June 17, 2013

Today was my last day in Europe and also the day that I got home. We woke up early and went to the Roma Airport to board Delta flight 245 bound for JFK in New York City. As with any other travel day we had our bumpy places and our moments of fun but this trip was special because we were going home. During the flight I watched four movies; Yes Man, Bruce Almighty, Wreck it Ralph, and The Hangover Part II. It was quite an interesting plane ride but the time went by very quickly and I never left my seat except to let a friend out of theirs to use the restroom. Once we landed in JFK it took 30 minutes to get to customs, 10 minutes to get through, and 2 hours to get our luggage off the belt. If it wouldn't have been for that wait I would have been home much sooner. Then we got on the bus to Bloomsburg, a three hour ride. And last but not least we said our goodbyes and I drove the whole way home just to fall asleep. It was almost a complete 24 hours of travel but it was fun and I enjoyed the trip that we had had. I cannot wait to go back and see it all again!

June 16, 2013

Today was the day I had been waiting for, for a very long time. I woke up today around 6:30 am and got showered and dressed up in my black slacks, shoes, and red dress shirt. I left Diana Hotel by 7:00 am and headed to the Republicca Metro station. Once on the Metro, I headed for the Ottavian (forgive spelling) station. Once I got off the train with my bag full of rosaries, crucifixes, and medals, I headed for San Pietra Piazza, St. Peter's Square. I was surprised to find a huge line at security this morning to enter the square. I waited very patiently to get to the front where I showed the guard my green ticket and he let me enter the square. Today was Sunday after all and they were preparing for a rather large audience because the Pope was saying mass today. I was there early enough to get a seat by the railing and I sat and waited for two and a half hours before the holy father came out into the crowd. I got a great video of him passing by and he got the same of me. (i have provided links to both of the videos, I appear on the right side at 11 minutes in his video)

If you missed me in his video here is a picture of it. I can say that it was a great experience, and was definitely something that makes you realize the universality of the church. The rest of my day was spent investigating the burial place of St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis Xavier. I would not have picked any other way to end the wonderful trip.

A visit with an old Friend

6/15/13

Well today is a very special day for me. It was my 100% free day in the city of Rome. Knowing what was going to happen tomorrow I went around to see the big sights of Rome to make sure I didn't miss them. I saw the Coloseum, Constantine Arch, John Keats grave stone, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the metro, and a few more who's names I don't recall. Of course I stopped back at the hotel once or twice to rest my legs because I think I walked over 10 miles today alone. But at around 11 am I made my way back to the Vatican and went back into St. Peter's Basilica to pray. After that I met my old friend Fr. Lohse at the obelisk in the square. We went to a restaurant and I had the most fantastic Pizza, even better than last night's dinner. We talked about good old PA and what was happening in the little town I call home, which he was once placed at. We also talked about life and the church and how things were going for both him and I along with our plans for the summer and this coming school year. Well that is all I have to tell you for now ... check back in for my next post to see where the salad goes next :)

Father's House

Today was a very special day for me. We woke up at 630 am and got ready, ate breakfast, and loaded on the bus. We traveled across the city of Rome to the Vatican City. Today was our scheduled tours of Musei Vaticani and Vatican Radio along with a visit to St. Peters Basilica. Let me tell you, when you walk into St. Peters Basilica its not the same person who walks out. It is an amazing space and the shear size of it alone leaves you in awe. Then you start seeing famous paintings, sculptures, people, and images and you are just floored. There are no words to describe what you see and feel in a place like that, the center place of your faith. It left me with a feeling of the actual universality of the church and how big things actually are. The hardest struggle while there was dealing with the disrespect of some of my peers. I can understand jokes here and there in churches but you are in a religious center of the biggest faith world wide, show a little more reverence. Anyway, after a half hour of site seeing in the basilica we attended mass in the left wing chapel. The father there spoke in Italian and when he started his homily he asked how many spoke Italian. One person in the entire sitting nodded the approval he was looking for. From what I gathered he spoke about how even though we are all from different places and may not understand each other or our lives that we all love god and should follow in his ways. (homily in one sentence) After this mass we proceeded to our tour of the museum and Sistine chapel. The famous things I saw were innumerable and I got pictures of all that I was allowed to, and if the Sistine chapel doesn't make you pray instantly I don't know what will. After that we had some free time which I spent with the tour guide and our catholic professor exploring the basilica and talking about some of the monuments. Then of course to the only "souvenir" shop inside the square to get some gifts for the family and myself. After that we went to the Vatican Radio's old HQ near the Vatican City. There we learned about its history, programs, and very diverse staff. After that stop we went back to the hotel to crash until dinner. We left for dinner at 630 and it was amazing. Bruschetta, Pizza, and some creamy dessert .... i could have eaten for forever. This now landed me back at the hotel to prepare for the beginning of my two day exploration of Rome on my own....

The Travelers Nightmare

June 13, 2013 ....

This morning was just like any other morning with an early wake up call at 630. We all got up, showered, and ate in preperation for another normal day in Europe. Well this ordinary day would not stay so for long. Our travel guide had us leave our checked luggage bags at the hotel as we traveled out into Venezia for our quick tours. Our tours were to be San Marco, the Doges Palace, and a few other land marks. Well because of the bags that one little thing one whole day turned upside down. We were supposed to take the bags on the bus with us to put in storage for our train. Because of that we had to travel back to the hotel to get our bags and then we were supposed to jump on our train at that station instead. Well once we discovered there was only a two minute stop there the entire plan died. We got through San Marco and then ran to get our bags instead of finishing our tours. The plan at the time was to catch our train in that two minute window. Well we argued that task because we knew we wouldn't make it on the train quickly enough. So this fight exploded with the travel company about these things and we ended up with a new train later in the day. So we got several free hours in Venezia to compensate the lost time in that city. And now we are on the train to Roma. What a day ....

June 12, 2013

Well here I am now having all public transportation under my belt. Bus, taxi, Subway, train, airplane, boat .... all of them. It is interesting experiencing so many new things all in one trip, it almost makes you feel like a completely different person. Today we woke up early to catch a train from Vienna to Villah and then hop on a bus from Villah to Venice, or Mestre rather. When we got here we had about an hour to settle in and then we went to our first italian dinner and let me tell you what. There was so much food I couldn't eat it all. We had noodles with bacon, half a chicken, potatos, green beens, and cake all in one meal and these were no small portions. After dinner a few groups of us traveled into Venizia via train and walked around the tangled streets looking at all the vendors and getting things like the famous Melano glass. When we finally got back we all had to pack because tomorrow we are already going to be traveling to Rome.

June 11, 2013

Today was an eye opening experience for all of us. We went to "tour" the facilities of the Wiener Zeitung daily newspaper in Austria. We ended up speaking with two editors and a marketing leader of the paper in their conference room about their publication. Much of our discussion dealt directly with social media and the rise of technology's affect on the world of printed paper and the tactics used in writing. It was interesting to hear the things we learned in class spilling out of someones mouth who worked in the real world media realm. The visit to the paper seemed so short lived though. After this we had free time in which I visited St. Stephens Cathedral. It is a great place and quite expansive. It cost 4 euros to enter the main church just to walk around. Whilst there I did some praying and quiet time for myself in thought. After this we got back together as a group and toured the Opera House. We got to see the original parts that were left after WWII and what was rebuilt, which is most of it. The back stage was the best part though. The stage is about three times as large as the auditorium itself and is outfitted with the best equipment I have seen on a stage yet. After the tour we returned to the hotel to eat and prepare for our travels to venice tomorrow.