I'm at breakfast. They hover. There is so much food here, no one would ever be hungry. But they hover. They walk through the eight tables constantly, checkout out what you've got. They just took my cup and I hadn't finished my cup of tea so I just got up and got another with them watching me the whole time. It's not a relaxing breakfast. There is a sign that says you are not allowed to take food from the breakfast room. Yesterday the breakfast nazi stopped a young girl who was taking an orange with her. It is interesting watching people though. 99% of people are couples. The men sit. The women get up and get the men their juice. Take the juice back to the table then go and get the coffee. Give it to the man. Then get the food. Give it to the man. Then they get their own. WTF is with that. These are mostly European women, I haven't seen any other Aussie here.
The woman at the table next to me is really enjoying her fruit. She is making enough noise to make sure everyone knows it.
I had to leave, I couldn't stand her lip-smacking any longer.
It was time to leave anyway, I had a mosaic lesson at 10. It wasn't far from where I am staying but I needed to go to the post office first to post the Aussie stuff to the cooking lesson guy. That was all good. My Italian isn't really helping though.
I found the mosaic studio and ancient Roman mosaic is very very different to anything I have ever done. It is very exact. I did enjoy it and am sure I would get better at it if I kept doing it. The woman who owns the business ran the lesson, she doesn't usually do the lesson, I didn't understand where the lesson person was but the owner did it and she was great, knows her stuff. She does lots of restoration work, it is a family business that goes back generations and the family business has done a lot of work in the Vatican so I will take note tomorrow.
About to start
Getting there
teacher is fixing it up
gluing it down
making it flat
Taa Dahhhh
I got the bus up to the Vatican, it is a beautiful place. It still bugs me a bit that there is so much money there and all the beggars and homeless people hang around there all day and sleep there at night. Anyway, I asked the polizia where I collect my ticket from, he was very friendly and pointed me to the next polizia up a bit so went to him and he took one look at my letter and said 'are you sure that is you' I just looked at him because I didn't know WTF he was talking about, then he said "who else is with you?" I told him that I was there on my own and then he smiled and said "Why?" and I just looked at him and said "Because I like it that way" and he roared laughing, then directed me to the security screening area. There was a Chinese family in front of me and that stopped the whole proceedings because the mother had knives in her bag!! We all had to wait while the knives were taken off her while her son was trying to tell them that she is ok and that she wants them to cook with and can she please take them, polizia was having none of it and just waved them on - knifeless.
I found the doorway to collect my tickets, walked up a billion marble steps where two Swiss guards were standing very serious, one took my letter and waved me through while the other did not move. I went into the office, got my ticket walked back out and the one Swiss guard who didn't move was there on his own, he moved his eyes only and looked at me out the corner of his eyes, I looked at him and said "Grazie" no reply of course, back down the stairs, back down through St. Peters and out onto the street to the bus back to the hotel.
My ticket for Midnight Mass
I had a quick look in the church gift shop and saw a bauble with the Pope on it, I took note where it was so I can go back tomorrow and get it to add to my growing collection of baubles.
I've spent the evening packing my bag getting ready to leave the Italian Faulty Towers tomorrow morning. I've started to cull, when I leave Venice there will be culling of winter clothes like there's never been before!
I have decided to have a long long long leisurely breakfast in the morning just to shit them, I will go into the side room where no one sits so I don't have to hear anyone lip-smacking their food or watch women get men their drinks and food.
I just had to ring reception, my toilet cistern keeps filling because the toilet is running. Ugh! He sent the porter up who flushed the toilet and tried to make out it was fine ... until I told him to wait a minute, and it started again so he flushed the toilet again, again tried to make out it was fine ... until I told him to wait a minute, and it started again ... so he rang reception who spoke to me and told me ... the room next door to you is empty, you can move into there ... and I just laughed and said no, it is fine, I will close the bathroom door and I won't hear it, I wanted you to know because the toilet is not working properly. I will not be moving until I leave tomorrow.
Ok madam, thank you ..
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