Il Papa

Waking up early and leaving at 7am, the Italian only speaking taxi driver dodged through the Rome traffic at high speed. Suddenly we stopped a metre away from a cyclist who had been wobbling along the road but had come to the centre of our lane.

The Vatican queues were impressively long and people jostled for an advantaged position at any price. Prams pressed against ankles, friends letting friends in and a wonderful blend of colour and the human serpent slithered towards St Peter’s Square to see Il Papa. Students from ACU Australia were welcome over the microphone, along with many other groups from around the world.

The experience was exciting and friendly, particularly the family from Ecuador who let me sit under their umbrella and offered me water. After all, it was 36 degrees today.

We walked back over the amazing Bridge of Angels and then to the Piazza Novana for lunch. The Campo di Flori was a great find, being a fresh food outdoor market, surrounded by clothing shops.

After a shower and a Whatsapp call home we headed back from Travestere to the Jewish Synagogue and Museum, on the tram. Fortunately, ACU have paid for a public transport pass.

The synagogue was beautiful, having a very unusual square dome with graduating rainbow colours, a reminder of the Noah’s Ark rainbow. Being in the centre of the old Jewish Ghetto of Rome, our hearts were saddened to see and read about the lives of the Jews in Rome, particularly during the Holocaust. The gold makers in the photos explain the stories of people sent to the concentration camps and are fixed outside the homes they were living in at the time. Many reminders of our excursion to Terrazin concentration camp in Czech republic, crossed my mind. After the tour we had drinks in the Jewish square and made our way to ACU for Mass, dinner and a lecture by guest speaker, Christopher Lamb, Vatican correspondent for the English tablet. A very balmy evening to walk home to the Ripa Riva Hotel