Polizia, Permesso, Papa, & Pizza
Saturday morning—I wanted nothing more than to sleep in. But, unfortunately it was my day to go to the police station with two classmates who live near me so that we could obtain our Permesso di Soggiorno, which is a permit required for any non-citizen living in Italy for an extended period of time. So, we woke up a lot earlier than I would have liked, and walked to a local police station to meet Anna, the program assistant, who would guide us through the process. She had collected from us all the documents we would need in the spring, and she gave them back to us that morning. While we waited for an hour and a half on the cold police station floor (which we later got yelled at by a policeman for doing, because we should stand or sit in the chairs (which were all full) at a police station, not sit on the floors b/c it’s not a bar… he said). So, we finally got called in, and went one by one to a woman who filled out our paperwork and created a permesso for each of us. We then went to a man in another room who completely covered both our hands in ink and took our finger and palm prints. After we all did this, we were free to go, as permesso- carrying visitors.
This same morning, most of the students were meeting with Dr. Dawson to go on a tour of the city, beginning at St. Peter’s and the Vatican, but we had missed the first part because we were at the police station. So, we called Dr. D to find out where they were, and met them at the Vatican. They were just finishing the tour of St. Peter’s! While we waited, I wanted to try to get into Vatican City to see the pope, but I was discouraged by Dan and Katherine who insisted that the Swiss Guards would catch me if I tried to run past them. So, we just took pictures of the basilica and outside of the Pope’s residence instead. Since we missed seeing St. Peter’s, we decided we’d go back together later for a tour.
Having joined Dr. Dawson and the other students, we then continued through the area near the Vatican (called the Borgo), and headed for a pizzeria, called Angeli del Borgo. They opened that afternoon just for our group, and made us a bruschetta variety for appetizers, fabulous pizza, and then panna cotta for dessert! And not only was the food amazing, but it was on the program, so we didn’t have to pay for it! I got the Bufala pizza, which was tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, basil, salt, olive oil, and garlic. Let’s just say I’ve been craving another ever since that lunch! We will definitely be going back whenever we’re in the area.
After lunch, we continued through the city into the Centro Antico of Rome, visiting Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the ancient ruins, and much more. I took tons of pictures! Check them out in my photo albums. My roommate, Katherine, and I were exhausted from the long day and headed back to our apartment around 5:00. We knew we’d need a little rest and rejuvenation before heading out for an all-nighter in the city at La Notte Bianca!
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