Mentorella

Yesterday, virtually all day, after mass, I went with a few new friends to a sanctuary on a mountain called 'Santuario Madre delle Grazie Mentorella', which is of course way on the outskirts of Rome and you have to drive to get there (Did I mention how scarily the Italians drives?...O.k...VERY scarily...Thankfully not my driver...Most of the time :) Basically, it is this beautiful little church in this mountain town called Prenestina. We went because it was the anniversary of JP2's last visit there, and they were having a special feast, with very good desserts, of which my friend, Ana, ate 10. 'I had two yellow...three white...one red...etc.'

That mountain had the most SPECTACULAR view of Rome. Unfortunately for me, I didn't bring a coat and it was cold, so I probably didn't enjoy it as much as I could have, BUT it was still really incredible. At night, you can see Rome from a distance and it is illuminated just like New York from North Jersey, only much cooler because you know it is Rome, and really you're just thinking about center Rome.

Afterwards we went to eat at this Italian Churrascheria...I call it that because 'tis what we could call it in Spanish!... where I witnessed first hand how much they all love food. (You know what I find most interesting? That back home when we order something like steak, it comes with with two sides (Rice, Mashed Potatoes, Macarroni and Cheese, Jello, etc.), but in this country, when you order 'steak', I mean, it's literally just the biggest steak you have ever seen, without anything else, except maybe bread. I, the vegetable lover,say this will take some getting used to...) Of course, quite the scandal on the way home getting lost because we were letting ourselves be guided by a GPS system (I swear those things are more trouble than what they are worth...), which resulted in my arriving late for the second time this week, adding to my weirdness with my sisters after having 'broken' my bed a few nights before and pretending I was in charge of the vending machines. And so my new friends say, 'We can just say we were stopped by a cop and they asked for Rocio's 'Permesso di Sogiorno' and she didn't have it.' SUREEeee...Blame the American. What a day...haha