After lots of rain the night before, the sun shone brightly Wednesday morning so we headed for St. Peter's Basilica, which faces east unlike most other churches. It turned out to be a very lucky decision!
And then all the lights in the church were turned on, and the pilgrims began cheering and waving their flags. I said to Sarah, "Boy, with all this excitement, you'd almost think the Pope might appear!" But I didn't actually think he would - it was just a random Wednesday, after all.
We had rushed down to St. Peter's to try to catch the best morning light, which meant skipping showers but not breakfast (we have our priorities straight). So after the Pope left the building, we headed back to the hotel to shower and rest a bit.
But it began to rain on our way back and then poured - huge heavy drops that get you incredibly wet! - the rest of the afternoon. So we found a late lunch at a coffee bar near the Spanish Steps, then pretty much spent the rest of the day in the hotel. That was actually much needed - my busy days in Pavia, Parma and Bologna were catching up with me and I really needed a rest. I might have gotten some blogging done, too, if the internet had cooperated! But instead, I organized and backed up photos and we both did some reading. Good stuff.
And speaking of needing a rest, it's nearing 11pm in Florence and I should try to get to bed. I hope to get a little more posted tomorrow morning, before we leave for Venice!