We Interrupt This Blog Series...

We interrupt this blog series to bring you a special, live bulletin...


Theft Leaves Traveler Without Memories, Sanity

Rome, Italy--Breaking news just being released publicly after nearly a month. Amy, Lover-of-Onions, failed to report to faithful blog readers that her camera was lost (and or stolen) in Krakow's famous cathedral.

Once the seat of John Paul II when he served as bishop of Krakow, the cathedral is filled with tourists, offering pick-pockets, vagabonds, and ne'er-well-doers a susceptible crowd and an easy escape once a theft has taken place.

"I just don't know what happened," explains a flabbergasted Amy. "One second I had it, and the next, it was gone!"

Her touring companion, Nathaniel, Taker-of-Nice-Pictures, was also at the scene. Sources close to him report he isn't convinced any wrong-doing was involved and believes the camera to have been lost, rather than stolen.

When pressed on the issue, Amy admits, "I can't really say it was stolen for sure."

But in the same breath, she insists that the fact that it wasn't recovered, means it must have been stolen.

"The cathedral was just closing as we were running up to the clock tower," she recounts. "As soon as we got to the top, I realized my camera was gone. I frantically dragged Nathaniel back down about six flights of stairs to look for it."

Amy insists there is only one place she could have left it, a pew where she was sitting moments before ascending the tower. "We literally came back down five minutes later, the cathedral was already closed, and yet, the camera was gone."

Officials at the cathedral, who agreed to speak to us only under the cover of anonymity, agree that nearly everyone had been cleared out of the building during the time of the incident.

"Since the pew was the last place I had it, even if I'd left it there, it should have been there when I got back," says Amy. "If someone found it and didn't turn it in, that constitutes stealing."

Amy attempted multiple times to contact cathedral officials about her camera, in the hope that it may have been turned in. But nothing was recovered, and all parties involved have dropped the investigation.

"It's gone!" Amy somberly concedes. "All my pictures of Prague and Krakow, gone with it."

It has also been reported that only intimate friends of the victim were informed of the tragedy. When asked why she is only now going public with this information after over a month, Amy responded curtly, "I hadn't blogged that far yet. I'm only on Lisbon's blog, Krakow came after."

And after nearly a month of healing, Amy is ready to move on.

"There's a new camera in my life now," she assured us, "The Canon S2."

But can any camera ever replace the memories and the fondness with which she used her Konika Minolta, her first digital camera?

"Heck ya!" she exclaimed. "That old Konika was a piece of junk. I mean, it was nice for my first digital, it did the job, but this Canon rules!"

But just as soon as she dismissed her old camera, a shadow of emotion crossed her face, like a song from her youth playing music of happy memory, "I did like the way it fit in my pocket though, all cute and square-like."

But like so many lovers and melodies, sometimes cameras too are lost forever. "All we can do is move on," says Amy, collecting herself again. "And I'd like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Robins for helping me move on, bringing me a new camera, and showing me how to use it."

"Oh, and of course my family and friends," she adds, "especially my dad, who has been very supportive during this whole ordeal."

Amy has moved on indeed, graciously supplying us with photographs taken right here in Rome, from her new camera.



Views from St. Peter's Square:

St. Peter's over the Tiber River












A fountain at St. Peter's












Christ, with Peter the Rock, stands above St. Peter's basilica and blesses the faithful












A painting of the Blessed Virgin commissioned by Pope John Paul II. It is the only image of her in the square.












Bottom Right: View of St. Peter's














Views from Cosmas and Damien, Amy's residence

Inside the Basilica of Cosmas and Damien











The basilica courtyard













Views from the Angelicum

The courtyard












Statue of St. Joseph in the Angelicum garden













Views near Amy's House

The street where Amy lives, not as busy as usual












The "Wedding Cake"











The Colosseo












Amy's street in the evening













Random streets in Rome



























Pigeons get friendly in Piazza Navona














And now, back to your regularly scheduled blog series...