Vini, Vidi, Visa

Our last day in Rome started with a brisk climb to the top of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. Cecilia and I arrived at the "Cupola" line a few minutes after it opened so as to avoid the lines and the crowds. With nobody to slow us down (except some German pilgrims that we eventually passed), we made it to the top in just a few minutes. We were rewarded with some exceptional views and wide open vistas to take as many pictures as we wanted.

We arrived back down to the inside of St. Peter's just in time for 9:00 AM Mass. Although it was in Italian, we think we figured out the Gospel reading although had no clue as to what the priest preached about. Still, Cecilia did attend her first Mass at the Vatican (which satisfied one of my Godfather checklist items.)

Later in the morning we met up with Gail Fiegenbaum and her daughter Phoebe, who is a classmate of Cecilia's from Crossroads. We had also met them last night for dinner. Gail works for the Getty Research Institute and has lived and visited Rome many times. She took us on a tour of the Trastevede neighborhood of Rome. The highlight was a visit to St. Cecilia's of Trastevede. The church as a very dramatic sculpture of St. Cecilia in the posture in which she was found back in the 1800's, complete with the wounds to the neck and her hands in a trinity gesture. Here is a picture of the altar with the sculpture underneath. Despite being somewhat gruesome, we thought it a good thing for our Cecilia to see her namesake and the patron saint of music.

Finally this afternoon, after six days of mostly sightseeing and pilgrimage activities, Cecilia was able to take part in some activities much more natural to a teenage girl: shopping. Cecilia, Gail, and Phoebe took a cab to the Spanish Steps and shopped their way all the back down to the Tiber River (with barely an alley unexplored). Cecilia bought some very hip clothes and a cool leather jacket.

As I write this, our trip is coming to a close. Cecilia was so tired that (after packing) that she fell asleep in our bed. (I guess I will sleep on the sofa after I post this blog.) She has been a really super traveler – lots of fun, very interested in all my Roman, Italian, Catholic information (I have been nicknamed TGTG – Tour Guide Tio Guiso), lots of energy, and good spirits. Her company has been as much a gift to Luella and me as this trip has been a confirmation gift to her. We pray that she may get to make many pilgrimages to Rome in her lifetime and that the things she saw and learned here in Rome make her faith stronger throughout her lifetime.

Cecilia and Luby’s Happy Place

On Friday we visited Hadrian's Villa outside of Tivoli. Hadrian created an extremely sumptuous villa in the first century AD with dozens of buildings, baths, pools, libraries, banquet halls, etc. The ruin that most appealed to Cecilia and Luby was the one shown in this picture. Hadrian created this private retreat surrounded by a circular 15 ft wide moat with draw bridges that he could pull up. He retreated this "island" whenever he wanted to get away from the other guests at the villa. Naturally Cecilia and Luby thought this was an awesome idea. They immediately started to figure out how to pull it off in their current homes. While the final designs are not finished, I have been told that Luis, Caroline, and Emma will not have access to the drawbridge (Bogey is invited).

Deep pursuits and light-hearted pursuits

We got a very early start again this morning and went back to one of our local cafés for café lattes. The café's barrista/counter guy is very "Italian" cranky but his latte's are really good. When properly caffeinated, we headed off to St. Peter's Basilica. Although we had been in the square several times, this was our first trip inside the Basilica. It was nice because at 7:30 AM the crowds were still very light. Cecilia was impressed with the size, scale, sculptures, and especially the mosaics. The picture here is of Cecilia touching the foot of the ancient bronze statue of St. Peter.

At 9:00 AM, we went around to the South entrance for our Scavi Tour of the archeological excavations under St. Peter's. The tour starts at "ground" level (one level below the floor of the current basilica) and goes down from there. The entire tour is in tunnels that have been excavated out from under the current basilica. This tour is not for the claustrophic as all three of us had little bouts sweats and palpitations. Fortunately the information that we were learning was so interesting that it quickly took our minds off of the surroundings. The first part of the tour is of the ancient cemetery that was buried during the construction of the first basilica in 320 AD. The archeologists have uncovered about seven of Roman aristocracy burial tombs. However, as you get closer to the burial place of St. Peter, you begin to see early Christian burial tombs. The highlight of this section was seeing the oldest known mosaic image of Christ.

We then moved farther west to the area where St. Peter was buried. We first saw the marble table that the early Christians built around St. Peter's remains (the view from the south looking north.) Next we went to the west (looking east) and saw the head chapel (named because the altar is right next to where St. Peter's head would have been (albeit on the other side of the ancient wall). Finally, we moved around the north (looking south) and were able to look into the opening where St. Peter's bones are encased in a small glass case. Truly amazing. None of this is visible from the "public" side of St. Peter's. In fact, the guide books don't mention that Peter's remains are actually several feet to the north from where you would expect when looking down from in front of the altar. To end our tour, our guide led us in a prayer. The experience brought some members of our tour group to tears. Even Cecilia was "crazy-impressed."

After such an intense morning, our afternoon was given over to much more light-hearted pursuits. We walked (and walked and walked) through a couple of miles of Roman back streets visiting dozens of little shops and boutiques. We are happy to report that Cecilia found a leather purse (not quite the leather purse) and a cute pair of hot pink leather gloves. After so much walking, we decided to relax at a sidewalk café on Via Veneto to watch the Romans, tourists, and cute little cars go by. Cecilia decided she either wants a Smart Car or a Short Bus (picture included here) for her 16^th birthday. Luella and I brought her to Rome so the Smart Car (or Short Bus) gift is going to be up to Chris and Nora.

Spanish Steps

After we got back from the Piazza Navona we came back to the apartment to rest up a bit before heading out on the evening outing. Of course, a bit of shopping was planned, but with all of our Internet problems, blogging took a lot longer that expected and we missed out on that. Our walk to the metro was pleasant and so was the ride. We took the metro to the Spanish Steps but because there was nothing to do there accept for see the really cool view (pictured left) we caught a cab over to the Colosseum. It was CRAZY. It was like Mr. Toads wild ride. He zipped in and out of alleys so narrow (made even narrower by the dinner cafes) that you wouldn't be able to open your door four inches without hitting a table. After about three near collisions we got to there instantly mobbed by street vendors. No, I do not want a fake flower. It was really fun though.
- Cecilia

Piazza Navona - "Check!"

Not only is Piazza Navona a great place - charming, historic, vibrant, fun - but it was REALLY high on Nora's checklist of things Cecilia needed to see. I told Cecilia that I was afraid that if we did not take her to the piazza for a caffe latte, Nora would send us back. Cecilia thought that was not such a bad deal but we got her there anyway.

Pope Benedict

Pope Benedict is giving a reflection in Italian right now. Six monsignor's read the begining of John's Gospel before his reflection. This is very cool. Even though it is still very hot.

We are sitting in St. Peter's Square ROASTING! We got here early and with Luby's church lady instincts and skills were able to grab great seats. This picture is an un-zoomed view of the chair where Pope Benedict will be sitting in a two hours. It is super hot and poor Cecilia is wilting. She made friends with a nice girl from Chicago who loaned Cecilia an umbrella to shield the sun. I will try to post another blog when Benedict actually arrives.

Don't try this at "Rome"

Most of guide books tell you to not try to see both Christian Rome and Ancient Rome in the same day. Well, Cecilia and I tried it and don't recommend it. We were wiped.

Our day started at the Vatican Museum. By the time we arrived at 8:30 the line was over a quarter mile. A Roman woman was prowling the end of the line asking if anyone wanted to join a guided tour and go to the front of the line. While more than a little suspicious, we went for it. Essentially, it turned out to be a private tour company that has a permit to conduct guided tours of the Vatican. They make their money selling spots to go into the museum before the general admission. They do offer a guided tour but the guide (while genuinely trying) was pretty lame. I could tell Cecilia was not interested and Luella was losing her patience so we decided to venture off on our own.

We were able to see all the highlights (and then some). Cecilia liked and was impressed by all Raphael's and of course by the Sistine Chapel. After reading "Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling" by Ross King. I was even more impressed with the ceiling of the chapel.

In true Latin fashion, we ate lunch and had our second nap in two days. As hot as Rome is, it is a nice way to beat the heat. Luella did not feel well, so Cecilia and I took off to pick up our tickets for the Pope's general audience and to see some more sights. In order, we saw the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Santa Maria Sorpra Minerva, the Campidoglio, and the Roman Forum.

Cecilia was quite a trooper and we made it through almost the entire Roman Forum. After a subway ride home (Roman Metro update: Line A - Clean, fast, air conditioned. Line B - Dirty, crowded, hot, and smelly - very much what I remember).

Dinner was at one of Rome's better wine bar that has recently added food. Good meal and terrific wine.

Nothing a little shopping won't cure

Our first day in Rome passed rather quickly, as is usually the case when you are jet-lagged.

Cecilia had a pretty bad migraine so she slept for about four hours while walked around looking for a Vodafone store. Around 4:00 PM, she was feeling better and we decided to go out and get some fresh Roman air on an open-air tour bus.

We headed for the Spanish steps and all the shops along Via Corso. The Louis Vuitton store had some amazing stuff and by then Cecilia was completely cured of her migraine. While the Spanish Steps are the highlight of this area of Rome, the hightech staircase in the Louis Vuitton store was amazing. I tried to post a video but couldn't. Here's a picture.

We spent so much time in the Vodafone store trying to get my phone that the tour buses had quit running. After a cab ride back, we dined on some terrific pasta at a cafe. The picture above was taken there.

Best Godparents Ever

Hello Everyone and welcome to our blog of Cecilia's first trip to Rome.

Five years ago, on Luella and my first trip to Rome, we made a promise to each other to bring each of our Godchildren to Rome as a reward/encouragement when they received confirmation. Since Cecilia is my oldest Goddaughter, she gets to be our first pilgrim.

Cecilia has just completed her first year of confirmation class and should receive the sacrament next Easter season. This is a picture of her while waiting for our 7:00 AM flight at LAX.

Our flights were long, and truthfully, not that fun. On the LAX to Newark flight, we had one of the most annoying families ever, sit right behind us. Between their fights with the flight attendants, the kids playing drums on the tray tables, and practicing kick-boxing on the seat backs, we were quite happy they were not continuing on to Rome. Our Rome to Newark flight, had some "LOST" like turbulence. If any of you are fans of that TV show and are wondering where that mysterious island might be, we suggest you look off the coast of New Jersey.

Just like the "Cecilia Owner's Manual" warned, Cecilia woke up on the plane (the flight was a red eye) with a migraine. However, also like her owner's manual said, she completely knew what to do and after a long nap this afternoon, she felt and looked great.