Italia day 2 in ROMA

Day two in Rome started as the sun was rising... 6am baby!!  Our group was scheduled to be at mass by 6:45am at St. Peter's Basilica to hear Cardinal Wuerl give the blessings.  That was VERY early for a girl who a) had done SOOO much walking, traveling, exploring, drinking and eating the night before and b) for a girl who doesn't really attend mass in the first place, let alone at 6:45am with a group of people she doesn't know.  All I can say is that I had NO motivation to go.

After we were transferred in our private shuttle, we arrived as the sun was casting a warm glow onto St. Peter's square.  I was pleasantly surprised by this truly breathtaking sight.  The smell of buttery croissants and strong espresso filled the morning air and the fresh dew gave me goosebumps as I stepped out of the shuttle.  The different aromas, the touch of the cool morning mist on my skin and the sound of shop keepers opening their cafes brought me back to my days in Buenos Aires and even 5 year ago to Luxembourg...a brief nostalgia came across me of days gone by.

The warm glow on St. Peter's Basilica

 St. Peter's Square in early morning

We made our way through the metal detectors (and each and every one of us beeped as we walked through) this did not even faze the guards...oh, Rome!  As we entered the INCREDIBLE Basilica, (for the second time in my life) I was yet again overcome by its enormity and of course detail.  The art and history that emanates throughout this Church is indescribable and must be seen with your own eyes to truly believe the magnitude that it permeates.  We were directed to a private sector in the basement of the Basilica (a very rare occurrence for most people) and arrived at the Tomb of St. Peter where we sat on very stiff wooden benches and then had to kneel on VERY uncomfortable stools (my knees actually did scrape from this).  It was here that I began to truly take in the scenario around me.  I was at mass with a CARDINAL (a Prince to the Catholic Church), 6 very religious young priests, and a group of holy Archdiocese lay people, in the basement of the holiest and most powerful Basilica's in the entire world.  Just another standard Friday morning...no big deal.  All I could say was that I felt extremely safe.

Mass in the basement of the Basilica

 Cardinal Wuerl

 Eucharistic Blessing

The Pieta of course!

After mass we walked to a cute Italian cafe, San Pietro, for a stand up Roman-style breakfast of chocolate croissants and espressos!  My coworker, Galina and I sat with two young priests who had graduated form Dematha and just chatted away.  It was here that I had no shame and asked them every question under the sun.  Why priests can't marry, why women can't be priests, do they miss women,  why does the Catholic church not allow gay marriage and my questions went on and on.  It was a great conversation because these young men were extremely honest and had lots to say.  They said it was a true calling for them and yes, most of their lives they did want to get married, however the calling to God was a stronger desire.  I found this to all be extremely interesting.  

We continued our day with a private tour of the Vatican gardens.  This was a lovely part of our morning.  The gardens are grandiose, well manicured and extremely private and therefore peaceful.  We walked the gardens for quite some time and enjoyed learning the history. 

me in front of the Vatican

Guido and Maryanne

 Cherubs (love.)

 St. Peter's Basilica in the distance

Vatican City

Adorable nuns meandering the gardens....

Of course we were all ready for lunch by the time our garden tour terminated...so we headed over for a VERY unique, and special lunch at Cardinal Wuerl's favorite place (the name escapes me).  As we wandered through Vatican city we passed nun and priest stores EVERYWHERE.  There was an overwhelming amount of holy people walking around, nuns on bikes, priests in their robes and hats buying bread, wine etc.  It is humorous to see so many church people in their habits and "uniforms?" walking about the city...there really is nothing quite like it.  An entire country (Vatican City) of holy people...  We enjoyed our lunch with the entire group- this consisted of meat pasta, meat lasagna and meat vegetables and meat other things (yes, very challenging for a vegetarian turned vegan turned vegetarian again, but what are you gonna do when the Cardinal chooses the menu??)  Regardless of the meat situation (I just ate around it and filled up on the endless bottles of wine placed at our tables), it was delicious and fun!!  

Cardinal Wuerl's favorite restaurant

Galina and I had free time after the meal so we set out to tour the entire city of Rome.  We visited Hadrian's Tomb (BEAUTIFUL terrace view that overlooked the entire city), we went over to the Trastevere district, walked around Piazza Navona and admired the delicate paintings and crowds of people lounging by the fountains.  We literally walked and walked until we were about to collapse.  After our long day and a few hours where we separated (Galina read a book at the hotel and I of course shopped!) we met up again and walked through the plaza near our hotel to find a restaurant for dinner.  I had heard that Scusate il RitardoTrevi Fountain one last time- it's truly spectacular at night because it is all lit up!  An overall great day, full of sight-seeing, holy times, great food and of course wine!  

 Terrace at Hadrian's Tomb

View from the top of Hadrian's Tomb- the Basilica in the background

 Paintings in Piazza Navona

 Patheon at night

The end of day 2!

Tutte le strade portano a Roma!! aka "All roads lead to Rome!

As you already know, I got back from Italy a few weeks ago and have been meaning to blog about my experience.

I guess I will start with what the trip to Italy was for.

Guido (my boss) plans group trips throughout the year- some religious pilgrimages, some food and wine tours and the others are just miscellaneous/ personal vacations.  For more information or examples of our upcoming trips please visit our website: http://www.bethesdatravel.com/travel/group-trips/

My trip to Italy was organized with the Archdiocese of Washington as a group pilgrimage.  It was planned for the holy mass dedication of the Titular Church (St. Peter in Chains) to Cardinal Wuerl! (Google what this is all about!).  In other words, a select few and very holy people from the Archdiocese of Washington, and a select few priests were all invited to see Cardinal Wuerl receive his "church" in Rome.  The week consisted of priests (between the ages of 23-27), EARLY morning masses, wine lunches, tours of the Basilica, Vatican Gardens, Ancient Forum and of course, wine and gelato!

Guido had asked that me and my coworker, Galina,  experience Rome, Florence and other parts of Tuscany to gain a better understanding of the areas in which we send most of our clients.  Who could argue?  We were sent on this trip in the hopes of understanding the geography of each place as well as putting faces to names (we met plenty of our trusty guides and private transfers that take care of all our clients).  We also had the chance to stay and see many of the restaurants and hotels that our clients use when they visit the Romantic Country. 

 Day 1: Lets start at the beginning.  The airport was a breeze because I packed one carry-on and big purse.  For those of you who know me, I can barely pack an over sized suitcase for a one-night sleepover (I like options) so to pack a carry-on for 5 days in Europe...is literally a miracle (it made traveling SO MUCH EASIER!!!) 

After our 8ish hour flight, we (Galina, Maryanne-Guido's wife and I ) arrived in Rome at about 8:30 in the morning.  Guido was already in Italy and met us at the airport.  We gathered the other people on our trip and took a van with a private driver through the city to our hotel.  Now, let me back up a minute...I have never travelled luxuriously (unless it was with my parents for a few days when they visited me in both Luxembourg and Argentina) and even then...we took taxis, walked everywhere and were our own tour guides.  This past trip to Italy was totally different.  We were shuttled around everywhere with a private driver, we had private tour guides, all tickets had been purchased in advance (so no waiting in lines), all restaurant reservations and meals had been pre-arranged and served upon arrival, and we were treated like royalty at our hotels since we are a travel agency and they wanted us to advertise them!

Here is the view from the front door of our hotel in Rome 

Albergo de Senato

Amazing hotel, with a perfect location right next to the Pantheon!

Me in front of the Pantheon!

Enjoying a cafe with Guido and Maryanne in front of our hotel

The church where we celebrated mass on our first day in Rome 

After a lovely mass, our group of priests and Archdiocese members walked over to "La Vecchia Romana" for a yummy lunch of pasta, wine, evoo, bread and salad, oh, and of course tiramisu!! 

I was lucky enough to sit with the four young priests and be able to chat about all my burning questions; why someone would want to be a priest, did they ever want to be married, do they have second thoughts, why can't priests marry, why aren't women priests, do priests party etc etc.  Thankfully, my new friends were extremely honest and open and didn't even blink an eye at my bold questions. Thank goodness!

After our tasty lunch and detailed conversations, Guido suggested we grab an espresso, like true Italians and head over to St. Peter in Chains (the church in which Cardinal Wuerl receives during his titular mass).  Upon arrival, we were lucky enough to have a private tour with Msgr. Roger Roensch, who talked all about the chains themselves, the history behind the church and of course, the beautiful Moses statue, that is said to represent Michelangelo himself.

Moses statue

Saint Peter's chains

At around 3:30, jet lag hadn't kicked in yet, so Galina and I decided to take advantage of our energy and explore the entire city.  We set out, leaving the group of Catholics behind and saw everything.  We visited the Colosseum, the ancient Forum, the Vittorio Emanuele II (better known as the Wedding Cake), hot army men in front of army tanks, and much more.  For those of you who have visited Rome, you know it is a very walkable city!  After and entire day of flying, mass, eating, priests and walking, we were exhausted and needed a break.  We rested in our beautiful hotel, ate fruit from the complimentary fruit basket, and got some R&R before heading over to the Trevi Fountain, for some pictures and the best gelato

Colloseum

Roman guards

 Ancient Forum

 Roman pilots!

 Our fruit basket

 Our rooftop patio at hotel, in front of Pantheon

 Trevi Fountain

 Spanish Steps

My boyfriend....