Finally, the post I must have started 2 months ago by now!

On Saturday mornings, I like to walk across the Tiber and attend Mass at St. Peter's at 7.  It's always a bit of a fuss getting through security.  Usually I'm rather late leaving home, and practically running to get there on time.  Then I try not to be annoyed by the large pilgrim/tour groups trying to get in at the same time.  The basilica opens promptly at 7am.  But the square opens at 6:30, and I like to get there early-ish, when the lines are not so long.  This particular Saturday morning, I was rather late, and got in just at 7.  (Later in the day, the line starts to wind around the square for those seeking admission to the basilica.)
A priest friend of mine who was in Rome for a 3-month sabbatical told me about a Mass to be celebrated in the chapel of the Knights of Malta by Cardinal Burke.  Now, I know it is difficult to get into that chapel, as it's never just open to the public, and thought that my friend was able to get there through Vatican connections being a priest, so I didn't try to make it in time.  However, it was his (my priest friend's) last Saturday in Rome, and I did hope to meet him afterwards for lunch.  So, my Ethiopian friend and I had breakfast in our favorite bar by St. Peter's and then began to slowly wander towards the Knights of Malta church on the Aventine. 
First, when we got to the river, we thought we'd walk along the banks, since the Tiber was in its place instead of overflowing, and there was shade down there, and much less traffic. 

I was surprised to see snapdragons and other flowers growing out of the great concrete barricade walls built to keep the Tiber out of the city during its yearly floods.  I had often seen little ones growing out of walls in the area, but this was the first I'd seen of full-sized, wild snapdragons like this, all along the 30-40 ft. wall!  We walked like this past Tiber Island with it's basilica dedicated to St. Bartholomew and its hospital, and we went on to the next bridge, which turned out to be farther than we really wanted to go.  When we came up and crossed the river, we found we had to backtrack to the last bridge in order to climb the Aventine to reach our destination.  And by the time we did, Mass was not quite over, and we were easily allowed in by surprised security sorts who thought it a waste of time to come so late.  But, we got to tour the gardens before we left.

And my priest friend asked if I'd met Cardinal Burke before.  When I said I'd seen him around on plenty of occasions, though not officially met him, he took my camera from me and insisted that my friend and I have our picture with him.  The cardinal didn't seem to mind, but by the time we caught up with him, he thought he was finished, and was heading toward his car, when Father asked if we might have a picture.  My friend, nervously, wondered what to say to him, but it turns out we didn't have the chance for even a word.  But I do have this picture now.  Then two priests from a city where I used to teach, and my friend and I all wandered down the hill, saw some festivities for Rome's birthday, and headed to a restaurant for a nice Italian pranzo.

The next day, I went to Subiaco with a Dominican priest and another friend from the Angelicum.  My Italian friend had never been there before, though she had painstakingly read and translated for herself an English edition of St. Gregory the Great's Dialogue on St. Benedict, and so looked forward to visiting the site.  We didn't have much time after a couple of hours on the bus, but we hiked up and saw closed monasteries (siesta time) before hiking down again so I could get a bus in time to go to a surprise birthday party back in Rome.  Having been there before, I didn't take many pictures this time.  But in the picture below you can see the outside of the monastery of Subiaco looking down at a rose garden with the first fresco of St. Francis (painted probably while he was still alive) and the site of the brambles/rose bushes upon which St. Benedict through himself when he felt a temptation to impurity.  Quite a site, built into the side of a rocky mountain, with quite a view!  While we were there waiting for the siesta time to end so that we could enter for at least a few minutes before going back to Rome, we watched many swallows zooming about, diving, and performing many aerial maneuvers and tricks, looking like they were having quite a bit of fun. 

And thus for the adventures of one weekend in Rome, not too long before exams.  And one long overdue post!