Traveling Like a European

We left our stay in Rome this morning after a beautiful breakfast of freshly made croissants, coffee, yogurt and fruit. Our supposedly short trip to the train station turned into a tour of the city, but we made it. We ended up having to purchase train tickets for the first class cars so we didn't have to sit at the station for two hours.

While we were waiting for our train, one of the kids' backpacks was stolen, luckily everything in it is replaceable. This is one of those things that every traveler in Europe experiences at one time or another and it is easy to remedy. It did lead to a reminder about keeping track of every bag and making sure when we are in a train station to keep everything together, important documents on their person or with one of the chaperones, and to be aware that theft is real here. Part of travel is learning how the world works and even though the kids were a bit shaken up they had recovered well by the time we were on the way to Naples.

Because we had first class tickets we had cars a la Harry Potter, minus the every flavor beans and chocolate frogs! The kids were lucky enough to have their own car while the four chaperones cozied up to a couple of Italians who made phone calls at every stop. First class in Italy does not always mean private, but the seats are much more comfortable.

Our two hour trip was delayed a couple of times because of another train which had broken down on the line in front of us. While we waited, we were "treated" to a serenade by one of the other passengers...it was amusing. Especially when a woman keep telling him to stop singing. When we finally got moving again we came upon the Gulf of Formia, and got closer to the ocean. There was an obvious change in the scenery and homes, fewer billboards, more green, and shorter buildings to name a few. I image the streets also had much less trash than in Rome.

When we finally arrived we went through a beautiful subway station and into the  historic district where we were greeted by tons of graffiti! It was truly a day of travel in Italy!

A Papal Audience

This morning we all awoke before 5:30 AM to begin our day at the Vatican. We had no real idea of what to expect, aside from the thousands of chairs we saw yesterday on our way out of St. Peter's Basilica. We had planned to arrive at 6AM, hit the market for a quick breakfast and snack purchasing, but we got out of the Castello a bit later than planned. Several of the kids seemed a bit more tired this morning, but they were in good spirits. 

We arrived at the Vatican to find a mass of people waiting to fill the square, we were all glad we hadn't arrived at 6AM as originally planned. After forming our own little people train to push through the crowd, we swept through the metal detectors and into the sections of chairs. From what we were told, the free tickets we had guaranteed us seats. We were lucky and found seats in the first section of chairs. By 7:30 we were all seated and began the wait for Pope Francis...at 10AM. 

Spirits were still good, but a few of the kids took naps in their seats. It was not a place to just wander around. We had been told by the US Bishop's office to expect 100,000 - 200,000 people. They weren't kidding. The seats filled quickly and we pulled out a few games and were awed by the masses. 

The crowds are nothing like those in the states, even thoughthere were tons of police, secret service, and Swiss Guards throughout the crowd, everyone seemed calm and contented to wait. Even the kids understood the significance of this morning. 

When the time came for the Pope to arrive, the crowd climbed up on chairs as he was driven around the square kissing babies. As we watched, our name was announced as visitors today and we cheered louder than I've ever heard the kids cheer! 

The message was simple, and read in six different languages, remember to love one another and do not feel as though your faith has to be outward only. He then bestowed his blessing upon all of us and our families and loved ones before blessing the relics we had all brought. 

As a non-Catholic I'll never be able to truly understand the intensity and importance of seeing the Pope, but as a person of faith and the world I am glad to have this experience. It is moot to ask, "How many people can say they have seen the Pope in person?" simply because there are so many people at each public audience, but that does not make it less of an amazing and unique experience. 

On our last full day in Rome, we are able to experience something many people in America might balk at, thousands of people gathering together, in peace, to join for a few moments of faith, whether we were all of the same faith or not. I did not feel pressure to change my beliefs, purchase everything the Vatican has to offer, or nervous by being surrounded by thousands. This morning was truly a morning of peace, faith, and joy. I doubt I will ever have a similar experience again, and I hope the kids feel the same way.

Rome - Day 2

I have to say this has been the best day in Italy thus far. We did so much! I was amazed by everything we saw and did. It was a great day, but we still have 14 more days to make this trip a trip of a lifetime!

Yesterday was our first day in Italy and it was exausting for most of us. I think some of us went around maybe 20 hours without sleep. This had been the longest time I have gone without sleeping. It was tough!

Today was awesome! We started off the day by visiting the Vatican. We went to the Vatican museum, Sistine Capel, Saint Peter's Basillica, a Glatiator school, (it was so much fun!) Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and did so much more stuff. It's amazing what we saw. 

Living in the small town of Valentine and at the Coal Mine Ranch for most of the summer, this has been a great experience so far! So many people have told me how amazing Italy is and I have to say it is. It takes some time adjusting to the time and changes, but it is fantastic! 

Tomorrow we are going to the Pope's public audience at the Vatican. There are supposed to be between100,000 to 200,000 people at St. Peter's Square. It is also our last night in Rome so we plan to wonder around the city after dark to see the beauty of it at night!

Rome - Day 1

We have arrived! We got to Rome at 7:30am and didn't stop until 5:00 PM, needless to say, we we exhausted! The kids did an awesome job packing and traveling. They were excited once the first plane took off, Rye asked when the next flight would be as soon as we landed in Atlanta. By the time we got to Rome, they looked like pros. 

The hardest day of international travel is always the first day, clearing customs, finding the stay, finding food, and fighting jet lag. Once again, the kids handled it beautifully. We didn't do much today, we wanted an early night since Day 2 will be early and long. We went to the Colosseo and visited the Basilica of San Clemente where the kids got their first taste of the architecture here and the ornate style of churches. It was really cool for me to see them try to take it in. I think they were not aware how overwhelmed they were with what they were seeing, tomorrow they have even more ahead of them!

We'll try to have someone post daily when we have wifi available. I'm so glad to share this experience with such a great group of kids and am so proud of the new skills they have already acquired (using the metro system and navigating huge crowds of tourists). 

Remember we are 7 hours ahead of Texas time so as I type this it is 1AM and I am sitting online in one of my doctoral classes, I think I'll have a large caffe latte in the morning! For now, ciao!

Almost There!

With less than 10 minutes left for most of the travelers to leave Valentine, I sit here waiting anxiously and decide to write on our blog!

I can't believe it's already here! It's been about a year of waiting for this weekend to get here. Now it's unbelievable that tomorrow morning we will all be getting on that plane and head to Italy!

There's all sorts of emotions going through me right now, first graduation and all the crying from last night, now all this excitement to finally complete our dream. I am literally about to go crazy, I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight because of the excitement.

I hope everyone stays in touch with our blog, here you will be able to see the amazing fun things we will be doing in Italy. And prepare yourselves for when we get back home, I don't think we will be able to shut up for a while. We will have great experiences! 

Milan...the fashion, the art, the shopping!

Our last stop in Italy is the fashionable city of Milan, I'm sure we will all be very tired by the time we arrive, but that doesn't mean we are done yet! The day we arrive, we have a walking tour of the city that includes a viewing of DaVinci's "The Last Supper." Once again, the tour was cheaper than just a viewing of the painting, so we thought we'd learn a little about the city too.

 

"The Last Supper" is arguably one of the most famous and most important pieces of religious art ever created, and according to some was not actually completed. We'll get to decided whether it is complete or not for ourselves!

Other than the tour and art we will be taking in a little culture while in the city. We also have tickets to attend a symphony at the Teatro Alla Scalla, one of the most beautiful opera houses in the world. Mrs. Houy and I are especially excited about this, not only will we get to attend a symphony while in Italy, we will also get to introduce the experience to the kids. It will be a busy day, but I have a feeling it will be awesome!

After our long day of touring and taking in the culture, we will have a down day. It is likely we'll spend this day doing laundry, wandering around the city, and visiting the massive mall in Milan. Some of the boys have already talked about saving up all their spending money so they can buy something snazzy in Milan. I just wonder if I will be able to afford a scarf, assuming I'll even be dressed well enough to be allowed in the stores!

 We'll be staying in a Bed and Breakfast again while in Milan, and it is really cute. We had a difficult time finding a place to stay that would take 10 people in Milan, and when it came down to two options, the seniors chose this one: Antica Corte Milanese

After our short time in Milan, we'll board a train for Zurich and the trip home. Our train will take us through the Alps and I have a feeling I'll be plastered to the window taking in the view. We plan to have updated posts every day or so while we are travelling so be sure to check back regularly. We'll post pictures and some videos so you can see all the fun we are having! For those who have secret hopes of fitting into our luggage, we apologize, but you'll be in our hearts and heads and we travel.

 

Ah, Venice!

After our whirlwind stop in Tuscany we will head to Venice, where we will explore the waterways and visit the palace of the Doges of old. Hopefully no one will be overcome by the sadness on the Bridge of Sighs, because then they won't be able to enjoy the gondola ride!

 

We have arranged a couple of tours of the canal city, one where we will get to visit the palace and take a boat ride out to the island where Murano Glass is made! The other tour is a walk through the city in the evening that ends with a gondola ride. The latter tour was a great find, we wanted to make sure the kids could have the iconic ride, but when we looked at prices, for a 30 minute ride for the 6 of them would have cost us almost as much as a three hour tour of the city where all 10 of us can have a ride! We opted for the three hour tour (doing your homework really makes a difference!)

We also plan to spend the day on the Lido, another day of fun in the sun!  This beach experience will be different from our day in Capri, but we'll have gotten to play at the beach in two different parts of the country! We will have to take a waterbus out to the island, and I'm not sure how long that will take, but it's an adventure!

Once again we'll be staying off the beaten path somewhat. We've rented an apartment just three blocks from St. Mark's Square, and with Venice being full of water it is perfect for us to walk just about everywhere we want to go!

Venice is one of the last stops on our trip, and we'll all be sad to reach this spot (although we won't be sad to get to see it!)