Saturday Night Easter Vigil In The Vatican

So Friday morning I woke up early to wait in line for the Coloseum.  During the day the line can be up to 4 hours long, and I didn't like that.  So I got there around 7:30am, and I was one of the first people there.  It was slightly chilly, and so I was wearing a sweatshirt. My Binghamton University sweatshirt to be specific.  These two gentleman come up behind me in line and are sitting there for a while.  Then one of them says to me,

"Do.. you go to Binghamton?"

Here's the thing about Binghamton: It's a great school, but maybe one in a million people in Italy no what it is.  So I knew something was up.  Long story short, he didn't go to Binghamton, but grew up in Vestal, the city in which Binghamton is located.  So we started talking.  And we talked for about an hour while we waited in line. Him and his friend were both about 30, and very cool guys with great stories.  We ended up traveling through both the Palantino and Coloseum together.  At one point, one of them says to me..

"So.. my friend works in the US embassy here in Rome, and he got us tickets into St. Peters Basillica saturday night for the easter vigil. We have an extra ticket, and you are the first american we've met here who we've actually talked to and gotten along with, do you want to come with us?"

Of Course I said yes.  An opportunity to participate in this historical ceremony, in the presence of the pope, in the vatican, and free entrance to the basilica.  Of course I said yes.  One thing though was that I hadn't brought pants with me, so I had to buy a pair.  Which was awesome because I had an excuse to buy myself a really nice pair of Italian dress pants, which are cheaper than jeans in Italy.


Anyways, here are some of the videos.

The choir and other people did the chanting and songs in Latin. It was beautiful.

The Pope's voice isn't quite as beautiful.

This is a long video.  You'll see the swiss guard, college of cardinals, bishops, and The Pope at around the two minute mark.

Rome

Rome has a very exciting train station

This gentleman appears to be in the wrong place.  At first he casually juggles the ball on his head in the middle of the intersection.  But he's not lost, because as soon as he stops and catches the ball, he walks from window to window with outstretched hands to retrieve an award for his bravery.

This is the Vittorio Emanuel building.  It is also an amazing building.  It is large, perfectly white, and built with 100's of majestic pillars.  There are also statues protruding from all sides of the building making it an excellent sight catcher.  This is a very dramatic building.  At night they light the top up blue with the statues protruding into the darkness with a blue tint.  The birds in the city all play along in the drama game by circling this monument at night.

The Trevi Fountain is beautiful.  It's so intricate and detailed.  Additionally, all of the fountains in Rome have beautiful clear blue water.  And there are many fountains.  Not only that, but throughout the city they have metal faucets that run a solid stream of delicious clean drinking water 24/7.  Their ability to provide all of those waters in ancient times contributed to their success as an empire.  The city of Rome is built on top of large limestone deposits, and the limestone acts as a natural purifier of the water.

When I saw the man locking this door I couldn't help but to take a video.  I think someone should tell him that criminals upgraded from 2-D to 3-D breaking and entering a while ago.

No matter what large city you go to, you're never far from a cheesy but fun to watch break dancing show.  Make sure to watch the guy at the 1:28 mark.

A roman sunrise from the top of an 8-story building in Rome with a view of the Coloseo and The Vittorio Emanuel.

Rome

I'm in Rome right now. Great city.  I don't have my laptop though and have no way to post videos.  And internet here costs 2.50 Euro for 30 min. Soo I won't be on long.  Tomorrow I'll be visiting the Coleseo, and the Roman Forum. Then on Saturday I might head south to the Naples, Pompeii, and Sorrento region.  I only have 3 weeks left here so I've got to get around.  And I have a long weekend.

Malta - Gozo

Malta is an island country south of Italy.  Gozo is part of Malta but is another mile off the coast of Malta.  Gozo is approximately 76 Square Km.  Thats approximately 29 square miles.  Or an average diameter of 5 miles.  So small island. We rented bikes and you can bike one side to the other in under a half hour.


This is a group of about 14 Spanish people from Granada on vacation that I introduced myself to in the hostel.

Bus rides on Malta are insane. The buses are from the 1960's. The drivers are from the 1940's.  They collect money while driving. The doors stay open.  They drive like maniacs.  Here's a sample.

Malta is a very cheap place.  Here is the hostel/hotel we stayed in for 9 Euros a night per person.  It was three of us and we had our private room, bathroom, fridge, microwave. It was basically a hotel.

You will see the best of Gozo later, but here are some ruins.

View from Viktoria, capital of Gozo.  Old city.

The Malta Experience

Before I break into Malta with some videos.  Let me say that this was possibly the best place I've visited thus far in Europe.  Beautiful, great country.  Also, while my meal program was succesful last week, as for 6 days I ate nothing but the fruits and vegetables I had purchased, my meat free ended abruptly upon entering Malta when I saw, and I kid you not, "A Meat Pie," selling for 1.50.  It took this as a sign and indulged myself.  How much more literal could it get.


Now I knowww they say that the emperial guards in the United Kingdom are the best in the world. And that the changing of the guards is a must see. However, I think you'll agree with me in saying that the modesty and true heroism of this Maltan display for outpaces any fish'n'chips entente.

The arcade in Paceville, Malta was top notch.

Disclaimer: As a result of Maltese Government rulings, all arcades were banned from offering tickets in exchange for game play. As this is a method of gambling.  It was a very... dry arcade.

We take for granted some things in America. Like free water on the table at restaurants. If they put water or bread on the table for you, there is a 75% chance it costs money in Europe.  I prefer free water. Also, at this restaurant I ordered a delicious sounding hamburger from the menu. Guess what I got... yes, a hamburger.  Just the burger, a patty of meat on a bun. I was like... pickles?

Diet Results

So far I have been successful in eating no meat, and only food from the ingredients I bought on Saturday.  Which has been about 95% fruits and vegetables.  It's been 5 days, here's what I've eaten.

4 Oarnges

3 Bananas

10 Eggs

2 Slices of American Italian Cheese (Leftover in fridge from before shopping)

1.3 Lbs of Lettuce

5 Large Tomatoes

2 Large Cucumbers

1 Lb of pasta

7 Large Carrots

4 Potatoes

2 cans of corn

2 cans of beans

1 can of Peas

2 Heads of Brocolli

And I've ran everyday since Saturday for at least an hour.  A few days 2 hours because I got lost.

The world seems so small until you get lost in it.  You think you know a place, and then it's like, who put this giant city here?

I'm going to Malta this weekend so I can't continue the at home fruit and vegetable diet.  But I'm going to keeping going Vegetarian.  Not for much longer though because I dont want to be a vegetarian my last few weeks in meat capital Italy.  I'll probably switch to vegesmarian.

Definition - Vegesmarian

I'm a vegetarian, but meh, I'll eat meat once in a while, when it feels right.

Back to Break- Tenerife

This is the worlds oldest tree at a remarkable 300... 3000 years old.

Info about the diet.

So far it has been two full days.  I have been successful so far and consumed only the following:

2 oarnges
2 bananas
3 eggs
300 grams of lettuce
2 large tomatoes
1 large cucumber
400 grams of white beans
300 grams of corn
400 grams of peas
3 carrots
2 potatoes
200 grams of pasta

And I've ran about 12km

Bianchi Di Spagnolo

Back To Spring Break- Tenerife-Canary Islands

Alright so Tenerife is one of the Canary Islands off the south coast of Morocco.  We spent approximately 3 days there during spring break.

Here are their stories.

Food in Tenerife is pretty cheap. And it's good too. So I indulged.

A typical view from the coast at sunset

Typical chickens in typical cages

Typical book burnings for typically handicapped. No but seriously we stumbled upon this in one of the cities we visited.  It was a gathering of what appeared to be different teams of people. Each team was dressed up in different costumes. It appeared to be some sort of event for mentally and physically handicapped persons.  The uniting factor for all teams, every one was dancing, and everyone was burning things.  I didn't catch it on camera, but off to the right there is a pile of burning ash in the center of the parking lot. And standing erect in the pile of ashes was a burning cross. But everyone seemed to be in such a good mood, and just dancing.

 

Quick Break From Spring Break

Okay, so here's a story. A true one.

The day was Sunday. I left my apartment around noon, just to walk.  It was warm out, and the tourists were a plenty.  I was in a rather bleh mood.  Not necessarily sad, but provocatively thoughtful with a base in sadness.  Anyways, I was just walking around playing angry birds and thinking.

Then I came across the Santa Croce Piazza.  This is just a large plaza with where people gather.  I sat down on one bench across from the church. I'm just there people watching, thinking, playing angry birds.

Then, 3 women walk towards me and sit down on the bench next to me.

Woman 1-
She was black, approximately 40, and she was a nun.  I know this because she had her nun outfit on.  She was very confident, tough, and outgoing. I know this because she was driving a hard bargain with the street vendors that would approach her. She negotiated down to her price on several different goods.

Woman 2-
She appeared hispanic and I would later find out she was from Peru.  She appeared to be in her early thirties, and she was also dressed as a nun.  She was quieter than the first, and had a pleasant smile on her face.  She was smiling and looked relatively happy.

Woman 3-
She was also black, but the only one not dressed as a nun. She appeared to be the oldest of the three, maybe slightly older than 40.  She was also the unhappiest, quietest, and largest of the three.

So they sat next to me, and about 4-5 minutes had passed. I really wanted to say something to them. I do this thing where I get inside my head, and sometimes remain stuck there. Creating potential conversations, having and re-having them. Just over and over again saying the words in my head.  Heres an example of one of the conversations going on.  (Translated to English)

Me- Hello, what's your name? Do you speak english?
Woman 2- Hello, my name is ... yes I speak english
Me- small talk...
Woman 2- small talk...
me- are you married?
Woman 2- no
me- Have you ever loved someone?
Woman 2- yes
Me- What happened?

etc...

Obviously it was more elaborate in my head, but basically I was just looking to talk to a stranger. Have a honest deep conversation with a random stranger.  But I couldn't get myself to say the words out loud. Normally I am very outgoing, but I got stuck up there.

Then, all of a sudden.  Woman 2 and I make eye contact and she holds out her hand. In her hand she is holding a juice box, and she says, "here."

I was like, "... Gratzie."  That was it, no other conversation. Just gratzie. Not exactly what I was thinking in my head, but I had a juicebox.  It was succo de pera.  Pear juice.  Delicious.

A few minutes later we begin talking. I don't remember who began the conversation. But I remember that she didn't speak english or Italian, so we began speaking in spanish.  Then Woman 1 joined in, but speaking in Italian.  Then this language triangle began.  I think that they thought I was much more fluent in the languages they were speaking than I actually am.  For example, woman 1 would say something to me in italian that I would understand a little of. And then if I looked confused, Woman 2 would translate it for me into spanish, thinking it was my native tongue.  Silence is a good portrayal of knowledge I guess.  Anyways it went on for a while, and it was cool.  I learned that they were here surveying Italy for some reason that I would have to guess was to help their mother live or do research or something. I dont know.

Then a few more minutes of silence.  And all of a sudden, woman 1 hands me a Chino soda.  And then a package of crackers. AND THEN A CAN OF MEAT!  And I was just holding these things in my hands like..."Do they think I'm homeless."  So I took a few seconds to survey my appearance to check and see if I might come off as homeless, but no. I looked presentable, other than the fact that I was now cupping crackers, soda, and canned meat in my outstretched hands.  So again I was like, "Gracias." Had I known more of their languages I might have better understood why.  But the from what I gathered from what they were saying, well they said something like this.

"Dont worry, we dont need eat.  Eat, Eat!  We dont need it, especially this one (woman 3) she is fat. We are very pretty and we are trying to keep our figures! eat, eat! Mangia!"

A few minutes went bye, and then they left. We said goodbye, and woman 3 still had not said a word the entire time.




  

Spring Break- Barcelona 3

This is a sand sculpture from the beach

This is me making a cool image with a pine cone and a palm tree

Having a full salted pigs leg is common in spain. When they are hungry, they just take the knife out and slice some ham strips.

This is a video of La Segrada Famiglia, a famous church in Spain. It means "The Sacred Family"

Spring Break- Barcelona 2

Okay so Edur is Basque.  This basically means that he is from a territory of Northern Spain that considers itself to be it's own nation. They are currently trying to gain independence from Spain. This is a very old country, and the language is possibly the oldest in the world. So old they cannot trace its origins. While in Barcelona, they were holding a sort of pre independence day Basque celebration party.  Basically all the Basques in Barcelona gather at bars and then throughout the day and night they move together through the streets from bar to bar.  They participate in ancient traditions such as a Basque dance which you will see. And the pouring of the cider that they drink. To them, the pouring process is considered an art.

The first videos are when we were just hanging out and eating pre party lunch in the apartment. Then we take to the streets.