vatican unveiled exhibit

 i found a way to stay occupied on the bank holiday. i went to the mall of America and saw the 'Vatican unveiled' exhibit. this has a limited run, not even a month, so i knew i needed to go soon. i bought an early-entry ticket, just as it was opening for the day. it was just as well as it took me three hours to get a look at everything. i learned a few things while there, as expected. the conqueror, Napoleon Bonaparte, kidnapped a pope. this wasn't in any of the history books that i had read. and the Vatican as we know it, dates back to 1929 when it became an independent nation. before this there was the 'papal states'. i was impressed with all of the artifacts there. one posting said a baseball signed by pope frank was there, but i found out it was moved, no longer on public display. and i knew that JP2 had 'rock star status' but i was amazed at the items shown depicting him, including a comic book. there was mention of some of the papal visits to the USA in my lifetime that i recall were big news stories, especially the ones by JP2. there is still a question of when the current pope, Leo, will visit. but on becoming pope, Leo has said it wouldn't be right away. i bought two souvenirs while there, both were thin books. one was the 'exclusive companion experience' and the other was a 'graphic novel' about 'Catholics in the northland'. and there was a 'selfie station' at the end, where one could get a pic with a carboard cutout of pope Leo. i got one and had it sent to my phone. it was definitely time for lunch once i left the exhibit, and i went to DeLeo as i found out in advance that it is part of the 'dining for miles' program. i got one slice of pizza and liked the big collection of 80's pop culture artifacts on the walls there. then i got a scoop of ice cream at great American cookies, where i got some more airline miles. the final stop was the Japan store where i got another bottle of children's mouthwash as Charlie Brown characters are on the bottle. it was a smaller bottle this time, and i chose a different flavor, strawberry. 'jeopardy' was not on, pre-empted by basketball. i went to perform in the evening, and spoke about the movies seen recently, and the exhibit.