Here’s
the right side of my two-page spread
for Week 21:
This page was made using the Jade Edition of Project Life.
Top row, left side:
Fonts: Arial, Stoneserif
SAIN SmBd v.1
These
are cropped photos on top of a Jade bifold card.
Top row, right side:
Font: Arial
I
took this photo in a brief moment between storms. The last time we were at the
Colosseum we climbed to the top. It was just too slippery on this day. Besides,
we probably would have blown off the steps. The rain came and went all day; the
wind never left. And we walked from morning until dinnertime – the longest
we walked during the whole 10 days. We later learned Rome had rain most of the
week while we were elsewhere on our cruise. I'm glad we weren't there for a whole week of rain.
Middle row, 1st spot:
Font: Stoneserif SAIN SmBd
v.1
Middle row, 2nd spot:
Font: Arial
Middle row, 3rd spot:
Font: Stoneserif SAIN SmBd
v.1
Middle row, 4th spot:
This
was the first of many professional photos taken of us during our eight days on
the ship. A photo-viewing area was set up off the Royal Promenade, the main
drag of the ship. As photos were taken and printed, they were put up on moveable
wall boards for viewing and purchasing. (They were not cheap.) After a few days
the area was loaded with walls and photos. If you didn’t want to look for
yourself, it was not a problem. They used face recognition software to find and show you your
photos.
They
took photos of the passengers as we left and reboarded the ship. They took
photos of us while we were eating. They took photos at some of the on-board
activities. There was often someone with a camera in our faces.
When
we got off at the port of Piraeus to go to Athens, Graham and I were pushed
over to the photographer, but some woman was already standing there to have her
photo taken. We stepped back, and she jumped back with us. We couldn’t get away
from her, in spite of a lot of dancing around on our part. Good grief. She was
determined to be in our photo. It took me a while to realize she was supposed
to be part of the photo. She was wearing some sort of Greek goddess attire. I
thought she was just overdressed for the occasion.
Bottom row, left side:
Fonts: Arial, Stoneserif
SAIN SmBd v.1
What
good fortune to be at St. Peter’s when the Pope came out from his second floor
window to speak to the masses gathered below. I never thought I’d see a Pope in
person. He was preceded with lots of pageantry. There was a parade of sorts
with rows of cardinals and bishops and a band. Also, there were flag twirlers.
These guys twirled very large flags and threw them way up high into the air. If
they’d landed wrong, it would have meant the demise of some of the guys
marching with them.
From
the time the parade thing came through the side columns on the left of St.
Peter’s Square until the end of the Pope’s message, the people were screaming
and hollering as if the Pope were a rock star. We were packed in like sardines,
too. I’m not a Catholic, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The
last time we were in Rome Pope John Paul was in the last days of his life. For
two or three nights (I forgot how long we were there), we stood in the Square in
vigil with another mass of people. That time the crowd was nearly silent.
The
first time I was here I accidentally got under St. Peter’s Basilica, where
apparently few ordinary people have gone. Lots of interesting crypts and things
down there. Lots of guards screaming at me in Italian. I think they wanted me
to leave, which was exactly what I wanted to do, but I didn’t know how I got
there to get back out. Very scary.
Here’s
a panorama of St. Peter’s Square to give you a better idea of the immense size
of the place:
Here’s
a painting of a small portion of the inside of St. Peter’s Basilica to give you
an idea of its immense size:
The
interior is in the shape of a Latin cross, so this only shows part of one ginormous “aisle.”
The
painting was done by Giovanni Paolo Panini. Hmmm, I wonder if he also invented
the panini sandwich. Just joking. Or maybe not.
Bottom row, right
side:
Font: Arial
On
top of this photo I’ve recorded facts and figures about our ship and our
cruise. (I see a blank space, and I cover it with words!) I love facts. I must say, I was not prepared for how enormous this ship
was. I was also not prepared for the swaying. Everyone said, “Big ships have
big stabilizers. You won’t feel a thing!" Wrong. We felt the swaying from the
moment we set sail.
Summary: Photos + Jade
Edition cards + text = another week completed! Now begins the fun task of
merging the 4,200+ photos Graham and I
took during our trip using three cameras and then dividing them by day. Such is the curse of digital
photography – it’s way too easy to take way too many photos.
