"Family" Reunion

It has been suggested that we gather on Friday, January 6 for dinner, perhaps at Amedeo's in Raleigh.Your guests would be most welcome, as long as they can put up with yet MORE stories from our trip! 

More details as we get closer, but does this sound good to y'all?

Your Turn

Okay, pilgrims (why do I want to say that in a John Wayne voice?).... now it is YOUR turn on this blog!

Are there thoughts/reflections that you would like to share about your experience on this trip? Maybe something you jotted in your prayer journal, or something that has remained in your mind?  Please send me an email (and attach a photo, if you'd like to share one that goes with your comments), and I will post it here.

I'll try to make this a tiny bit harder for potential spammers; here is my email address: adult_faith{at}saintandrew{dot}org     --- you know to replace those two items inside the {} with what makes sense to go there, right?

General Audience Video

Here is a link to the Vatican video of last Wednesday's general audience. At 36 minutes in, they begin introducing the English speaking parishes. At the 39:51 mark, you'll hear St. Andrew the Apostle introduced, and check THIS out: you can see Sharon, Marie, Diane and Rosemary stand and cheer!!!

Almost home

Safe trip to Philly, cleared customs, and we are now waiting for our flight back to Raleigh. Also waiting at our gate is a group from Immaculate Conception in Durham, returning from Ireland. Their group leader and I will have to trade notes!

Sweet endings

And now, it is time to pack for tomorrow's journey home. (But the blog will continue for a little longer!) Buona notte, y'all.

Nooooooo!

It can't be our last night!!!!

Good luck, Raffaele

It's no easy task keeping our 'family' together.... There's just too much to see, everywhere! This is a courtyard of the Vatican museum, with the dome of St. Peter's basilica in the background.

Last Mass of the trip

This was the side chapel where we celebrated mass this morning, for the feast of St. Martin of Tours (the city.... Not like a travel company). It has been a blessing to pray together.

Near the Catacombs of St. Callistus

The catacombs are located in a beautiful setting, with trees and fields, even frolicking lambs! Diane and Rosemary, always ready for action!

Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls

Our last mass of the trip was this morning, in a side chapel. But what a beautiful dome! In this basilica is the tomb of St. Paul, with a perpetual lamp nearby. I made a contribution toward the burning of the lamp (aka, lit a candle) for all of our intentions.

Scripture Course people: I said a special prayer here just for you!

Such a view!

Jackie and Tony

Buona sera

Joan and Mike

What a day!

Elizabeth is loving the view! (who wouldn't?)

Sisters, sisters...

Betty and Mary

Overlooking Florence

Annette and Gary

Video from the General Audience

Our 15 seconds of fame! Yes, this is very rough video, but you can hear our parish name being called. I like how the Brazilian gentleman directly in front of us got such a kick out of finding each group. (iPad and iPhone users will not be able to view this on their device: sorry!)

Quote for the day

From our guide:
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. We are the Romans, so we do what we want to do.


This photo is unrelated to the quote, is of some of our group at the end of the day in Florence, outside the Church of Sante Croce.

So close....

Pat was our model in the leather shop. Steve was looking pale. He's okay now, they didn't buy the jacket.

The River Arno in Florence

Florence is a beautiful city, overflowing with great art, stunning architecture and delicious food. Our day trip went by much too quickly, simply an appetizer ... leaving me (perhaps others) dreaming of the time when I might return for a longer visit (the main course and dessert!).

On our way out of town, we stopped at a scenic overlook of Florence. The sun was setting, and a full moon rising over the Tuscan mountains. Glorious.

St. Peter's Square

This photo was not a mistake. It is of the ground, but not just any old stretch of cobblestone. These stones have been stood upon by millions of people over the years, those gathered to witness the opening of The Second Vatican Council nearly fifty years ago, canonizations and installations, funerals and audiences. These stones have 'seen' a lot.

Our Goldsboro contingent

Gina and Joyce, waiting in the square for the papal audience.

Today at the Vatican

Today we participated in the papal general audience. We found great seats in the square (it was outdoors today, not in the auditorium), and then waited a couple of hours for the audience to begin. In stark contrast to yesterday afternoon's relentless rain, today's weather was perfection: clear skies and nearly 70 degrees.
As we waited and people-watched, several bands took turns playing, we envied the groups with matching scarves, vests or hats (but not too much), read, prayed or chatted.

When Pope Benedict finally arrived, his pope mobile took him around the crowd as cameras projected his progress on large screens. (if one were to be mildly irreverent, trying to locate him through the crowds was a little like 'where's Waldo', except he has no red stripes)
Once he reached the main platform, a psalm was prayed in several languages, he read his weekly address (in Italian, perhaps), and then began the process of greeting visitors and pilgrims from each language group.

When they announced 'St. Andrew the Apostle in Apex, North Carolina' we stood and cheered, and the Holy Father gave a little wave in our direction. Once all the English speaking groups were announced, he spoke to us and thanked us for our presence and faith. This 90 minute service ended with an 'Our Father' and the papal blessing of the assembly- and by extension, our loved ones (do you feel it?!).

I'm amazed at this: there were at least four Swiss Guards standing near the papal platform. For those entire 90+ minutes, they did not move at all.

After a brief break, our group regathered and took a tour of the excavations under St. Peter's. It lasted over an hour and was fascinating, truly amazing. You can access an online simulation by a link in the right hand column of this page (Scavi/Necropolis).
We are on our own for dinner this evening and most anticipate making an early night of it, preparing for a 7:30 am departure for Florence tomorrow.

(Scott, Alina and all at Catholic Travel: thank you- all your arrangements so far have been excellent!)

A few things

Hello,

Just wanted to let you know that your prayers for our group are deeply appreciated.

And that each time we celebrate mass, we place the books of intentions from our various parishes on the altar, and include them in our intercessions. It is a moving experience to be entrusted with the prayers of our faith communities.

I had hoped to post videos, but the days are too long and wake up calls too early... So I'll see what can be done once we get back home.

We are 6 hours ahead of you in NC. The night (10:25) is still young but alas, I am not, so buona notte!

Roman Baptism

After hours of walking through the rain, I have decided that a Roman baptism is by full immersion. You think there's a lot of water in the Trevi Fountain? You haven't seen our raincoats and shoes!
Still, what we were able to see and experience was amazing, and hot showers should go a long way toward restoring us for our short walk to dinner this evening!

Spanish Steps

Our guide let us negotiate the Spanish steps the easier way: down. This photo is notable for marking the moment when the day turned rainy. And stayed that way for hours, as we walked to the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, and Piazza Navona... and several other places as well.

Pranzo (lunch)

The sky was clear, temperature perfect, and the Via Borgo was the place to be for a lunch break. Sitting on the street ( and I mean street), enjoying good food and company, and bantering with our Peruvian waiter who bore a passing resemblance to Al Pacino. There was another full table of our group, but here's a family photo!
(Tom, I'm sure that Sharon, Sherry and Stephanie would want me to assure you that the bottle on the table was just decoration. It was. My glass wasn't.)

Lateran Basilica

The Lateran Basilica is the Cathedral church of the Diocese of Rome. It is huge and impressive. Large statutes in the center section of each of the apostles. The Pope's chair (since he is Bishop of Rome, this is his home church), beautiful mosaics, tons of cherubs on the ceiling.... Did I mention that this is huge?

We had mass this afternoon at a side chapel, using readings for the feast of this building's dedication (which is on Nov 9). Here's our group just after mass.

Bring on the gladiators!

Louise is ready for 'em!

Blue sky

The Coliseum, she is very tall.

On the road

Our bus ride (excuse me, 'motor coach') from Assisi to Rome was fairly quiet this morning. Most of us were dozing, due to a combination of a 6am wake up call and the motion of our ride. Our driver is Andrea, a good omen for our group from St. Andrew's. Raffaele, our tour guide, refers to Andrea as 'King of the Road', and it seems inevitable that we will sing to him before our trip is done. Raffaele is a knowledgable, patient and entertaining guide. When he wants our attention, he calls us "Family".
A gentle term, and a description to aspire to, as strangers become more 'familiar'. It served also as an unspoken reminder to look out for each other as brothers and sisters should. So, from our 'family' to yours, pace e bene.

Espresso, anyone?

Lots of steps in these here parts

But Jackie can handle them!

The beauty of creation

View from the Hermitage. Fall colors are lovely.

This morning at the Hermitage

A song for Sunday

The schedule calls for us to begin our day at the Hermitage, a few miles above Assisi, and a location that may well have inspired Francis' deep love of nature. In recognition of that sense of sacramentality, of grace abundant throughout creation, please enjoy this song, "Holy Now" by Peter Mayer.

Lots of walking today

Following our local guide up (always up) a street... We learned a lot, and walked many steps. Tomorrow will be more restful... It's a luxury to have 3 nights in this special place.

Golden evening

This evening, on our walk to the bus, we happened into that magical golden light of evening, and were struck by the beauty of it diffused in the fog in the valley.

Here we are!

Tomb altar of St Francis

The group at St. Francis Basilica

We started our day with mass at the tomb of St. Francis.
From the opening prayer, "Father, you helped St. Francis to reflect the image of Christ through a life of poverty and humility. may we follow your Son by walking in the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi, and by imitating his joyful love."

Then Fr. Jim Doyle, a Conventual Fransican and friend of Friar Greg gave us an excellent tour of the basilica, followed by a walking tour through town with a local guide. Photos to follow- it's about time for us to leave for a wine tasting at a vineyard, followed by dinner in Spello!

Ciao!

Hope everyone is in shape

A typical scene in Assisi

Street scene

Discovered while wandering the streets of Assisi.

Boarding the bus

An orderly line of bleary eyed pilgrims at the Rome airport.

Our journey has begun

We are happy to report no problems with travel, a safe arrival and a quiet day of acclimating to a new time zone and country. Most of us took the opportunity this afternoon to walk around Assisi. The streets and homes are old and lovely, the people friendly, and the gelato tasty!

Tonight at dinner in our hotel was the first real opportunity for our group members, representing 6 different parishes, to learn each others names and stories. We all seem ready to make an early night of it- we are 5 hours ahead of NC time, and an early morning isin the plans for tomorrow. Gratitude for the opportunity for this experience is the word of the day.

Final checklist

In your carry-on (NOT in your checked luggage)....

• have your passport, tickets and any medications
• in a quart-sized zip-lock bag, whatever liquids of up to 3oz each, only what can fit in ONE quart sized bag
• other valuables, money, credit cards

Speaking of credit cards, have you notified your bank and credit card companies that you'll be in Italy?
And maybe do one last read of the posts labeled 'get ready' (just click on that label to the right under 'Topics')

A domani (see you tomorrow)!!!

A little of this, a little of that....

And our forecast for Rome.... also expects highs in the mid-60's , lows around 50 and a chance of showers most days.   We'll just have to get them to schedule their rain showers for when we are inside buildings!

Wet and mild

Here's This Weekend's Forecast for Assisi ... highs near 70 degrees, lows around 50, and a 30-60% chance of showers every day.

Hmm. I am bringing a winter raincoat... guess I'm going to go get a lightweight cheap plastic poncho, too.

We leave the day after tomorrow... can you believe it?!?!

Getting it ready for us

There was an interfaith gathering in Assisi today (see story here), including prayer at the tomb of St. Francis. That's where we will be celebrating our first mass of the pilgrimage next Saturday!

Have a little fun!

It's just one week until take-off....  please enjoy this bit of travel-based humor!

Early Voting Begins Today

We will be away during the November 8 elections.

The early voting site for Wake County is in downtown Raleigh:

Wake County Board of Elections
337 S. Salisbury St
Raleigh

Varia....

I have lots of things to throw at you today!

1. Italian Lessons part two: Joe, our intrepid teacher has agreed to come back and give you another lesson (and on his birthday, no less!)  That will be this Sunday, October 23 after the 11:30am Mass (so- about 12:40-1:40?). It will be in the Living Room of the CARE Center, and a couple people have already volunteered to bring some food. 

2. Interesting links on the US Airways website: Just looking around there today, I found "Tips for healthy travel", a list of movies (Video on Demand) offered in November and sample menus offered on the transatlantic flights.

3. Headsets: it took a lot of searching the US Airways website to find that there is a $5 charge for headsets - which are helpful if you actually want to hear the movie you are watching! However, I'm fairly certain that you can bring your own earbuds/headset along and plug it in. If any of you frequent travelers know that I am wrong, please correct me! And if you end up purchasing them, keep them for the return (and future) trip(s).

Another test

If you only see a blank space here...
Sorry: Blogger turns the video that was created on an iPad into a format that can't be viewed on an iPad or iPhone. Go figure.

Come, flu away!!

I got my flu shot today. Have you gotten yours yet?

Considering all those hours on a plane with all that recirculating air, I'm taking every precaution I can to stay healthy for our pilgrimage.

Alerting your bank and credit card company

Before you leave for Italy, please be sure to contact your bank and credit card companies to let them know your will be out of the country. Otherwise, they might see attempted spending coming from a place they know you don't live and suspend or cancel your account!

That's generally a good thing, a safety measure to guard against someone running up huge bills on your card without your knowledge. But if it happens while you are away, and you don't have alternate options for money. Well.... that could get tricky!

So please, sometime BEFORE November 3, call the customer service number for your ATM and Credit Cards, and tell them when and where you will be away. (Don't bother bringing your DISCOVER Card, that's hardly accepted at all in Europe).

As a guide, here is a list you can tell the customer service rep:
November 3: Philadelphia
Generally, November 4-12: Italy (Rome, Assisi, Spello, (and if you choose a tour: Florence/Pompeii)
November 12: Rome, Philadelphia, return home.

If they want your list more detailed:
November 4: Italy: Rome, Assisi and points in between.
November 5-7: Assisi (Spello, Montefalco, perhaps-- near Assisi)
Nov 7-12: Rome
Nov 10: Rome and if you choose an optional tour, either Florence or Naples and Pompeii

Let me also encourage you to review the items listed as blog topic "get ready" (list at right), as you continue to prepare for our adventure!

More Italian Lessons?

If you would like to meet with Joe again to learn a little more Italian before our trip, our professor is up for it! I saw him this morning, and he'd be happy to meet, as long as there are 5-6 interested people. I bet timing is somewhat flexible, so if you are interested , please either comment here or email me, with your preferred time to meet (Saturday evening? Sunday after the 11:30 mass... )

And a question: I had posted a short test video a few days ago, but tonight I don't see it here (under the 'just for fun' title)... Can you see it?

Just for fun!

This video is apparently not visible on iPads or similar mobile devices. I'll see if that can be fixed.

Tips

Your fellow pilgrims are weighing in with ideas to help us all get ready!

Gary reports that:

I was at Bed Bath and Beyond (Crossroads) today and noticed that they have an excellent selection of travel items including toiletries and the "travel adapters for electric outlets" that were mentioned at the meeting.   The adapters cost about $20.
(Note: BB&B always has coupons in the mail, don't forget to use them!)

And Don has checked out AAA:

I checked into purchasing Euros at AAA since we are members, and there is no fee if fellow travelers are AAA members.  AAA also has passport and credit card safety holders for purchase – so our information cannot be detected by someone directing an electronic device toward us and scanning them.

In case you aren't sure about the 'scanning' part, new passports and some credit cards now have chips in them that could be scanned within a few feet, if someone with bad intention and the right equipment passes near you.  Have you ever stayed in a hotel with card entry and your door key stopped working? It was probably because you stored it in your wallet next to one of those credit cards with a smart chip and it messed up the code (I get the concept; I don't know all the technical words... oh: "RFID readers"). Anyway, there are now safety wallets that block those signals from being read. AAA, Bed Bath and Beyond, travel catalogs like Magellan's or TravelSmith have them, and I'm sure many other places!

A necessity? No. Just for your information.

While looking at the Magellan's website, I found this page on safe travel tips. Now, there is no need to get paranoid and uber-cautious, but a read-through wouldn't hurt, either!

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi

illustration by Sue Todd

Today is the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, at whose tomb we will celebrate the first mass of our pilgrimage in a little over a month!

Please click here for some background information on him.

Getting to and from the airport

Have you thought about how you are getting to and from RDU yet? 

• Maybe you are lucky and have a family member or friend who will drop you off and pick you up!
• Or maybe you plan to drive yourself and pay for parking?
• Or maybe you are considering a taxi service?

If you are considering one of those last two options, I'll make a couple suggestions here, but would also like to hear from you, if you know of better ways to do this economically. Now- by mentioning specific companies, I am not necessarily endorsing those companies - they are simply options I am familiar with, to get you thinking on your own!

Drive and park yourself.

• You COULD use any of the airport parking lots, and of course, the further from the terminal you park, the cheaper per day it is. The cheapest rate is $6 per day. I used to do this, but got frustrated by how infrequently the shuttles seemed to run. That's an inconvenience on the way home, but if you are running a little late arriving at RDU, it can make anticipating checking in on-time a nail-biting experience.
• There are now a few companies that have private lots near the airport and operate frequent shuttle service, picking you and your luggage up at your vehicle, and delivering you back to it upon your return. Most also have a 'rewards' program, that give you a free day for every 8 or 10 days paid, and average about $5/day. Pre-flight charges a slightly cheaper rate if you do not use covered parking, Fast Park has all covered parking and offers a free car wash upon your return. Both often have coupons in the newspaper or in those coupon mailings.

Use a taxi/limo service.

Admittedly, I have little experience with this, but when I went to Italy 6 years ago, 6 or 7 of us parked at one couple's house and we all rode one van to and from the airport together. We used White Horse limo company and my foggy memory has it costing each person about $15, roundtrip. Their website has a place to punch in details and get a price quote. Of course, there are other taxi companies and rates vary depending on distance.

Calling you frequent travelers: what are your tips for getting to and from RDU economically?!

Tips

What a fun evening tonight! It was so nice to put faces to names, and have a little time together in anticipation of our trip.

If any of you would like a follow-up session with Joe in order to practice some more Italian, please just email me.

Here's a packing tip I forgot to mention: bring along a small flashlight (or a book light, or one of those lights on a headband thingies, or whatever). In case the power goes off in the hotel, you won't be stuck in total darkness. I don't anticipate this to be a problem specific to Italy - I just usually do this whenever I travel.

Don't pack a hair dryer. Your hotel room will have one, and you'd need an adapter/converter in order to use yours, anyway.

You can save some space by not packing a pair of socks for every day of the trip. You can wash them out at night and wear them another day.

For other tips, please click on the "packing ideas" label in the right column.

Beware the Gladiators!

I heard a story last night that I thought it would be good to pass along. At the Coliseum in Rome, there are men who dress up as Roman Gladiators, and invite you to have your picture taken with them 'for a tip'.

Their idea of a tip, you find out AFTER the photos are taken, runs in the Euro 10-20 range, and if you were naive enough to give your camera to one of them to take the pictures, you won't get it back until you pay up!

My thoughts: If you absolutely HAVE to have a photo of these 'gentlemen', use your zoom lens and try to sneak one while they are busy scamming someone else! Better yet, go explore the Coliseum and ignore them entirely.

Besides, Swiss Guards at the Vatican have more colorful uniforms, are usually younger and more, hmm, photogenic, and don't charge you anything.

The bottom line: you'll be traveling with a group of people- there really is no need to give your camera to a complete stranger.