Rome Trip - July 6: Via Triumphalis to Holy Cross

If you’ve been following along, or even if not, I’ve been typing nearly unedited from notes I made during our July 2007 Rome Pilgrimage. Izzy's volunteered to help with the transcriptions - what a guy!


Seen on the way to the Vatican this AM

Out to Vatican Museum for Via Triumphalis (excavations) Tour. We arrived about 9 AM for our 10:45 AM tour. We’d thought we might get in line for regular Vatican Museum tickets while we waited. When we arrived, the line was already over 1 mile long. So, we waited by the guard area (where one waits for special tours) and re-planned our day. I got a bit grumpy (fatigue definitely a factor) when one particular police officer kept returning to the spot where were had to wait to take his many smoke breaks. I don’t adapt well to smokers…



Once it was time for the tour to begin, we were badged and taken into the Vatican Museum to buy our tix. We began to hope that we would be brought back to this same spot at the end of the tour to get regular museum tix – no such luck…


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We were handed off to an Italian tour guide. We walked quite a ways through streets (limited access, I think – there was no one around) to a spot underneath the car park/repair depot. This is the Via Triumphalis, where they have begun excavations on 1st C. BC/AD military graves. I experienced some confusion during the tour until I realized that our guide was speaking accented English, while my ears were trying to hear “American.” Izzy, of course, had no trouble – he’s got the gift of ears, I think…

The 2nd excavation site was 2nd-4th century graves. There were family crypts & sarcophagi, and shallow, newly unearthed, graves of pilgrims who died when coming to St. Peter’s.


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The sculpted bust of one infant really moved me – how long must his parents have held in their hearts the face of their dead child while directing the work of the sculptor?

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(Latin students get ready – these may appear on a quiz)

We took lunch under the Colonnade, near the Papal apartments and the Vatican post office. We tossed crumbs to pigeons as we had at Lateran on Wednesday. There were cute kids playing by the drinking fountain and chasing the birds. I’ll admit I reacted badly to a man who sat right by me and lit up without asking – I’ve got to someday figure out how to be more prosaic about this, while still being able to avoid migraines…



Izzy checked – there will be no Papal audience this coming Wednesday. Oh well, that makes another reason to be sure and toss our coins into the Trevi fountain when we get there.

We opted to go back to the apartment and rest up for the afternoon’s activities. We stopped for groceries and came back to the apartment – the plan was for me to nap for about an hour and then head to the Capuchin cemetery. I slept over 2 hours (needed it!) Izzy opted not to wake me.

We re-did our plan again (Izzy is remarkably flexible) and decided to take the Metro to Lateran and stroll to Holy Cross in Jerusalem (Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.)


Francis waving to Jesus & His pals at Lateran.

We had a nice stroll through the park between the churches – it was great to see kids and families – real people.


People said: "Don't wear sneakers, so you'll blend in with the Italian women." I think more than my sneakers made me stand out from the locals!

We arrived at Holy Cross during sung Vespers. Very nice sound in the Basilica!


Constantine
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They don’t allow photography. Izzy got a few pix inside, but my camera was too noisy to use. Saw major relics brought back by St. Helena (who also had a chapel dedicated to her, under which was earth from Calvary.)

Relics were:

• Pieces of the True Cross,
• a finger of Doubting Thomas,
• thorns from the Crown of Thorns,
• a Crucifixion nail,
• a large piece of wood could be a cross beam? (Note: reported to be the cross beam from the cross of the Good Thief), and
• the Titulus, or Identification placed onthe cross identifying Jesus in three languages. HTis piece is espeically interesting, since (I read) the letters were written by someone who was not a native Latin speaker. All the "labels" are written right to left.

They also had a fabric relica of the Shroud of Turin, which gave us the chance to take time to see what has fascinated pilgrims for so many years.

Relics of the True Cross
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Finger of Doubting Thomas
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Titulus
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I'll leave it to others (curators, historians, bishops, etc.) to discuss the provenance of these relics, and how likely it is that any of them are what they are purported to be. I do know that these objects have inspired and drawn people to prayer since the early 4th century - and that can't be bad. We prayed as well, knowing we were following the example of so many who have gone before us.

There was a special display on a child called Nennolina (Antonietta Meo) who died at 6 1/2 years of age from osteosarcoma. While alive, she wrote holy letters and got the attention of the Pope. July 3rd had been the 70th anniversary of her death. It looks like the people here are hoping for “Blessed” status. Saw her grave in church wall.

After Vespers, quite a few Italian women gathered for a Rosary. They finished up after Mass was supposed to start, but Fr. knew to wait on them. I stepped out during the Rosary to eat a protein bar and discovered that the bookstore was open. I picked up postcards of the relics here.

The Mass was in a lower chapel and completely in Italian. The priest was quite elderly. Older, tiny Italian women seemed to lead all the prayers &c. The lector was female, too. I think the Old Testament reading concerned Sarah. (Update: Yes, it concerned her death & burial.) Izzy commented that he missed being able to understand the readings.

The priest sat in a... cloister? cage? Behind a locking grate for the readings and re-emerged for the Gospel.

The seats built for pews/kneelers had a shelf built into the backrest that might have been designed to hold books, but several of the women used these to hold their canes.

Both Izzy and I had to bend down pretty far to receive the Body of Christ on our tongues - the priest was well under 5 feet tall. I've heard that many Europeans of that generation (70's & 80's, now) were terribly undernourished during their post WW1 childhood years and were stunted in their growth. We saw plenty of examples of this.

We headed back through the park after Mass. There were more kids and families as well as old men playing cards and checkers.



Almost home, we stopped at an internet café, Izzy’s second trip today, to check on addresses for the postcards. We got most of what we needed, and it only cost €1 for nearly an hour.



The plan was to make pasta tonight, but we stopped by a restaurant that had Pizza Margherita to go (per portare via) for 4€. We took that back to the apartment for dinner, made lunches, cleaned up, and finished the post cards.

We planned a very early start for the next day. We want to be at the Vatican Museums by 7:30 AM. Then the Capuchin Cemetery, the Galleria Borghese, and dinner at the Spanish Steps. Whew!

Flickr pages for today:

• Before Via Triumphalis Tour
• Via Triumphalis Tour
• St. Peter's to Park near Laterano
• Santa Croce in Gerusalemme
• Friday night Stroll

Rome Trip - July 5: St. Peter's Bottom to Top

Up at 7-something. Body in shock, thinking it's 1 AM. Out by 8 - walked to Metro Station (Vittorio Emmanuel.) Bought our week-long passes at the local tobacconist - the ticket dispensing machine in the Metro didn't want to take plastic.


(Or, bip and don't go...)

The Metro was very crowded - rush hour. Izzy almost didn't make it onto the train on our first ride. Eau de subway already pretty strong.

Emerged at Hostia de San Pietro. Walked 4-5 blocks to a side entrance into the Piazza - we're finally here at St. Peter's Basilica!

I like the idea of crossing a national frontier w/o a passport. We picked up new "Pope-eners" (beer bottle openers w/Papal heads - these were of B16) at the tchotchke stand.

We arrived around 9:15 AM. Took pics in the Piazza (St. Peter's Square) and made a brief visit inside of the church before our 10:45 AM Scavi tour reservations.


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(Totus Tuus - another of the ever-present reminders of John Paul 2)
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Also stopped in the Vatican bookshop - lots to drool over in there.


The Catechism - in Latin!

Multi-language sections, not all selections duplicated in all languages. Found a 2006 liturgical pocket calendar for Izzy (which we opted to pick up later in the day when our bag would have more room (i.e., after we'd eaten the lunches.)


(Scavi Office - thence underground to the 1st century level and burial site of St. Peter)

Scavi tour: we had a priest from the Netherlands who was a very good story teller (kept our interest very well) and who actually appeared to believe the history he was relating to us. Very nice for his audience, and it certainly helped maintain the perigrini mood. Good explanations of the history of Roman burial traditions in addition to the history of the site traditionally believed to St. Peter's resting place. It was an emotional moment when we were given a chance to pray in front of Peter's bones.


(Wall painting of sun God as Christ - only shot taken on Scavi tour)

Diabetes content - skip if you'd like. I had a surprise pre-lunch blood sugar of 113. It was 1:30 Rome time, and I'd eaten nothing since 7:30 AM. I'd felt weak and hypo just as the tour was starting - this would have been around 4:45 AM body clock time - likely my normal low followed by glycogen production to elevate my glucose level. (Couldn't eat on the tour.) I'm still planning to follow the Roman clock - it's too hard to eat and do our activities on the US clock. It will just take awhile to adjust. Lunch, which we ate on the steps, was bread and cheese sandwiches that Izzy makes and packs. Bottled H2O.

Trip to the Dome. Now that we've been to the bottom, let's head up to the top. Very long line for the dome/cupola. Very interesting dress on some women/girls - not quite getting the meaning of Vatican attire rules.


(No amputees(?), no leiderhosen)

One girl had a light grey shawl covering spaghetti straps (OK) but enough of a gap between the bottom of her shirt and top of her pants that the "whale tail" and severely sunburned area beneath it (caudal to it) were quite visible. One girl was wearing plastic sleeves under her tank top - it was hot and they were completely stuck to her skin!


(Plastic sleeves!)

We opted to buy lift tickets: it took off 223 of the 553 steps, leaving 330 steps to climb. We made it up with a few brief rest periods (mainly for me - Izzy was very patient!) The view was totally worth it! Lots of pics!


(inside the dome, before the main ascent)
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(Look, Ma - we made it!)
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We headed back down the steps to the Bernini Plaza (rooftop) where we found a souvenir shop, a gelato/coffee shop and a Vatican Post Office.


(Bernini Plaza)
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(Blue Vatican Post Box, souvenir & coffee shops)

I picked up postcards to complete tonight and mail tomorrow when we return for the Via Triumphalis Tour. Izzy got a cappuchino - I've never seen the attraction for hot drinks in hot weather, but he sure was happy. Back down the elevator, which opened directly into the Basilica. Guards made sure everyone was covered before we disembarked (scarves on, hats for men off.) More walking around, oohing and aahing over the decoration, statues, etc.


(Pieta)
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(St. Veronica - go to Flickr for larger shots of "true icon")
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(Rubbing Peter's toes - nearly worn away)
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(Side altar - everything here is beautiful!)
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(Station V)

Sacraments. After checking the schedules, we headed over to the Sacramental area for confessions. It was wonderful to see how many languages were available. Izzy wound up with a priest who wanted to talk, including about the upcoming motu proprio (once he learned Izzy's occupation); my confessional experience was more about guidance and assurance. God doubtless guided us to the right confessors.

After Reconciliation, we headed over to the Adoration Chapel for Benediction. There was a guard stationed there to keep tourists & cameras away. Izzy approached with hands folded and said "Perigrini, non turistas." I pulled the lacy shawl I was carrying over my head - no problems getting in. The service of Benediction was somewhat different from what I am used to -- mainly in the music used. I was able to follow along with the Tantum Ergo. The rest was in Italian.

We next headed up to the very front chapel for 6 PM Mass. Prior to Mass, there was a ceremony of readings about St. Peter, our status as peregrini, etc. They must use this service often - papers were re-collected afterwards before Mass started.



The first reading was about Abraham being asked to sacrifice his son, Isaac. (Yes, my Italian -- I think it was Italian -- is improving a bit.) Gospel was in Latin, along with the rest of the Mass. Izzy was able to follow along with all of the responses. I knew a few of the major "mass part" chants.

There was a choir from the US singing Latin throughout. They closed, however, with the spiritual "Ezekiel Saw the Wheel."

There was a male reader, a primary celebrant and three con-celebrating priests. There was passing of the peace, so I assume it was a V2 Mass; it was my first Latin Mass - in St. Peter's!


(Receiving the Keys - detail of pillar near statue of St. Peter)

As Mass ended and we turned to leave, I noticed that there was quite a crowd behind the partition watching us. Surprisingly, we really couldn't hear them during Mass. Strolling out, we notice that the church is much quieter than before. We headed back out to pick up the Latin prayer book & calendar.

Commuting. It's now early evening. The metro is far less crowded than before. At our station , the escalator is broken. Many, many steep stairs - we were glad for the rest period we'd had after climbing the dome. The repair crew turned it back on just as I stepped off - too late for me, but welcome to the families carrying babies and strollers up the steps.

Dinner. Back to the apartment; we napped until 8:30. Up for showers, then strolled downstairs to the Trattoria Morgana for dinner. Discovered that lots of folks knew about the Thursday night gnocchi, and they'd sold out of it. Nigerian/British couple next to us at dinner asked how we'd found out about the restaurant - apparently it's quite well known. Who knew? We were just lucky to have chanced on it next door.

Izzy had veal; I had the same dinner as Tuesday (bruschetta pomodori and asparagi.) Opted for vino (glucose was 80 before dinner - didn't bother to check afterwards.)

We sat at the table and filled out the many postcards we'd picked up. We had plenty of time - meals are very leisurely here - and we were done at 11:40 PM. We took a post-prandial stroll to the Bancomat (ATM) nearest Sta. Maria Maggiore.

Caught up a bit on journal entries before bed. We'll mail as many cards as we have addresses for tomorrow (now today.)

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Valuable Travel Tip: bring postal addresses with you.
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Flickr Collections for Today:

• 1st Trip to St. Peter's
• St. Peter's Square
• St. Peter's Basilica
• St. Peter's - Trip to Top

Anniversary

Taking a brief break in the travelogue posts, I wanted to mention that as of today, Izzy and I have been married 24 years.

(Pause for gasps of "It can't be - you're so young!)

There isn't an official 24th anniversary gift, so I'll have to content myself with 2/5th's of the 60th gift (diamonds), or 24 clocks (1st), 12 pieces of china (2nd), 3 pieces of pottery (8th), or some other combination. Or not...

I notice that none of the gift suggestions includes travel. I'd strongly recommend it - you don't have to dust travel when you get home.

Come to think if it, Izzy bought a watch (15th) and we picked up some Moroccan leather (9th) on our trip, so we're good for 24.

And, based on the good gifts that God has given us in each other, and reliant on His grace, given in this Sacrament, we look forward to many, many more years together.

I love you ... ect.

Rome Trip - July 4: Garibaldi is 200! (Part 2)

Back down the street to the Basilica of San Clemente. Smallish as basilicas go – cosmatesque pillars similar to those found in the Lateran Cloister – more stones still in situ.

We toured the excavations area on the 1st & 2nd levels below the present church – which includes the tombs of St’s Cyril (& Methodius??), and some ancient frescos. Bought postcards of the sights which were impossible (and forbidden) to photograph. The 2nd level, with the Mithraic and Christian sections was especially interesting, including the carved marble piece with the Mithraic bull and other symbols.



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Opted not to stay for the 6 PM Mass – headed back to Lateran for the Scala Sancta.

Like anyone coming to these steps for the 1st time, I was most interested in seeing the blood stain that is purported to have come from Christ. The only way to see this (without stepping over a bunch of people) is to climb the stairs on one’s knees. That confirmed my resolve to do so. The steps were very crowded and the climbing process was very slow. Lots of folks were praying (I said a Hail Mary on each step); one priest and nun were doing a decade of the Rosary on each step, until the line got too backed up behind them and they finished the climb. Certainly the prayers and the sensations from your knees took you away from concentrating on your surroundings – this explains all the signs warning of pickpockets (who would have to be climbing the steps, as well -- that’s a lot of work!)



There was no 6 PM Daily Mass in the Papal Chapel at the head of the steps – it’s closed on Wednesdays.



We stepped outside, and I eagerly (OK, non-grumblingly) paid € 3,50 for a bottle of Coke Light from a roach coach.

We stopped in a bookshop across the street and picked up a couple of items.

I have been touching my Rosary to something at each site we’ve been to thus far – I’m not really superstitious – more like creating 4th & 5th degree relics.

We headed back to the apartment, stopping briefly at an Internet Café. I don’t type well or fast, and didn’t feel like paying by the minute for long posts. Will blog when we get home from the notes I’m taking. I did post briefly on the memory card disaster and changed my location on Facebook.

Continuing our walk back to the apartment, we stopped in at a gelateria. Izzy had a cone; I discovered soy gelato made without sugar – had a guilt free tiny cup. We ran into our landlady, Maria, as we sat outside.



Back to the apartment. The key to the courtyard door used by 6 floors of residents broke off as Izzy turned it. If the door (which has a magnetic component to it) were to close, it could not be opened from the inside. Izzy found the hole in the marble and a nail behind the door – this has happened before, hmmm, and propped the door open. Using the Lonely Planet phrase book, he created a sign warning folks to not shut the door, and posted it with some of the duct tape we’d used to identify the suitcases. He also blocked the lock and the door jamb to keep it from closing fully. We met the couple in the room next to ours – visiting from Slovakia, and made sure they knew not to try and close the door. They informed us that they’d seen a sign and knew not to (our reassurance that we were at least comprehensible, and perhaps even grammatically correct.)



Now to try and find Maria.

On the way out to eat, stopped at a closer Internet Café to make a call – no answer at home or on the cell. Cannot send an email: “The Internet is down – come back tomorrow.”

Dinner at Tempo de Mecenate (41 Vacca Marco.) Izzy had Pizza Capricola (verrrry thin crust!); I had roasted veggies and bruschetta. We’re taking all our meals inside – all the restaurants have Vietato Fumare signs inside, and tons of smokers outside.

Tried the calls again – eventually reached Maria who came out with her son to extract the key stub and provide us with another key; this must happen often – the son handed Izzy a key from a rather large ring of identical keys.

To bed finally – we’ll need to be up early tomorrow for the Scavi tour.

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Flickr sets for July 4:

• Laterano


• Ludus Magnus


• Colosseo


• San Clemente


• Scala Sancta


• Walk "home" on Via Merulana

Rome Trip - July 4: Garibaldi is 200! (Part 1)

Independence Day. Up at 9 AM, our bodies think it is 3 AM. Blood glucose readings off; it expect they will be for a couple of days.

We’d originally planned to try and get tix to the general audience when we arrived on Tuesday. By the time we got phone cards, the number at the Vatican Prefettura della Casa Pontificia wasn’t being answered. So, we opted to start the day at the Lateran basilica.

In honor of the 4th, I’m in red (shirt), while (sox) & blue (skirt). Izzy is in a red shirt w/khakis. We stopped on the way up the hill to Lateran at the local office products superstore to buy additional memory cards.


(Madonna of Czestochowa - reported to be a favorite of John Paul II)

After shooting with this camera for three full days, I thought I’d check the capacity. Chose the wrong function, and suddenly discovered I had re-formatted the entire memory card. All Durham, Philly & early Rome shots were gone. Fatigue and disappointment – I’ll admit to not taking it well. Realized that only the Philly & Durham shots were irreplaceable – so set out to start replacing Rome shots.


(Entrance of Lateran from Via Merulana)

We went to Mass at 11 AM in the side/Adoration Chapel. It was a daily Mass, with no homily. This was the case in all of the daily Masses (non-festiva) we attended. I noticed that it was the 2nd we’d attended with a female lector. I’d been reading a bit in the blogosphere in preparation for the Motu Proprio, and had seen lots on how there should be no female lectors. It seemed as if perhaps this wasn’t seen as a horrible thing here in the seat of all Catholicism. I noticed plenty that would irk a strict Traditionalist during our stay… but that’s another entry.

It was neat to see several religious present in their habits (both genders).


(St. Bartholomew, carrying the skin wherein he was flayed alive - view larger size to see the face)

Lots of pix inside, including the amazing monumental statues of the apostles. Paid admission to the Cloisters, a nice breezy, refreshing setting for a stroll.


(Cloisters, cosmatesque tile work on columns.)

I was especially interested in seeing the Papal chair with the hole that was rumored to be used to confirm the gender of a newly elected Pope. Based on the size hole, I don’t think any of the legend is accurate, but it is certainly interesting to have known about this stuff ahead of time. Izzy had done a fantastic job of assembling books for me to read before our trip, so I’d be better prepared.



(Papal Chair, hole viewed from underneath)



We took our lunch on the Piazza, after we’d located the statue of Constantine. Izzy each day packed sandwiches and we carried bottles of water – saved bunches of €€. We’d planned to climb the Scala Sancta next, but saw it was closed to about 3 PM.

Hiked over to the Colosseum (Colosseo.) Admission was free today in honor of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Guiseppe Garibaldi. Huge crowds for security and long lines – free tix will do that. It certainly looked different from the way it appears in movies – lighting, angles, etc., even from modern era flicks.



On the way towards the Colosseum, we’d passed the ruins of the Ludus Magnus, the gladiator training school.



Once we got inside the Colosseum, we oohed and aahed over the view, the steps, etc.



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There was also an exhibit on “Eros” on the 3rd (top) level. Izzy was a great tour guide of history, art, translating plaques and re-telling the myths, etc.



There was a concert of some other event being set up on the hill at the Temple of AMOR today. (It's the temple that back up to the Temple of ROMA.) Some access blocked. We’ll come back on another afternoon to see the Forum.

Rome Trip - July 3: Home in Rome!

Took the train from Fiumicino to Stazione Termini. We bought two tix @ 11 € each – no one collected them. Izzy tells me that the Italians know this, and often don’t buy tix or validate bus or subway tix – however, the fine if you get stopped by an inspector and caught is 65 €. Not really worth the risk.

Walked from Termini to Alberto & Maria’s. I got my first sightings of vast seas of scooters, Smart Cars, Romany beggars @ churches, etc. Tired from the travel – gotta get a pad for the handle of my rolling bag.

Arrived at the side street, then located the apartment building. Seeing our luggage, some one asked if we were looking for Alberto & Maria? He let us in and showed us where to buzz to get into “our” section of the building. We took the tiny elevator up to Apt 17, on the 3rd floor (there is Ground, which you ascend stairs to reach, then three more floors up.) There are signs EVERYWHERE reminding people to properly close the elevator doors to that it will operate properly. Apparently, a handicapped gentleman in the 5th floor is frequently trapped without access to the elevator.

We are home in Rome!

Maria, our hostess, was very nice. She gave us a primer to the most useful bus routes and wanted to be sure that wecarried plenty of water and wore sun hats. She was especially solicitous for our safety, with several reminders about pickpockets. Apparently, several folks she has hosted recently have lost $$ while touring the city. We assured her we would be careful.

Nice nap.

Up & cleaned up – decided to stroll to Santa Maria Maggiore. On the way, we picked up a phone card for emergencies. After we bought it, we asked the folks at the tabacchio where we might find a pay phone. They shrugged.

Izzy got his first sighting of an executive scooter on this stroll.

We arrived at the church and saw large crowds inside so decided to go inside. We wandered by & into a side chapel where we joined in the last two decades of the sorrowful mysteries.

(Chapel dome)

The chapel had a sculpted relief of the “snow scene” showing the tradition of how the site was determined for this basilica.

The Rosary was followed by the Divine Praises, with an extended Marian litany.

6 PM Mass: Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle. Eucharistic Prayers done ad orientem. My 1st time to see that. There was a choir of high schoolers from the Seattle area (Columbia Choirs) who provided music for the Mass:

• Latin polyphony @ Entrance
• Offertory: Give Me Jesus (Spritual)
• Communion: In Secula, Seculorum, plus “Lift Mine Eyes” (Ps 121 - ? Rutter setting?)
• Close: Polyphony setting of “Ave Maria.”

Beautifully done, and rightly praised afterwards, outside by their choirmaster. The music brought tears to my eyes – not the last time in Rome that this happened.

We took a stroll afterwards around the Piazza. Picked up a couple of gifts. Located our local supermarket, and picked up soy milk, yogurt, etc. Izzy had already picked up other staples (bread, cheese, cereal, cereal bars & San Pellegrino – the boy does love his “acqua gas.”

Walked back to the apt – put up groceries.

Dinner at a Trattoria Morgana, almost right next to our building. I had bruschetta pomodori (2 BIG slices!) and steamed asparagus with oil & lemon. Izzy had white lasagna and ensalata caprese. Wine was Lacrima Christi (Izzy was very, vary happy to find it.) We shared a bottle of mineral water. Discovered that they will have gnocchi on Thursday – we will definitely be back! A bit of confusion on our part after the meal – we’ll need to look up tipping customs. (Don’t worry – we over-tipped pretty well.)

Post-prandial stroll to San Giovanni in Laterano to check Mass times for the next day – none posted. The obelisk is covered for repairs.

Back to apt for 2nd showers, to bed as our neighbors (building behind us) played their TV for all it was worth. The volume interfered little, if at all, with us falling asleep.

Flickr shots of 1st visit to Sta. Maria Maggiore here.

Rome Trip - July 2-3: Getting to Rome

Up at 4:55 AM! Ready to leave Durham by 5:45 AM. Out to RDU Airport.

There was a very officious line minder at check-in, who couldn’t seem to understand that the signage (Which was the baggage check line?? Which was the ticketing kiosk??) might be confusing to a group of reasonably intelligent people. Note to self: ALWAYS leave time in the schedule for this sort of thing…

Smooth flight to Philly. However …

There was a very loud guy seated 2 rows ahead of us, who turned in his seat to talk to the two men seated in the row just ahead of us (two men it turns out he’d just met!) Very loud, and all golf, all the time. Did I mention the volume? I began to strongly dislike him, but also found myself despairing that my command of cutting wit was so much less than that of Wilder, Muggeridge, etc. How could I cleverly address his volume, the baseball caps (no one is fooled, dude, we know you’re balding), or the sunglasses (take them off already!)

In the Philly airport, picked up (1) a watch for Izzy, (2) another plug converter, and (3) pop-up Rome map for me.

SEPTA (SouthEastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority) train to downtown for $5.50 each, then we walked 10 blocks north on 16th street to North Street. Visiting with friends from Durham & 2 of their grandkids. Lunch of bread, fruit, cheese. Great old-style, newly built row house with stoop, back garden, roof picnic area, etc. Good catching up.


(Note for Dan, etc. Pix of inside of house, and of us w/family & your kids accidentally erased in memory card calamity. Alas!)


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Took the bus (There were no lockers in the Philly Airport, so we’d been lugging our carry-ons during the earlier stroll) back to the “Suburban” stop (across from Independence Hall is suburban?) Thence to the airport via train. No one came to collect our $$ for the fares.

Our plane to Rome was late in boarding, which lead to a bit of a free-for-all in the US Airways Zone loading system. Nice surprise (for me, the very infrequent flier) when we boarded; there were pillows and blankets on EVERY seat, not just a few in the overhead bins.

Movies on the passenger pacification system. I watched Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story. Pasta dinner.

Bumpy air several hours of the overnight portion of flight – Izzy’s innards weren’t too happy.

Flight crew awoke us at 7 AM local time (1 AM EDT.) Crackers & cheese snack. My body clock & blood sugars will doubtless take a few days to adjust to the new time zone.

Landed in Fiumicino Airport, and spent 1 hour in baggage claim. At least we weren’t looking for luggage that had been pulled off of the carousels into several huge, unattended groupings. We’d put orange duct tape on various parts of our luggage - -helped ours stand out from the rest of the sea of black bags.

Off to the train & to Roma!

Rome Trip - July 1: Getting Started

For Gashwin, who claims he may be the only one of our friends who would be interested in the day-by-day account of our trip.

I'm writing, nearly unedited, from notes I made each evening (or the next day, depending on fatigue levels...) Thanks to Izzy for additions and corrections.

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Left our fair city ~ 1 PM - arrived in south Durham ~ 5 PM. Picked up the young woman who would be using the car while we were away.

Drove to a branch of our bank (closest one to where we live is ~ 70 miles) to deposit checks for jury service, tire reimbursement and bday $$ from Mom. (Thanks, Mom!)

Drove to another friend's house in Watts-Hillandale (the last neighborhood we lived in while in Durham). We've now reached the first part of the trip with no independent wheels.

PM: Dinner w/this friend, plus another alto choir comrade at El Rodeo. Nice long getting-reacquainted visit.

Interview

So, the interview scheduled today for 11 AM (what, you hadn't heard I had an interview? I hadn't either, not officially until we got home on Tuesday -- via the mail) has been moved to 11:45, so I'm about to head downstairs and see whether I might be starting another chapter in my employment history.

I'm wearing rayon & acetate, with a cute jacket, faux pearls, stockings, and shortish, but real heels. Who is this woman?

Eighth Evening in Rome

Just a quick check-in. It's my 1st trip to an Internet Café since last Wednesday.

We've been to all but one of the pilgrim basilicas (Mass @ most) and about a dozen other basillicas & churches thusfar. One pilgrim basillica & a couple of other churches to go. Sunday was the day of 7 churches, 4 Masses (we only participated in one) in 3 languages. Today (Tuesday) was the day of 7 fountains. Yesterday felt like the day of 7 miles.... We've each filled two memory cards and started on larger ones.

Izzy came by here earlier today (while the laundry was drying) and read that the moto proprio was released on Saturday. We were at the Vatican Saturday (plus Thursday & Friday) and saw nothing about it in the "local paper." (can't recall exactly how to spell the Vatican paper, but figured folks know which one.) The big doings that got media attention here in Rome that day were huge demonstrations of a fascisti group against the communistis. That, and Live Earth was on. We watched a smidgen, then turned over to a dubbed version of Boston Legal. Five minutes of interest, then we fell asleep.

Besides being unaware of news, we have been pretty much out of contact with most of the living (other than great folks we've met in various lines,) but have certainly seen plenty of the deceased. We'll make a slow re-entry into the land of the living when we leave here on Thursday and fly to Madrid, thence to Algeciras via train & automobile. Home very late next Monday or early Tuesday.

And yes, we really, really are having a great time - I cannot believe that I'm actually on my 8th night anywhere on vacation, much less in Roma.

Enjoy Harry Potter.

Enjoying the trip

Izzy and I are here at an Internet café and I'm trying to get the hang of the Italian keyboard, whilst not spending too much €€.

Dogwood commented on an earlier post:

I'm glad you're not traveling with the laptops. You'll put more time on enjoying the trip instead of documenting it.

There are plenty of internet cafes, so you can catch up with email, and, heaven forbid, blog!

Funny you should write that. This morning, whilst waiting for daily Mass @ St. John Lateran, I had one of "those" moments. I thought I was escaping out of checking the capacity on the memory card, but instead..... itàs just too painful to describe...

So, no photos of the first three days of our travels. We can re-shoot St. Mary Major & the neighborhood where we are staying, so all we've really lost are the Philly shots from visiting our friends there and the pics of where & with whom we stayed in Durham. I've also learned that I don't deal well with this sort of thing at what my body thinks is 3:30 AM.

Brief summary of the trip thusfar (I am keeping a written record, so there will be posts once we're home.)

• Sunday: to Durham after Mass.
• Monday: Durham to RDU to Philadelphia. Day trip into Philly to see old friends, enjhoy a delightful lunch and be amused by their grandkids. Back to airport, flew to Rome.
• Tuesday: Landed, train to B&B (Thanks for the recommendation, Gashwin.) Nap! Stroll to St. Mary Major, 6 PM Mass. Dinner at place next door to where we are staying.
• Wednesday: St. John Lateran (Mass, plus tour of Cloisters), Colosseum (free today, since itàs the 200th bday of Garibaldi), San Clemente, back to Lateran for Santa Scala, brief shopping, 1st trip to internet café. I'm sure there will be other trips, but not for a few days.

BTW: Made it up Santa Scala, now headed in search of liniments for the evening...

Happy 4th to our peeps in the USA.

Last minute details

Izzy & I are just finishing up packing, re-contemplating what's in the bags, weighing the bags, etc. The cat is quite upset by all of the black bags in the living room - this after several evenings of thunderstorms that have forced her to stay hidden behind the couch.

We'll be traveling without laptops - so won't be posting pics until we get home. We'll stop by Internet cafes from time to time, and I'll do my best to document our trip (at least on paper) as we go along. Expect bunches of posts starting around July 18th or so, as we get over the jet lag.

We're taking this trip as pilgrims, and will be trying to get to Mass at each of the 7 basilicas we plan to visit. There will also be the pilgrimages to all the gelato stands that folks have recommended to Izzy.

From the Catholic blogosphere, it would seem that we might actually be in Rome when the Tridentine Mass moto proprio is released. But then, I'm sure scads of tourists/perigrini over the past year have thought so as well. I'll nab a Vatican paper on the day it's released, if we're still in Rome.

Looking forward to seeing folks when we return.