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My Brother-in-law & Other Stories
By Johnny P. Novera
Two kababayans saved our day
(Rome, Italy, July 16, 2005):- After the Sistine Chapel, we entered St. Peter’s Basilica. The basilica as it is now was built at the beginning of the 15th century. Inside the basilica, aside from the main altar at the center, there are many other altars and chapels by the wall, and also statues and monuments of popes and the saints. While hundreds of people teem around to tour the altar and the monuments and saints, it is sad to note that only a handful of people attend mass being celebrated at the center altar inside the basilica.
After the basilica, we went out to St. Peter’s Square and posed for a picture taken with the Swiss guards. Yes, we were thinking, why are the guards have to be Swiss instead of local Italians? Our guide explained that not speaking the language makes them very efficient because they do not get disturbed standing out there all day.
The guided tour has ended and we were told to wait for our bus that will bring us back to the hotel. Meanwhile, we went inside a store beside the street to browse over some books and souvenir items. When we went out, our group was gone.
We asked helped from a policewoman in a patrol car parked beside the square. She simply advised us to get a taxi! Fortunately, a Filipina passed by. She was with an elderly Italian woman whose son, a priest, serves at the Vatican. They went out of their way to accompany us to a bus stop about a block away south of St. Peter’s Square.
After a 10-minute bus ride, we got off at the junction of Via Aurelia and Via Cornelia. Then we bought another bus ticket at a coffee shop across the street for the final ride to our hotel. At this point we met another Filipina while crossing the street. She has been working in Rome for 5 years. When we asked for directions to our hotel, she said that it could not be farther than 200 meters from where we are now. It is true. After crossing two short blocks, there is our hotel!
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