Rome and the Pope...

You'd think I'd be done talking about European vacations, since it was two and a half weeks ago, but you're wrong for two reasons:
1) I'm a slow poster, forgetting my usual Sunday post, and
2) Nothing that exicting has been going on otherwise. It was either bitching about high gas prices or talking about the cradle of western civilization...
(Note: Conspiracy theorists maintain that I'm still rubbing in the fact that I got to go to Europe and you didn't)

I must admit that although it didn't quite have the shock and awe factor of seeing some of the amazing sites the first time, Rome is freakin awesome. It was very easy to convince me to skip conference presentations on topics that I don't work on anymore, given mostly be people with accents that are impossible to understand, to see some of the world's best sites.

I did get a chance to have perhaps the best meal of my life, especially if you factor in variety and the pure quantity of food, at the Northrop Grumman reception. They rented out this little restaurant, and every course was fantastic if I can remember them all:
1)Antipasta tray - mainly grilled vegetables
2)Garlic bread and bruschetta
3)Salads
4)Cheese stuffed Ravioli
5)Chicken, Beef, and Sausage (the best sasuage ever) skewers
6)Four-Cheese Calzones
7)For dessert, some sort-of pudding...my memory starts to get blurry at this point as I think I had about a whole bottle of red wine by then

Throw in an Italian accordian, trumpet, and tamborine band and you get a fun evening.



The other very memorable experience was that I got to see the Pope. Now, I'm not Catholic, and I wasn't even planning on going...but it was still pretty cool. I have to thank my friend Andrew, also at the conference, who hooked me up with essentially a "back-stage" pass. He knew a priest who knew a nun in Rome, and the next thing I know is I have an orange ticket to attend the general audience the Pope gives in St. Peters square on most Wednesday mornings. Instead of being among the throngs of 20,000 plus people in the square we were within about 15 feet from where the Pope was speaking. As proof, I took this snapshot when Pope Benedict rode by our section in his popemobile:



I imagine it will certainly rank as one of the most unique experiences in my life