It's Sunday and we are in Rome. We can see the Vatican from our hotel. Who would not want to try to see the Pope?! A few blocks from our hotel is the broad boulevard the leads directly to Saint Peter's Square, Via Della Concilliazione. We take the cross street towards the boulevard expecting to quickly and easily make our way to the square when we run into a river of people headed the opposite direction. Too late! The square is full and has been closed so everyone has been directed away toward a control point where they can enter the boulevard and try to get as close as possible to the square. A cordoned off "runway" leads from Saint Peter's down the length of the boulevard with people lined up on both sides of it.
Making our way through the entry control point and as close to the square as possible we could see Papa Francesco saying Mass on the Jumbotron. I don't know how many people were there but the crowd was huge. Finally mass was over and the moment that most were waiting for took place. The Pope boarded the famous, white Popemobile and started out amongst the crowd, down that cordoned off path. Like a rock star he was photographed by thousand of jubilant onlookers with every conceivable type of camera. Squeezing as close in as possible we got the picture below.
Back at the hotel we gathered up our luggage, checked out and boarded the motor coach for Termini station. Our train was scheduled to depart at 4:05 PM. At 3:45 the departure platform was posted and we made our way down to where car 4, our car, was scheduled to arrive. We were traveling business class with reserved seats. Stowing all the luggage was abit of a hassle but once that was done everything went pretty smoothly. This was no Amtrak ride. We had large, comfortable, leather seats. Train attendants came through with a push cart and dispensed snacks and drinks ( non-alcoholic ). The ride was exceptionally smooth, occasionally reaching speeds of
up to 300 Km/hr (about 180 mph). After leaving Termini the train only made one other stop, at another Rome terminal, before arriving an hour and a half later in Florence.
Disembarking we dragged our bags down the platform towards the main terminal where we were met by our two drivers. Loading everything into two Mercedes minivans, we were then transported to the Hotel Rapallo (http://bit.ly/1b9iimC), a small boutique hotel not far from the train station. After check in I told everyone to relax and we would meet in the lobby at 7:30 for the walk to dinner.
I took off downtown to find the restaurant where we had reservations, Osteria dei Baroncelli. Glad I did because it was located in a small alley off Piazza Della Signoria, and very difficult to find. But then the downpour started. Tried to no avail to get a taxi back to the hotel. Now it was 7:45 and I decided to walk back. Rain subsided some, thankfully. By the time we left the hotel it had pretty much stopped raining so we walked to dinner. Got to the restaurant about 8:40. This is a fun group that goes with the flow so to speak and dinner was fun. But back at the hotel I think everyone was ready to crash. Tomorrow's guided walking tour starts at 9:00!
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