for lunch, it was a thin crust pizza with mozzarella and arugula. Oh, and after lunch we had cappuccinos, but I don't think that's enough to technically break the pizza streak. I say cappuccinos, but Stephanie has since informed me that more than one cappuccino is called cappucci. Or something like that.

Stephanie has been studying in Rome for the year as part of Notre Dame's architecture program, so she makes an EXCELLENT tour guide. Saturday Isabel and I met her at the Colosseum and the three of us walked from there, past the Forum and the Wedding Cake, through Rome to the Notre Dame architecture studio. The great thing about Rome is, and this come from both me and Stephanie, is that you can just wander down the street, going about your business, there are buildings everywhere, you turn the corner and WHAM ancient ruin, some columns, and Caesar's favorite hangout. And for the most part, its a very walkable city with an extensive bus system. A few hours after the cappuccino, it was time for gelato, naturally, so we met up with some friends and took care of the gelato situation (the gelato situation being, I need to eat as much gelato as possible in Rome because it is wonderful). The rest of Saturday consisted of more wandering through Rome with Isabel, Marvin, and John. We tried to make it to the top of the Wedding Cake but we were foiled by a 7€ elevator. Instead we hung out, took pictures, and got a little lost on the inside of the monument (and I hear this is hard to do).

Sunday morning, I got up bright and early for Easter mass at the Vatican! I got tickets through Notre Dame because I guess somebody knows somebody who knows somebody, Catholic connections I suppose, but most of the ND study abroad students had the chance to sign up to go to mass at the Vatican, so all I had to do was show up and look for the big ND flag. We got great seats, I was about 7 rows from the front, and while the front of the seating was still a ways from the alter, I could see really well. My favorite moment from the experience was from before mass started. We had to hurry to get our seats and were constantly passed by fierce nuns who were eager to see the pope (I'd heard tales about this before, short story: don't even get between a nun and the pope). But we found a good place to sit and waited the hour and a half between getting our seats and the start of mass. Meanwhile, we were surrounded by people from all over the world trying to find their seats as well, excusing themselves as they pushed by in all different languages. About three rows ahead of us was a tough and sassy Italian nun (I use these adjectives with a positive connotation, mind you). She was probably around 70 and in full habit, looking around for a friend she was saving a seat for. In order to get a better view, she stood up on top of her seat and whipped out her cell phone to call her friend. Then, still atop her chair, she gives her friend directions over the phone, arms moving in every direction in a stereotypical Italian fashion.
Second favorite moment, after mass, the pope gave an address followed by a greeting in dozens of different languages. I was surrounded by Phillipina nuns, so when he got to Tagalog, they went crazy cheering, it was very charming.
Oh, and third favorite moment, there was a group of German nuns close by who were waving a large German flag for the pope and for the camera. They were very jaunty, I saw them joking together when they walked by later.
I love nuns. When I was 8 I wanted to be a nun. Granted, at 7 I wanted to have 100 children and at 9, I was looking at around 30.