Wednesday April 17, 2013: Last Wednesday

Today was very emotional. I can’t even begin to say how much. It started out with getting up early, getting dressed, having a very light breakfast, and studying for my Italian final for an hour before class. Then we took our final with Bruno, and it wasn’t as bad as I originally thought it would be. Once everyone was done with it, we read through our translations of the song he wanted us to learn for tonight, and then he played it on Youtube so we could sing along to it. We had some fun with it, and lots of laughs were good today. Right after class with him, we had our last class with Dr. T, where we went over everything that we have learned and experienced and what we are taking away from our time here. Afterwards, I had a meeting with him about a paper that’s due, then packed my bag and headed up to town for some lunch. I bought another t-shirt about Rome, grabbed a slice of pizza, and instead of hanging out in town to do homework, I headed back down the hill to campus to do it. I grabbed a blanket and headed outside and worked for awhile at a marble table near the field. Then I moved inside to charge my laptop and use the internet, and eventually moved to the balcony outside my room. The whole time I worked on finishing some homework, and took quick breaks to move to different locations. I stayed outside as much as possible because it was such a beautiful day, and staying inside was not what I wanted to do today.

As I worked on the balcony, it came to be close to Mass time, so I changed, worked a little more, and headed over to our last Mass together. I ended up doing the readings, and Fr. Brown gave a wonderful homily about remembering our time here and how we were part of an experience that no one else on this trip will ever experience: the blessings of 2 Popes, and the witnessing of the conclave. He wished us well and safe travels, too. I will miss him every Wednesday night, and his conversations at the dinner table. He helped make the experience what it was.

After Mass, we headed up to Castel Gandolfo for our Farewell Dinner. Bruno met us there, and we enjoyed a lively and laughter filled meal, complete with lots of conversation, tiramisu and a farewell cake, and a farewell toast with champagne. Bruno had to leave early and all of us said goodbye to him, then after some more talking and laughing, Mike began a series of thanks and speeches. Each of us, from Mike to Danilo, to all of us kids, and finally Dr. T said a few words about our time here. It was very emotional, and we ended up making Danilo cry, but it was also filled with lots of laughter. We needed it. Kayla had sung “Rolling in the Deep” earlier for all of us without music, and the night at the restaurant ended with Cat singing a song. She sang wonderfully! I never knew she could do that!

As we left, Dom said “Camp Walsh”, and immediately we all made our way, walking and running, to the star in the middle of the piazza between the central fountain and the Pope’s Palace, where we stood all those weeks ago for Benedict’s Farewell Address. We huddled there together, putting our right feet in the center, just like we did then. We got a couple pictures like that, from inside the circle, and then we lined up in our spot and got a group picture together. I started to lose it after that. Alli, Dom and I walked down a different road for a minute, separating ourselves from the group so that I could compose myself. We met back up with them, and the entire walk back to campus was filled with laughter and our favorite quotes from our favorite movies and times here. We decided to have a movie night and watch Casablanca while drinking some wine, another night together.

I didn’t realize until tonight just how much I love this place and this family. Leaving will be one of the hardest things I will ever do.

Tuesday April 16, 2013: Last Tuesday

So today was a ton of fun! First thing in the morning was Italian with Bruno. We went over our quizzes, prepared for the final tomorrow, and then he sprung a surprise on us. He wanted us to learn an Italian song for the Farewell Dinner, which he will be attending with us. He wants us to do karaoke with it, and asked that Kayla sing it. He had us go to the computer lab where we found the lyrics in Italian, and as our last assignment, he had us translate portions of the lyrics. It was pretty cool, and I managed to do it fairly quickly. The entire time, though, as always, he had us laughing, for which I am very grateful as our time with him is so short.

After class, Maggie, Kayla and I headed up to Castel Gandolfo. We went through the square and down the other side to go get porchetta sandwiches at a little restaurant. The owner knows Danilo and immediately recognized that we were his students, which was pretty cool. I did all of the ordering for the three of us in Italian, for which I am very proud of myself. I actually did it! We got our food and ended up sitting down to eat and talk in a little covered balcony area off the restaurant. It was delicious! I stopped in to say goodbye to the owner as we were leaving, and she asked us to give her greetings to Danilo, and I hope we managed to get across to her that we would.

We headed back up into town and did some souvenir shopping. We stopped in one store that had small plaques with images of Mary holding Baby Jesus in different poses, and they were beautiful. Maggie bought a few and, after some deliberation, I got one, too. It’s perfect for my mom, and I can’t wait for her to see it. Alli met up with us after a time and together we all got gelato (Maggie got a spritz instead) from Andrea’s café, and we relaxed on the back patio while we ate and talked. We headed back down the hill not long after that to try to get some homework done.

Once back, I did do some homework. I started out inside so that I could use the wifi for a while, then moved outside and joined Dom in the field, where I tried to study Italian for our final and he was working on a paper. We talked a little bit, talked with Dr. T when he came out and saw us for a few minutes, and called Mike about possibly playing some more volleyball before dinner. Both of us really wanted to play. We headed back in and dropped our stuff off inside and got all of the volleyball stuff, then started playing on our own with Cat. Mike, Dr. T, Kayla, and Gia eventually all joined in and Maggie watched most of it. It was so much fun! Cat, Mike and I were on a team, and we were pretty good if I do say so myself.

As we headed back inside to get ready to go to Rome for dinner, Dr. T and I played a little soccer with the volleyball, then went in and got changed. Alli and I walked up to Gioni’s to get a snack and bottles of water, and then met everyone at the train station. The ride was uneventful and I sat by myself for most of the ride, which was nice. I started out studying for Italian and then practically falling asleep to my music for the rest of it. I was so exhausted that I finally broke down and ordered an espresso macchiato at a café in Termini to wake up.

Anyway, on the way from the train to our meeting point, I pulled out my Italian notes again and started looking them over. Once I got there, Dom had to tell me to put them away and that there would be time for studying later. Then we went to the café and chilled for a little bit, then walked to the restaurant for dinner. The food was absolutely delicious, and dessert was tiramisu with strawberries on top. So good! I was pretty quiet throughout dinner, and Mike commented on it, but I was just too tired to really talk or anything. I woke up right after dinner, though, because we headed into Rome for our night tour. And Mike left us right after dinner in order to get to bed early. He had to get up early in the morning to meet his parents at the airport, and I can’t wait to meet them!

Rome by night is so amazing! We went to various spots, starting with the Colosseum and Forum, then moving to the Pantheon and Piazza Navona, which I was super excited to see because of all of the research I had done about the night life of the Piazza. It was everything I had hoped for and more! We stopped and got milkshakes near the Piazza, which were delicious as well, and then moved on to the Trevi Fountain, where all of us made a wish and tossed in a coin. It was so cool to see and do! We ended the night at the Spanish Steps, where I finally had the experience of drinking water from a safe fountain in the city. On the way back, Dom quizzed me in Italian, and once back home, I took a shower and collapsed on my bed, too tired to study anymore.

It was one of the best days ever. The sun was shining, the day was warm, we saw Rome all lit up at night, and had a ton of fun doing everything. I wish we had gotten the chance to experience more of Rome’s night life, but I’m glad that we had the night we did. The whole night all of talked together and took crazy pictures, having the time of our lives. I will forever remember this night.

Monday, April 15, 2013: Last Monday

Today is the last Monday of my Rome Experience, and it really saddens me. I’m trying hard to not think about it so that I can fully enjoy the rest of my time here, but my thoughts keep returning to leaving Friday and everything that I have to do before I leave and upon my return. Nevertheless, I had an amazing day. The sun was shining and it was nice and warm out, so most of the day was spent outside.

The morning began awkwardly. I had forgotten to reset my phone clock to Rome time from Greece time, so I got up and dressed earlier than I really needed to. I was okay with that, though, because I managed to eat some breakfast and get some homework done before leaving for the train. I took my Italian homework with me so that I could study it on the train and begin to prepare for my final exam on Wednesday.

We took a few minutes in Termini to grab a snack, and then took the bus to Trastevere, an area in Rome near the Vatican. Today was Alli’s tour day, and Trastevere was her area. She showed us a few churches and navigated us around the area, ending on the Janiculum, the highest point of Rome in the modern world. Throughout the tour, we took a lot of pictures and walked along beautiful streets and through parks. Trastevere is definitely one of my favorite places to go in Rome. It’s peaceful and beautiful and far enough away from the hubbub of daily Rome to be somewhat quiet while being close enough to easily return to the city.

After her tour ended, all of us split up to see different things. Dom went to the Protestant Cemetery; Danilo went to the Vatican; Kayla and Alli went somewhere; and Maggie and Gia went shopping. Cat and I ran to the metro to catch the next train back to campus and literally ran to the train itself because it was on a track that we had never used before and had trouble finding. I asked three different people in Italian where it was, and eventually we found it and got on right before it pulled away, I was proud of us. We stopped in Castel Gandolfo for one last lunch of porchetta, or pork sandwiches. Cat had never had one before and she wanted to try them, and I wanted one last one before leaving, so we went and had a nice lunch together and chatted. We went back to campus after eating and met an American high school student who is part of a student exchange program. It was really cool to talk to her about her experience versus ours. It gave me a new perspective on our program.

Anyway, I ended up changing and then went outside to enjoy the sun and the warmth while doing some homework. I feel as if I managed to get some work accomplished, at least. While I was working, there were Italian kids from the school track teams having practice around me, so it was interesting to hear all of the Italian and watch them interacting while I was working. Mike texted me tell me that some members of the group were outside playing volleyball around 5:30. I packed up my stuff and went over to meet them. All of us played a few rounds of volleyball, and it was a lot of fun. We were much more competitive than the last time we played, and we actually kept score. We stopped the games early so that we could head in for class with Dr. T on time, only to find him and Danilo on the front porch talking. We had the volleyball on the ground, and Danilo started kicking it around like a soccer ball, so he, Dr. T and I, and Kayla a little bit as well, played with the volleyball as a soccer ball and passed it around to each other for a little bit. Danilo was having the time of his life playing with us! He was acting like a little kid, and it was so much fun! We managed to convince Dr. T to have class outside, and after a short discussion on the reading for the week, we ended class early and headed inside to get ready for dinner.

I got cleaned up a little, ran up to my room for something, and decided to step out onto the balcony outside my room for a few minutes. The sun was setting, and the sky was beginning to turn orange and pink. The air over the surrounding houses and communities was misty, but the Sea was still visible in the distance. Standing there, I could think of how much I will miss this place and these people, and after a few minutes I headed down the stairs and back into reality. Dinner was a quick event with interesting conversations going on, but it was fun. There was a lot of laughter. After cleaning up, Dom, Alli and I took a quick walk up the hill, stopping to watch some soccer practice and quizzing each other on Italian words and phrases the entire time to prepare for our exam. It was nice. The weather was a little cooler because it was night, but the sky was clear and the stars were bright. It was nice to walk with them. We headed back early so that we could shower before a movie night, but the movie got postponed to later in the week, so instead we are all doing homework and heading to bed.

Today was so amazing! It was one of those days that remind me why I came on this trip and of all reasons why I’m so grateful I did. Tomorrow will be another great day, full of the mixture of happiness and sadness that the last week of something amazing always brings. I am definitely coming back here at some point in my life, and while I don’t feel quite ready to head home yet, I will be happy to see my family again on Friday night.

Weekend 7: Athens

Our last weekend in Europe was amazing! It was also sad because of the fact that it was our last.

I began it the way I begin most days- getting up super early for no real reason other than to be up early so I don’t miss anything. I double checked my bag, got dressed and got some breakfast. I tried to do some homework as well since I had the time, but mostly I wanted to say goodbye to Maggie, who was leaving for London before we were leaving for Athens. I did get a hug from her, then just hung out and tried to get some things done, waiting for the others to come down and join me and waiting for our ride. After a couple hours, it was finally time to leave. I gathered my stuff and got in the cab, and we were airport bound. When we got there, we went through security just fine and, since our gate wasn’t up right away, we split up to get some food, use the ATM, use the bathroom, wait for the gate, and I got a new pair of headphones. We sat and relaxed at our gate, boarded our plane, and headed off to Greece. I managed to see some of it on our flight over it, and it’s beautiful! My ear didn’t bother me too much, either, though it still hurt on the landing a little bit. Once we got off, we tried to find where to get metro tickets, only to find out that the metro was on strike and not working, so we found the bus instead. After a long ride, we entered downtown Athens and found our hostel after a short walk.

Our hostel was absolutely fantastic! The first thing that happened when we entered to check-in was that the receptionist stopped us from paying and had us take a shot together with her. It tasted awful on an empty stomach, but it was still pretty cool. She got us situated with our room and helped us make plans for the weekend. We told her what we were thinking about doing, and she gave us a better idea of where everything is in relation to everything else as well as the best way to get to each place and when to go. She was so amazing. We also found out that we were the only ones in our room, and she promised us that she would let us know if she put anyone else in our room with us. Because of this, and the fact that we had to leave the key with her whenever we left, we weren’t as worried about our stuff being left in the room, which helped us out a lot.

After settling in, we went out to try to find an authentic gyro to eat on our way to a hill that has a great view of the Acropolis. We couldn’t find anywhere that had them, even after asking at 4 different places, so we found a little bistro and got something there. Cat and I had sandwiches and the others had salads. It was pretty good, though not the best thing I’ve ever eaten. We continued our climb up the hill, stopping and taking pictures the entire way up. The sun was setting as we made our way up, and we stayed there long enough to watch the Acropolis light up for the night. It was breathtaking. We took our time going back down and explored the area around our hostel a little bit, then went to dinner after a short rest at the hostel. We went next door, where we got special deals because of where we were staying and because the people wanted to get us to sit down. All of us had a chicken gyro that required the use of a knife and fork to eat it, and it was delicious. And there were fries on it. After dinner, Dom, Alli and I went out exploring and took some pictures of the Acropolis from the bottom of the hill, for our hostel was literally a few minutes away from it. We stopped at a bar and a drink, then went back in and called it a night.

Saturday was great, too. We got up later than we wanted to, but we all had some breakfast at the hostel and then headed out to the Acropolis, where we spent a good few hours. The sun was shining and the day was hot, so all of us got burnt just from being up there and being in summer clothes. After seeing the Acropolis and taking a ton of pictures, we climbed a huge boulder, found where the entrance to the Agora was from the top of the boulder, and climbed down to go to it. We explored in there for a while, taking breaks when we could and needed to in the shade before moving on. Again, pictures were numerous. We went and saw a museum connected with the Agora, then moved on to the Roman Agora, which was nearby. We stopped there for a little bit, then headed back to our hostel, and ended up getting some lunch at a restaurant a few doors down from it. We sat outside in the shade and relaxed, trying to recover from the sun exposure. I was so hot and burnt that I was exhausted, but the food and water helped a lot.

After lunch, we went shopping for souvenirs, relaxed at the hostel for a little bit, then Alli, Cat and I went back out to use the ATM. We stopped at a place to get crepes filled with chocolate and banana and topped with a scoop each of vanilla and chocolate ice cream. We each had one, and they were huge and delicious. The others called us while we waited for the crepes to be made, and we decided to go see the Acropolis Museum that night instead of trying to do it in the morning. They came and found us and helped us eat our giant crepes, and went to the Museum. We explored the museum, which is the size of the Pantheon, and watched a video about how conservationists are cleaning the original caryatids from the Porch of the Maidens on the Erechtheion. It was sweet. We left right at closing, and went out in search of some dinner. The others got gyros for take away, but I just got French fries. I wasn’t real hungry. While we ate, we explored more of our area together, and after a time the others wanted to head back to the hostel for a break. Dom, Alli and I decided to climb another hill on the other side of the Acropolis instead, and had a ton of fun doing it, too. We went back after dark to meet the others and eventually went and found a place to have some drinks. After a while there, we went back to the hostel, I went and got some ice cream, and then we all headed back out go to a bar next door for supposedly free shots. We called it a night not too long after that.

Finally, on Sunday, our day began somewhat early as we packed up everything and had to check-out of our room. I wasn’t real hungry again, so I sat with Dom as he ate his breakfast and ended up finishing it, then we left our stuff at the reception desk and headed out with the others to go to the Temple of Zeus. We walked around there for a little bit, not too long because there isn’t much to see, relaxed in the shade there a bit, and left. We did a little bit more shopping, but not much, and then got our stuff and headed for the bus back to airport. We went through security, had a snack at our gate, and relaxed until boarding time. Dom and I were in the same row again, and so was the girl who sat next to us on the way to Athens. She and Dom talked the entire flight, which was cool, and we finally landed, found our ride, and got back to campus, where we unpacked and relaxed. We finally found Mike and Dr. T at some point, and had dinner together, though it was mostly just us kids for dinner. We hung out and went to bed, realizing that our last week in Rome was upon us and that our last weekend was excellent, but over.

Trip 29: Macro Museum

This Thursday was a relaxing day. We had class with Dr. T in the morning, and then took the train into Rome. Danilo wasn’t feeling well and didn’t join us, so Mike did instead. He originally wasn’t going to come. The Macro Museum is a contemporary art museum, and is a much more modern looking building in Rome than anything else I’ve seen here so far. It’s steel and glass outside and in, adding to the feel of the different artworks inside. I wasn’t particularly thrilled in going there because I’m not a huge fan of modern art. I don’t understand it, nor do I really get anything out of it.

Once there, we all went into the same room together, then ended up breaking up into smaller groups, generally pairs. Cat and I walked around together, seeing the art and taking pictures while wondering what stuff could mean and complaining that we could do most of it. It was fun to see and cool to figure out, though I still didn’t get much out of the artwork. It’s just not my taste.

After we were finished and had a brief discussion about our visit, we took the bus back to Termini and went off to do our own things. Dom and I headed in the direction of a nearby marketplace, Dom taking time to explore a church right next to it that I had already seen. He met me in the market and, after buying some stuff, we headed to the metro to go to Villa Borghese.

On our way back up to the road from the metro at our stop, Dom slipped and but his finger. It wasn’t too serious, but it wouldn’t stop bleeding right away. We got out of the subway and took care of it the best we could with what we had on us and what we could get from a nearby bistro that I love, and it finally stopped bleeding. We started heading towards Villa Borghese and created a plan to get back to the subway so we could catch a certain train, but we ended up running out of time and running back to the metro and then a little through Termini to our train. It was an interesting and fun day.

Once we got back, Dom got his finger taken care of, and I headed outside after changing to do homework on a blanket in the field. He joined me after a little bit, and later on Mike, Kayla and Gia came out and we played some serious soccer, where injuries were numerous. Blood was drawn, not seriously, but it was there. We moved to the volleyball net after a time and played volleyball instead, which was ton of fun. Maggie didn’t play, but acted as the mom the entire time. It was funny.

After injuring ourselves and wearing ourselves out, we headed back inside for dinner, and after that we packed and got ready to go to Athens for the weekend. After some homework down in the lounge and a nice shower before that, I went to bed. Another great end to a beautiful and great day.

Trip 28: General Audience

Kids with the Polish flag in front of us. Let’s just say I was super excited…

This is the day that I have been looking forward to the most, I think: our general audience with the Pope, and with Papa Francesco at that! I got up super early and got dressed, grabbing everything I needed and met everyone downstairs after a time. We got on the first train to Rome at 6:39am. I went to get my metro pass out of my bag for the subway once we got to Termini, and I discovered that I couldn’t find it. I had somehow left it in my room. I told Mike, panic stricken and angry with myself, and he calmly helped me get a ticket so I could take the subway while everyone else headed down to the platform. We made it down there and joined everyone, took the subway to the Vatican, and got in line to enter St. Peter’s Square.

As we stood there waiting, we talked and people watched, and everyone was giving me a hard time about how much stuff I brought along. I didn’t really care, though. I was too excited. We finally made it through security and found seats near the front center and, while Danilo and Mike went off to get some breakfast for all of us, we took some pictures and read some books. It was also Dom’s birthday, and he and Alli had made signs the night before about Dom spending his birthday with the Pope at the Square, so they were getting all of that figured out, too.

We had some breakfast when Mike and Danilo got back, and finally the audience started an hour later. There were different priests who spoke different languages that welcomed various groups to the audience, and when the English priest was up there, he said Walsh University, and we cheered together. We weren’t paying a lot of attention to him, though, because not long before he stood up, Papa Francesco himself was going around the square in a special car, greeting people and hugging kids along the way. It was so cool to see!

The audience began with a short reading that all of the different priests read in their native language, then Papa Francesco gave a homily on it in Italian, and the priests returned, giving a general overview of what Papa Francesco said. Papa Francesco himself gave the Spanish declaration, and a couple of different groups near the front started singing or playing a song when their groups were called. It was amazing, and Papa Francesco seemed to enjoy the performances. I was just happy to have recorded as much of it as I did with my video camera. Oh, and there was Polish! And I recorded it! Yes, I am very happy about this.

Anyway, we prayed the Our Father together in Latin once all of the different languages were done, and then we held up our bags for the blessing. It short, sweet, and over too soon. We left less than 5 minutes after the blessing was over, getting separated in the huge crowds of people. Gia, Maggie, Cat, Alli and I managed to stick together and were making plans for later in the day, but I was freaking out a little about getting a metro and then a train ticket for the ride back to campus. Gia stayed with me in the subway to get the ticket there, and we caught the train after the others with Kayla and Dom (they caught up to us on the platform). Once back to Termini, I went right to a ticket stand for a train ticket, and Dom stayed with me. We finally got it figured out and got the ticket in time to hop on to the train. We found our friends, sat down, and enjoyed the ride.

Dom, Alli and I got off at Castel Gandolfo to get porchetta. Neither Alli nor I had had it yet and we both wanted to try it. Dom had been there before and wanted it as well, so the three of us went and got some, sitting in a covered balcony off the restaurant to eat and talking the whole time. We walked back to campus, changed and relaxed the rest of the day.

We had Italian with Bruno in the evening, which was cool because we got to tell him all about our time at the audience, and he was being funny with Dom because of his birthday. After class was Mass with Fr. Brown in the chapel, which Bruno didn’t attend due to another engagement, and after that was dinner. We had a traditional birthday cake to celebrate Dom’s big day, and it was a lot of fun. Not much else happened after that except relaxing and homework.

This was a super great day!

Trip 26: Aventine Hill

Me sticking my hand into the Mouth of Truth. According to legend, the mouth would close and cut off your hand if you were a liar.

Today began with Italian class with Bruno and right after class we headed up to the train station to head into Rome. Today was our tour of Aventine Hill led by Cat, and it was very interesting. It took a little bit to get there, but not very long, and eventually we arrived at the Hill. We walked quickly so that we could see the churches she wanted to show us before they closed for siesta, and the churches we saw were amazing. They were older, smaller than what we were used to seeing so far, and moderately decorated. I thoroughly enjoyed them. There was some confusion as to what on her tour was actually part of the Hill, but she continued on and did an amazing job. We saw a beautiful garden, some ancient ruins, and went by the Circus Maximus. It’s a very cool area.

Immediately after the tour was finished, I went over to San Giovanni again. I ran, walked and jogged, again, so that I could have time to fill up the water cruets there and make it back to the next train. I finally got there, learned that the sacristy wouldn’t open for another 30 minutes or so, and ran out to catch the metro. I got to Termini with a few minutes to spare to grab some lunch, got turned around and ran into Dom and Gia, who pointed me in the right direction to where I wanted to go. I ran, literally, to the place, found the check-out line to be too long, and ran to the train, where I got and found my friends with only a minute to spare. I told them what happened and calmed down, remembering that there were snacks in the lounge that I could eat as my lunch once we got back. We talked part of the ride back, spaced out for part of it, and walked back to campus together.

Once there, I changed and did some homework while eating some delicious snack stuff in the lounge. The reason I kept running everywhere is that Mike promised that we would play soccer outside around 5, and the train we caught was one of the last 2 that we could get to make it back in time. Mike was running late, though, and first pushed it back, then told us to go ahead with it if we wanted to play. Dom, Gia and I went out with the volleyball and started kicking it around like a soccer ball in field while Maggie and Alli watched us from a blanket off to the side. We were having fun, and Mike eventually joined us. We finally collapsed on the blanket and relaxed for a little bit outside, then headed back inside to get ready for class with Dr. T.

After class, we had dinner together, and then Alli and I took a walk together up to the ATM, talking the whole way. After returning, I did some homework, took a shower and got everything prepared for the following day. I laid my clothes out, packed my backpack with all of the things I wanted to take, and went to bed super excited for the next day.

Trip 25: Vatican Square and St. Peter’s

This was one of the best days ever. It was this day that I finally saw St. Peter’s Basilica and completed the pilgrimage of visiting all 4 major basilicas in Rome. The day began early with taking the train to Termini, then hopping on the metro to the Vatican. When we arrived at St. Peter’s Square, we immediately got into the line to enter St. Peter’s, for the entire square was packed full of people and the barricades and chairs were up in the square. It was Gia’s tour day and, as we were standing in line awaiting our turn to enter, she shared some background information about the square and the Basilica. The line moved rather quickly, and before I knew it we were through security and heading up to the Basilica. Danilo suggested that we go up to the top of the Dome first, so we got in line for that next, where we took pictures and I talked with Mike for a little bit. I was quiet most of the time because I was exhausted from our weekend in Sorrento, but I started waking up and getting really excited while we waited to go up to the Dome.

We finally entered the Dome and began climbing the stairs, which were awkward at first because the stairs were wide and long. We came out on a landing that was the roof of the basilica and, after resting for a few minutes out on the roof in the sunshine; we headed into the dome itself and began to climb again. The stairs inside the dome are small and everyone has to proceed single file up them. I ended up going right in front of Mike, and we talked a little bit on the way up. There’s one part that really freaked me out. Once we entered the actual dome part, the walls became curved with the shape of the dome, and trying to walk straight up the stairs became interesting. The walls messed with my sight, making me feel dizzy and off balance, so I tried to focus more on the stairs at my feet and always had a hand on one of the walls to keep my balance.

We made it to the top without incident, stopping for a few minutes at the landing that goes around the dome inside the church itself, where I took some pictures and had my first view of the basilica. I climbed the final stairs to the very top, and the view up there is so amazing! All I did was take pictures, pointing out landmarks that I knew, following Mike’s directions to ones that I didn’t, and gazing in wonder at the beautiful site before me: the city of Rome. I loved it so much that I told Mike I could stay up there forever, and he joked about trying to set up a tent. After going around the entire thing, I reluctantly made my way back down, this time with Dr. T. We were the last ones down and, after spending a few minutes looking at the gift shop on the roof, we descended the rest of the stairs into the basilica, where Gia and Kayla had me close my eyes and guided me to the door leading outside so that I wouldn’t see much of the church as I passed through. Gia wanted me to be blown away by it.

Gia proceeded to talk about the 5 entrance doors and the portico, and then we entered the basilica. And yes, I was blown away. It might be huge, and it might be ornate, and there may be a ton of people inside talking and taking pictures, but there is definitely a strong spiritual energy inside the church. Gia showed us around and gave each of us a map of the different chapels and monuments, and there were a few that struck me. The first is the Tomb of Blessed Pope John Paul II, in front of which I went and spent a few minutes by myself after the tour was over. Another was the Chapel of St. Michael the Archangel; the monument of St. Cristina, a Swedish queen; and finally, Michelangelo’s Pieta. Gia showed us around the entire area and pointed these places out to us as well as all of the other chapels and monuments. The area is huge and has a lot of history within it, so it took a while to go through. It was worth it, though.

After the tour, I went to John Paul II’s tomb for a little bit, walked around a little more, and then went to the gift shop and got a few things. Then I met up with Maggie and Dom outside, and together we went and got lunch at a nearby pizzeria. Mike had accidentally left his metro pass in Dom’s bag, so he met us there and got it, then chilled with us for a little bit. We decided to go get cannoli together, and after that Mike and Dom headed back to campus while Maggie and I headed out to find St. Peter in Chains, which is located near the Colosseum.

Maggie and I talked a lot on our way to the church, and we ended up getting a little turned around on the way. We finally found it, though, and enjoyed seeing it for a little bit. Maggie went into the bookstore to possibly buy some things, and I looked around for holy water cruets, but didn’t find them. I went outside and called Dom, wondering if there would be time to stop in Castel Gandolfo or if he could please pick up a couple for me and I would pay him back. I called and asked because he and Mike had planned on going through there on their way back to campus. Both he and Mike said that there should be time, so we hung up. Maggie had joined me by this time and suggested we go to San Giovanni instead because it was somewhat close. We combined walking, jogging and running as we made our way to the basilica, crossing in front of traffic and laughing about the situation, though I was panicking that we would miss our train. I got there ahead of Maggie, got the cruets, and ran back outside to get Maggie. We crossed through the church to the metro (saying a quick prayer of apology and help on the way through) and made it to the metro, through Termini, and onto the train with a few minutes to spare. We congratulated ourselves on a job well done.

We made it back to campus and relaxed for a little bit before our next activity: a tiramisu class with Danilo as the teacher. He gave each of us a copy of the recipe and explained how to make it while doing it right in front of us. It was really cool to see. After eating leftover ingredients and helping him clean up, we chilled for a little while, had dinner together, and then Mike had study snacks of fruit, chocolate, and different types of nuts waiting for us in the lounge. They were delicious and went along well with doing homework. Alli and I went for a quick walk after dinner, and after doing some homework, I finally went to bed. An absolutely amazing day.

Weekend 5: Sorrento/ Pompeii

Sorrento was so amazing! We had to get up super early in the morning, take the train to Termini, and get on another train to Naples. We took a few minutes in Termini and to grab a snack and talk, then headed to the train to Naples. The ride there was uneventful, and I didn’t do much on the ride. Once we got to Naples, though, I was on high alert. I watched everyone and everything that near me and my friends, wondering who were pickpocketers and watching their every move. We moved as a unit, never straying far from each other, holding our bags in front of us and circling our bags when standing still. We finally got on the crowded train to Sorrento and, after an hour of standing uncomfortably in a hot and crowded train trying to protect my stuff and keeping an eye on everyone else’s, we finally arrived in Sorrento.

Once off the train, we stopped and got some pizza for lunch at a little place that Danilo recommends, then we got checked in to our hotel, which is actually a hostel. It’s so nice, though, that it should be a five star hotel. There’s a spa in it, a huge lobby, free wifi, and a very nice café; the people there were extremely nice, too. We didn’t have anything planned for the day, and the weather was amazingly warm and sunny, so after getting our rooms and settling in a little bit, we went off to do what we pleased. Dom, Cat, Alli and I went off on our own and explored the town. We went to both piers, checked out the shopping street, and found a dirt trail behind a hotel next to some cliffs that took us down to the Sea on a rock outcropping. It was so much fun! (For those who don’t know much about Sorrento, it’s a little seaside town that has a specialty in fish and is very tourist friendly). We went to a candy shop owned by Danilo’s friend, where we tried some of his wares and ended up buying some, then went to another of his friend’s places and got some gelato, which was delicious. We ran into Dr. T a few times in our adventuring, and we walked through most of the town. We went back to the hotel after a while to drop off some stuff, then headed out again with Maggie and explored some more. We had dinner together later that evening at a favorite restaurant of Danilo’s, where I had pizza, and after some deliberation and a gelato run, we decided to head back to the hotel and get some sleep.

Saturday began with breakfast at the hotel, then taking the train to Pompeii, where we met our guide Gioni. He is a super cool guy and is a good friend of Danilo. He’s an archaeologist and has written many books about Pompeii, so we knew his tour would be amazing. He was super funny and fun, keeping us laughing and moving while showing off the different areas in Pompeii, which is extremely huge and they haven’t uncovered the entire city yet! After the tour, we met up with Danilo and hopped on the train back to Sorrento. Dom, Alli and I immediately set out for the marina, where we caught a ferry over to the island of Capri. My camera died on the ferry ride there, so I don’t have any pictures of Capri itself unfortunately, but it was so beautiful and cool. We walked around the town, which involved climbing numerous steps at a steep incline to reach the city center, then managed to find some lunch after wandering around for a long time. We explored a garden that overlooked the sea and some cliffs, and before we knew it we had to head back to the ferry for Sorrento, but not before walking along the stony seashore and climbing on rocks. Once back in Sorrento, we did some souvenir shopping on the way back to the hotel, or at least Alli and I did. Then we got ready for dinner and took a taxi up the mountain to a little restaurant that tourists don’t know about, and enjoyed a delicious meal. After taking the taxi back into town, everyone headed back to the hotel except for Dom, Alli, and I. We decided to go out, so we found an Irish pub and sat down for a little while. Then we explored the city by night a little bit, and headed back to the hotel for bed.

Sunday was great. After an early breakfast, Dom and I set out to town to try to find a few more souvenirs that we wanted to get, but since most of the stores were still closed that early, we walked around the main square for a few minutes instead, then headed back to the hotel to pack and wait for everyone to go to Mass. Mass was nice and in a very nice church, though it was hard to follow what was going on because it was done in Italian. After Mass, Dom and I set out again for the stores, running from one to another to get last minute gifts, which was a lot of fun, and running back to the hotel to grab our stuff and make sure we didn’t miss our meeting time. We took a taxi to the train station so we wouldn’t have to carry all of our stuff there, then took the train to Naples, which wasn’t crowded for once. We had to wait a while in Naples for our train, so we took turns watching our stuff and leaving in pairs and small groups to go get some lunch and use the bathroom. We would watch out for each other as we individually went to the trash can, though, which was pretty cool. Again, I was on high alert. We finally boarded the train to Termini and arrived there after an uneventful ride, making it back to campus in good spirits, though exhausted. We had dinner together with Mike, relaxed and unpacked, and enjoyed a quiet evening before going to bed.

All I can really say is this: I will be going back there someday.

Trip 24: Ostia Antica and the Beach

Today was pretty cool. I got up early like I always do and we took the early train into Rome for a site visit: Ostia Antica. I had never heard of it before, but it’s a preserved city much like Pompeii, though smaller and not as grand. It was a really cool place. We met our guide at the entrance and went on our tour. She pointed out various places, what different ruins were used for, and told us of the city’s history. One of the things that the city is famous for is its mosaic floors. Many of the floors that remained were under tarps because they are currently under restoration. The mosaics are being damaged by the tree roots from the surrounding trees, the majority of which are hundreds of years old, and the evidence of the tree roots are everywhere. The sidewalks and the roads are affected by them, too. Our guide’s opinion is to get rid of all the trees in order to preserve the ruins better, but personally I don’t agree. The trees are as much a part of the area as the ruins themselves; getting rid of the trees takes away from the beauty and the character of the city, in my opinion. But I digress.

We had a lot of fun in the city, running around and taking pictures of the ruins and of each other while also paying attention and learning. For example, there is one building that used to be a bar and the counter for the bar in still intact. Dom and I pretended to be a bartender and customer over the bar, and Cat took our picture. It was little things like these that kept us awake and having fun.

After the tour, we met up with Danilo, said goodbye to our guide, and headed out for some lunch. We stopped at a nearby place and grabbed some sandwiches, sitting down and resting for a little bit. Then we kids went out on our own. Our destination? The beach. We took the train a few stops and, after walking down some streets for a little bit, finally came to Mediterranean Sea. We walked along the shore for a while, taking pictures, collecting shells, and Maggie and Kayla got their feet wet in the water. The wind was blowing forcefully and it was cooler and cloudy out, but it was still nice to be there. We didn’t stay long, though, and headed back to campus not long after that.

Upon returning to campus, we relaxed and did some homework, then had our orientation with Danilo about our Sorrento and Pompeii trip. The orientation really consisted of how to conduct ourselves while in Naples and on the train from Naples to Sorrento. Danilo told us all about how some students in the past were pickpocketed in Naples and of how dangerous the city is because of the pickpocketers. He told us that no matter what we did or where we went while in the Naples train station, we would do it as a group, forming a circle with all of our luggage in the middle so that we could keep everything safe. He did tell us, though, about where we were staying and where to go to buy certain things. The weekend was pretty free except for our mandatory visit to Pompeii on Saturday, so we could do pretty much whatever we wanted the whole weekend, which we were looking forward to.

We had dinner right after the orientation, and then I took a walk up the hill with some friends before packing for the weekend and heading to bed. I was so excited to go, and it had been a great day. Life was great!