Family Pilgrimage to Italy Day 1 {New York City Layover}

Destination Italy: Our family pilgrimage begins!

Selfie atop the Empire State Building

Peter and Joseph follow Tim through the streets of New York.

Big decision for Zac: which slice(s) to order for dinner?

We departed from home Thursday, at 2AM for our 6:30AM flight to New York.  We didn't manage to get much sleep on the flight, as the excitement was running high.  Upon arriving in New York, we found luggage storage to ditch our bags and then hit the subway system with just one pack between us.  With Uncle Clark on speed dial, we naviagated our way to the Empire State Building and ascended to the 84th floor veiwing.  The weather was cold, but clear, and we could see for miles. 

Chaos; Stinky; Crowded...the words Zac, Joseph and Peter used to decribe their first impression of New York City.  Joseph also asked if we thought Rome would be as crowded.  The scene was probably just a typcial Thursday afternoon in NY, but it felt like a zoo.  And we didn't see but a handful of children in the sea of humanity.

Holy Innocents Catholic Church caught our eye, and we entered just in time for Benediction (Tridentine Rite).  Statue of St. Lucy caught my eye, and I knew my prayers for Aileen and her family were in good hands!

From Catholic Church to Kosher Deli and right back out and into the pizza shop next door.  The pricing on the sign implied 2 slices & drink for $5.  Looked like a bargain (and more predictable than the Kosher menu) but we were fooled by the small print cheese pizza only.  So the dinner wasn't cheap, but it tasted great and we took left overs to eat on the flight to Italy.

Back on the subway and bumped off due to some mechanical failure as we made our return trip to JFK.  Glad that we had given ourselves plenty of time, we joined the mass evacuation and re-habitation of subway trains before finally getting underway.  We zipped through security and onto our international flight without any complications. 

Noteworthy:

• Joseph is wearing a little velcro strap to support his injured finger.  Riding on tables (table surfing) is not allowed at Scouts, just sayin'.
• Our new point & shoot camara took a fall; apparently it was fatal.  Thankfully we had a back-up.
• Flight attendants remind me of myself when I'm in a hurry to feed kids & shuffle them off; we go through the motions and make nice, but you can tell that our hearts aren't really in it. {Note to self: don't be like a flight attendant in feeding family.}

Day 2 {Rome: Pantheon; Metro} follows.

Pray for us, we're praying for you!