Italy Day 24 {Rome to Home}

Basilica of St. Peter at dusk

Come Holy Spirit!

Peter, Bridget, Tim and Joseph in St. Peter's Square on the day before our departure

Approaching Rome for a final 2 night's stay before our departure for the US, we drove to our hotel in under four wrong turns.  Located within a 10 minute walk of the Vatican, we were happily back in our old stomping grounds.  By God's grace, just as we ventured out of our hotel to buy a large cardboard box to package a newly acquired treasure (Icon of St. Lucia) for the flight home, a set of giant doors opened adjacent to our bus stop, and a sister wearing a great red cross upon her white habit appeared.  Next to her, a hospital employee carrying a dozen large cardboard boxes, bound for recycling.  Slightly stunned, we asked if we could take the boxes, and they gladly agreed.  Mission accomplished!

Our final day in Rome gave us an opportunity to re-visit a few of our absolute favorite places:

• Basilica of St. Praessade: section of the pillar upon which Christ was scourged; St. Charles Borromeo's chair; unbelievable Byzantine mosaics; place where St. Bridget of Sweden came to pray
• St. Mary Major: mosaic of the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
• Santa Maria Della Vittoria: Bernini's marble masterpiece of St. Teresa in Ecstasy
• St. Peter's Basilica: Apse Chair of St. Peter, Tomb of Blessed John Paul II, Pieta
• Santa Susanna: Palm Sunday Anticipatory Mass in English 

Joseph and Peter with Cardinal Martino, whom they met at St. Peter's Basilica.

Mosaic of the Coronation at St. Praessade, Rome, Italy

Scaling the Vatican walls... Peter and Joseph on their final day in Rome

Speeding to the airport as passengers of a (deranged) Roman taxi driver after dark is an experience we will never forget.  Hitting speeds of over 110 MPH, careening up on slower vehicles as if they would evaporate before collision, our airport transport was surreal.  We survived to tell the tale, and it proved to be an exhilarating way to cap off our Italian adventure.  

NOTEWORTHY:

• There's nothing like a pile of cardboard and a roll of packaging tape to construct make-shift luggage.
• A bit of TLC applied to the bruises on a rental car could save a lot of dough.
• God is SO GOOD!

Italy Day 9 {Assisi}

Peter's rash covered skin, shown to the pharmacist for help with medication

April Fools Day in Assisi, and Joseph started things off by pouring laundry soap into the bath tub before Peter's bath.  Perhaps that had something to do with the terrible rash that broke out all over Peter's body?  We found a Farmacia and asked with sign language (pointing to Peter's rash and scratching ourselves like monkeys) for a cure.  Maybe the pharmacist spoke English, but better safe than sorry!  He sold us a little tablet, and told Peter to take half a tablet every 12 hours.  Shortly thereafter the rash disappeared and hasn't returned.

Secluded olive grove at St. Anthony's Guesthouse, Assisi

Digging in!

Picnicking in a shady olive grove overlooking St. Clair's Basilica, we felt right at home at St. Anthony's guest house.  Our fishy Friday meant we sampled thinly sliced salmon (cured?) with our sandwiches.  The butchers, a father an son duo, so very helpful at the local shop, even sliced our bread and cheese.  Fresh fruits and assorted juices rounded out the simple meal.

High energy and over active imaginations fueled the steep climb up to the Rocca Maggiore castle at the top of Assisi.  A typical example of medieval military architecture, the castle had many corridors, spiral staircases, look-out towers and cells.  We also found the chapel where Mass would have been offered.
A highlight involved passing through a narrow (about a body and half width), low ceiling (under 6 feet high) and almost completely dark the entire 100 yard length.  The boys charged through, running and yelling, "For Narnia!"

In the polygonal tower at the top of the castle, we enjoyed sweeping views of Assisi and the entire Umbrian countryside;  commanding vistas, on a beautiful sunny day.  The opportunity to rest in the sun was tempting for Tim and me, but the boys were far too intrigued with the countless possibilities such a position would hold in battle.  Overheard during my short siesta, "I would pay you e100 (100 Euros) if you managed to pee on a coconut bouncing down from here!"

Friar Fabio with the boys outside St. Damien, Assisi

Stopping for gelatto after our descent from the castle, we forged on another 2k straight downhill out of Assisi proper to St. Damien Church, where St. Francis heard Jesus speaking to him from the cross, "Repair my Church."  A friendly friar, Fabio, visited with us in the courtyard after our self guided tour.  Fabio heard his call to the priesthood at St. Damien at age 17, and now has two more years of formation before his ordination.  In parting, he promised to pray for our family, and we for him.  Attending another daily Mass (for First Friday!) at St. Rufino, plus visits to St. Clair, St. Mary Major, and a small chapel at St. Joseph Benedictine Monastery made this a day to remember.

Noteworthy:

• From the top of a castle, the male dominated conversation will naturally turn to how cool it would be to throw things off (coconuts, watermelons, bowling balls, pee, spit).
• Probably best to know what you're ordering for dinner (even if the waitress is rude and rushed).
• Truffle pizza is edible with enough water (snuck into the restaurant in water bottles) but eggplant ____ (something) is just barely palatable.  Maybe better to just stick with cheese pizza on future Fridays!

Italy Day 3 {Rome: St. Mary Major; St. Praessede}

Tim and the boys select cold cuts for lunch, to be eaten with fresh bread picnic-style.

Pilgrims' picnic lunch outside St. Mary Major, Rome

Mosaic @ St. Praessede, Rome

Bernini's "St. Teresa in Ecstasy" at St. Maria Vittoria

Escalator ride inside Rome's Metro; a tremendous amount of vertical ascending and descending is required to get to and from the trains below the city.

Continued from Day 2 {Rome: Pantheon; Metro}

Sleeping soundly through breakfast, our slow start gave us the energy we needed to cover a vast territory on this sunny Friday in Rome.  Advice to be out and about before 8AM aside, we still took time to chat with Luciano, who appeared to be waiting outside the garden gate for a visit as we departed.  A very sweet gentleman; an artist and a former executive with Alitalia Airlines, we were blessed to make his acquaintance.

No longer any baths, but a beautiful church in the place of the Baths of Diocletian, St. Maria degli Angeli: our first stop.  The brass rod in the floor, used with a pinhole in the wall to tell time and keep a calendar was truly fascinating.  Also fascinating was the tremendous crowd gathering out front, and the riot police, and the media circus.  A protest of some sort, but not related to the reformation; rather to some water or nuclear power issue.  When we inquired of locals about the meaning of the protest, they informed us that there is always a protest in Rome, this was nothing out of the ordinary it seems.

Stretching for miles and most of the day, the noisy protest had gathered steam and was mobile, greeting us as we exited St. Mary Major (built in 432 AD).  We stopped to pray near a piece of the manger from Bethlehem (yes, THE manger!) and saw Bernini's tomb and outstanding mosaic art.  From there we visited a local grocery store for simple lunch ingredients and ate in the (noisy) sunny courtyard outside St. Mary's before forging through the protest to reach St. Praessede.  The mosaic art at St. Praessede was breathtaking, and also on display was a small part of the column/pillar at which Jesus was scourged.

A Bernini masterpiece, The Ecstasy of St. Teresa,  on our must-see list, was well worth the walk across town amidst map reading challenges.  With persistence, we were able to find St. Teresa inside St. Maria Vittoria in the early evening.  Across the busy street, at St. Susannah, we attended a Vigil Mass for the 3rd Sunday in Lent, in English.  The deacon (a student at North American College) gave an outstanding homily on the graces of Lenten fasting.  We visited with him after Mass, and thanked him for his inspirational message.

Flashy, loud, trendy, and slightly not-age appropriate, our dinner stop at White restaurant did not impress.  The food was OK, but the music, night life scene, and slightly lewd art in the hall near the bathroom were all good reasons not to go back.  But then... we did go back, after our stop at the bustling Trevi Fountain, for gellato "to go" on our way home via the Metro (subway).  So starting now we're never going back.

Another swollen finger in the family, but this time it's Peter's; we suspect from 'trigger finger' repetitive motion taking SO many photos.  Peter's been shooting like a madman, taking volumes of photos, some of which are looking like keepers.

Noteworthy:

• Zac's quote at White restaurant, "If they have enough money for these fancy napkin holder packets, why can't they afford a seat for their toilet?"
• 5 people sharing one bathroom can complicate bed time routines
• A vandalized statue of an angel can give hours of awe and make lasting memories for young eyes
• Oranges grow on trees; but if you attempt to pick one in Rome, the locals will quickly warn (with sign language) you that they are not edible.

Day 4 {Rome: St. Peter's Basilica}follows.