Italy Day 20 {San Marino; Padua}

Singing at the pub in San Marino

Tim and the boys planned a side trip to visit San Marino, another tiny country perched atop a hill in Italy.  The primary purpose of this detour: to have their passports stamped.  Twenty minutes of hairpin turns up a steep hill brought us to the little country, and we arrived during afternoon rest (reposa).  With sweeping views of the Italian country side below and the acapella choir of happy gentlemen gathered an at the pub for fellowship and refreshments during the afternoon break, San Marino welcomed us.  Most predominantly visible in San Marino: tourist shop after tourist shop; selling postcards, trinkets, perfume and guns.  The narrow streets were packed with pedestrians, and we wound our way up the steep hills to the tourism office.  For 5 Euros each, Joseph and Peter's passports were stamped; mission accomplished. 

Bridget, Joseph and Peter atop San Marino

Tim, Joseph and Peter at a square in San Marino

Already a 250+ mile day, our drive to Padua was lengthened not only by our detour to San Marino, but also by a poor road choice and the need to double back and re-enter the roaring Autostrade.   With the added miles and travel time, our arrival into Padua coincided with evening rush hour and dinner time.  We unknowingly entered a few "no traffic zone" pedestrian-only streets (in some Italian cities traffic cameras capture offenders, who receive expensive fines via the mail).  Frustrated, tired and hungry, we finally opted to temporarily abandon the vehicle and continue our hotel search on foot.  Fortunately we located a decent hotel after a short walk, and after re-parking the car and hauling our gear to the room, set off into Padua for dinner.  After pizza and pasta (and more expensive water), a good night's sleep was top on the agenda, to get an early start on our next-day trip to Venice.

Cars and pedestrians share the very narrow, steep streets lined with tourist shops and government buildings in San Marino.

Peter and Joseph watch as their passports are stamped in the tiny country of San Marino.

Noteworthy: 

• Gas prices are right around $8 gallon.
• One wrong turn can end up being very expensive.
• Our stops to re-fuel the vehicle always include a short break for cappuccinos, served by baristas/gas station cashiers in the markets at the gas stations (where mixed drinks are also served).

Italy Day 14 {Goodbye Zachary; Hello San Giovanni Rotondo}

Pretty simple and straight forward sign posted at the Church of Santa Maria della Grazie.  

It would be nice to see signs like this at other Churches; or better yet,

imagine if no one even needed such instructions!

A set of alarms set for 3:30AM, Tim and Zachary shared a room in the posh Marriott at the Rome airport. Taken for a ride in more ways than one, their cab fare to the airport (1.5 kilometers) at the indecent hour of 4AM cost e20. Seriously. Given extra cash, an emergency only credit card, a boarding pass and series of "how-to's" for flying alone internationally, Zac departed for SeaTac and his first trip to Italy came to an end.


Groggy after napping from 7-9AM, Tim wandered down to the swanky breakfast restaurant, and ordered his morning cappuccino "dopio" (double espresso). Joseph's appetite led him astray, and although warned to avoid greasy, heavy foods to let his body recover slowly, he couldn't resist the bacon and eggs (truly a rare and welcome sight at an Italian breakfast). Within a few minutes of finishing only a few bites, he retired to his bed and spent another hour in recovery while the rest of us dined in fine style.

Checking out at noon, we began the next phase of our Italian pilgrimage as a four-some in a Peugeot Tim rented at the airport. "It's a very big car, sir, a very big car," he was warned by the clerk. The auto-everything and the roomy, fully adjustable seats made it a big hit with the passengers; a big improvement over the tiny box we drove to Assisi.

More like a video game than driving, the journey to San Giovanni Rotondo on the Autostrade gave us plenty of adrenaline filled moments. After about 4 hours of autostrade madness, we arrived safely in San Giovanni Rotondo, and drove straight uphill past several major tour bus parking lots (full in the high season, empty today) to the Church of Santa Maria della Grazie.  Just in time for 6PM Mass!

Peter, Joseph and Father Teng with a few darling Italian girls whose family owned and operated the hotel.

First a miss, then a hit on our hotel hunt in San Giovanni Rotondo. Keenly aware that Zachary's arrival time at SeaTac was approaching, we were thankful that our hotel, the Villa San Pietro, had wireless Internet. Sure enough, within minutes of landing, Zac's "here safely" email arrived, and we were at ease. The family owned hotel/restaurant/gift shop, staffed by 6 brothers and one sister and mama, offered us an opportunity to feel like we were staying in an Italian home. The powerful smell of (liturgical) incense in the hotel's second floor hallway foreshadowed how most of our hours in San Giovanni Rotondo would be spent: in the company of a delightful priest, who had been blessed by Padre Pio as a young boy when his parents made a pilgrimage to San Giovanni Rotondo.

Joseph takes in a mosaic of Padre Pio answering mail, at the tomb of St.(Padre) Pio, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy



Italy Day 12 {Rome}

We thought we were in a lane; only the fittest will survive a drive on the Autostrade in Italy.

Pulling into Rome after 9:30PM without hotel reservations made for an intersting evening.  Plan A had been to head back to our flat (which was being held for us), but finding it in the dark after the terrible back up at the toll station entering Rome was beyond our capabilities.  We settled on a clean pair of rooms at a hotel next to Termini train station in the center of Rome. Unfortunately, there were no triples, so the 3 boys had to share a double bed, which was actually twin beds pushed together.  Not the best night's sleep; beyond the cramped quarters and lousy matresses, the night life outside our window lingered on, but thankfully the carousing was in a foregin language. 

Breakfast in the train station, espresso and pastries, before catching the Metro to get back to our flat.
Another gorgeous day in Rome, we stopped at the local grocer for lunch supplies and picnicked in our garden patio.  Tim studied the map of Italy and charted out the final week of our pilgrimage, set to begin after Zachary's departure for the US.

Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Rome, Italy

Art on the ceiling at Santa Croce, Rome

Back on the Metro for an afternoon excursion to Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, suggested as a "must see" by our friend, Oana.  In the Chapel of Relics, we prayerfully contemplated the Passion of Christ, while gazing upon the sacred relics (nail, thorn, section of true Cross and the pillar).  A full-sized, exact replica of the Shroud of Turin was on display, and Tim quietly taught the boys about the Shroud.

Oana, Bridget, Joseph, Peter and Zachary; evening tour of Rome, Italy

St. Peter's Dome over Peter's dome

Our evening outing, organized and led by Oana, involved a few miles' walking tour including Trinità dei Monti and the Pincio Terrace in villa Borghese where many flock to view St. Peter's in the sunset. A quick bite at the Autogrille (buffet style Italian fast food) and a bus ride back to Cipro Station, a few blocks from our flat.

Italy Day 11 {Monte Cassino}

Main altar at Monte Casino Basilica, Casino, Italy

Bridget and Tim decend to the crypt below the main altar at Monte Casino.

View from the front steps at the Basilica of Monte Casino

Metalwork on the gate leading into the abby

Our Zachary with Pope Saint Zachary at Monte Cassino, Cassino, Italy

Perched atop a rocky cliff above the town of Cassino, the Benedictine Monastery of Monte Cassino dates to the 500's.  However, the structures were largely rebuilt after being bombed in WWII.  Unbelievable beauty greeted us in the Basilica of Monte Cassino; just as we arrived evening prayer (Vespers) was beginning and all tourists were ushered out.  Glad for the opportunity to enter into reverent community prayer with the monks in this holy place, we found seats and shared in evening prayer.  Imagining the thousands of holy people who have worshiped in this place was awe inspiring.  Finding the crypt of St. Benedict in the hidden underground church below the Basilica gave us another spot for quiet and prayer.

Noteworthy:

• Pulling into Rome on the Autostrade on a sunny Sunday evening could mean waits of up to one hour simply to pay the toll and drive into the city.
• Aggressive drivers may only wait half as long.
• Emergency vehicles may use bumper car style driving to literally push other cars out of the way so that their wait is lessened (whether or not there is an actual emergency).