Ah yes Rome
Unfortunately the Pope was at his summer home and we was not available for coffee…We did stop by to seem him… along with 25000 other people. The Sistine chapel is wonderful, but it seemed dark… and of course with all those people all crammed in trying to get a look… it was a bit like a ski line without a maze at Christmas time.

I don’t know if people think of Rome this way… but to me… its like the merging of the pagan world and the Christian world. The result is somewhat secular. There are these temples build for Apollo or Venus; whatever…. the Pantheon is a good example; that have been converting into Catholic churches. The conversions are so obvious and it seems a bit like taking an old Days Inn and converting it into a Holiday Inn.

We did not do the typical see every church thing… we would be here for at least a year. We did however visit St Peters. Did you know that Peter is actually buried there? So they say. The crowds were equal to the Sistine Chapel, and they actually hole mass there all day long at various time. There are confessional booths in many languages.

Does all this sound a bit irreligious? It is! I don’t find anything in mainstream religions that says we have to hate the other guys because they believe in something else. In fact, I hear the opposite. That we are suppose to love the other guy, love your enemies. There was a window build in one of these old pagan buildings that has been converting into a church… that was very
Arabesque… enough said…

The Duchess did run me ragged on the shopping tour. Fifi had to give up but I hung in there… Even bought myself a new shirt; one that I will never let that other guy wear and a pair of bicycle shorts that I know that other guy will never wear.

On to Venice tomorrow…. But I am sure I will have more thoughts of Rome.