All roads lead to Rome...
St. Peter's Cathedral in Vatican City is impressive. In the center you can see the balcony from which the Pope speaks to the people during his weekly Sunday addresses. During one of our visits to Rome, we were present for the celebration of Padre Pìo (famous for developing the signs of the crucifixion). Although quite controversial in life (i.e., constantly arguing with the Vatican), he was later sainted. While we were standing around talking, the Pope suddenly appeared and we stood just a few feet from where he passed.Italians often say, "tutte le strade portano a Roma" which means, "all roads lead to Rome." My response was always, "no, tutte le strade portano a McDonald's" (all roads lead to McDonald's). This would usually launch a debate about how Americans eat hamburgers everyday and put mayonnaise on everything. It's interesting to hear what Italians think life in America is like... it's pretty skewed. (We probably have television, movies, and the news media to thank for that.) On the other hand, what do non-Italians think life in Italy is like? I can only tell you that I had no idea of the dichotomy between the complexities and simple beauties of living in Italy.
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