Vote-ive offering

Remember November elections are around the corner, don't forget to Vote!  It is a right and a privilege. Today I cast my ballot.  The overseas ballot was delivered this morning and this afternoon I hand carried it to the United States Embassy on the Via Vittorio Veneto.  I do not know why but I thought the encounter would be with Americans but everyone there was Italian.  The instructions said to either mail it or if you are near an embassy or consulate to drop it off and they will ensure it gets home.  Everyone at the embassy seemed perplexed when I told them this but they eventually let me in to drop it off.  The only Americans were a couple in the waiting room.  It was a very drab setting also very much like a really slow day at DMV, only not as nice - imagine that!

US Embassy in Rome

 Traffic here is a nightmare, it is the 2nd most congested city in the world, Mumbi in India is #1.  Here is how creative people get here to park.  The city has many motor scooters but also these tiny cars, when there is only 1/2 a parking space they simply back into it!  They park everywhere here, on the sidewalk, crosswalks, etc. everywhere!

creative parking on the Janiculum Hill

 It is quite a trip to walk from the Hill to the Embassy but since I was on that side of town I stopped at S. Mary of the Martyr's Basilica, Italy's national Church.  Many State events take place here.  For many centuries it was simply a ruin of the Roman Thermal Baths built by the Emperor Diocletian.  They are splendid ruins, you can really get a sense of how enormous the baths were by visiting this Church.  The Church only takes up a fraction of the entire site. If I recall correctly I think this bath in its day could hold 30,000 people at once.  There are several Thermal bath ruins here in Rome.  This Church was constructed by using small a portion of the ruins.  It was designed by Michelangelo when he was 85 years old.  Several famous artists and architects also had a hand in its final form.  It was originally operated by the Carthusian Order.

entrance to the Basilica of S. Mary of the Martyrs

exterior of the Baths of Diocletian

This is interior looking toward the entrance doors

This is the dome in the Church Foyer

These next pictures are all taken from the Center point of the building.

The Main Altar, side "Chapels" are to the left and right.

Side Chapel

Side Chapel

 Here is a little trivia.  The Pope's wanted to keep accurate time for the whole city so all the bells would ring together.  This "instrument" was invented to keep accurate time.  Over the arch of the right Chapel is this coat of arms with a tiny hole through which the sun shines down onto the Church Floor where an intricate pattern show the correct time as a beam of light hits it.  It is a complicated system to explain however after centuries it still keeps absolutely accurate time!  Amazing!  The Zodiacs are there too, I took a picture of Leo.

The time portal, the white spot is day light coming through the papal coat of arms

The Time instrument in the floor of the Church where the beam of light strikes to tell the time

Leo, zodiac sign on the floor.

 This Church sits on the Piazza Repubblica.

 Not far from the Piazza are the two hotels the groupo will be staying at when they arrive in two weeks, here are pictures for those interested.

Hotel Quirinale where they will stay on their last night in Rome

La Griffe where they will stay for 4 nights

 On my way back to the hill I stopped to pay a visit to St. Robert Bellermine at St. Ignatius Loyola Church.  Last year I was praying at this Altar when an American woman came up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder asking if I spoke English.  When I said I did she then asked me, "Whose this guy?".  He was one of the giants of the Counter Reformation is all!

St. Robert Cardinal Bellermine, S.J.

 After a long hard day of walking I found myself in the vicinity of another one of my favorite structures in Rome, the Pantheon.  A bulb went off in my head, a refrigerator bulb!  I remembered San Crispino was not far away and I had not tried their gelato.  It was very small and very expensive, 3 Euros, about 3.90 USD.  It was the most expensive of all the places I have been and you can see there is no line, for good reason!  It was ok, not as creamy as Della Palma nor as rich as Il Gelato.  It was not dense at all but very light as if it had a lot of air pumped into it like American Ice Cream.  Well I won't be back here again since two other great places are right up the street from here!!

San Cripino Gelato

I ordered my favorite, Hazelnut!

Several of the guys here are getting weary of pasta, I don't think that will ever happen to me, I love the stuff.  They are also finding out some of the meat here are cuts they are not used to eating.  I told you some of them turn their noses up to Rabbit, which is quite delicious.  Tonight one poor man nearly fainted when the Director told him the tender cut of meat he thought was a delicious pork was.........horse!  Yes, we have had horse on several occasions, one of the seminarians had tipped me off to this several weeks ago.  What made it particularly funny was he had just said how we must be getting better meat because there are hundreds of guests here this week for ordinations!  LOL. Now I suppose that may gross some of you out but it is quite tasty, Nellie!