The Great Italian Adventure: Southern Edition!

Today, I'm feeling particularly blessed. We had a wonderful weekend in Pompeii, Naples, Sorrento and Capri with lots of food and lots of laughter. It's hard to believe that I have less than two weeks left here, but I'm so grateful for weekends like this that remind me of how very blessed I am. 

Something I learned about myself:

Karaoke is better with the music on. No, really. We spent Friday night in Sorrento, and after a DELICIOUS dinner we all went out on the town. Aka 80% of our program went into this one small-ish American bar and took the place over. I knew good things were going to be happening when I saw the karaoke machine. However, I was confused that everyone sounded REALLY good while they were up there singing. And then I realized that they weren’t just doing the traditional ‘play the instrumental and let the singers sing their hearts out’ they were playing the ENTIRE song, including the lyrics. I am positive that the entire room was glad that I was tuned out during Phil Collins’ ‘My Heart Will Go On’. . .

The Best Thing That I Ate:

Gnocchi. Oh my lanta, this was DELICIOUS. One of the most wonderful parts about travelling through different parts of Italy is having the opportunity to sample different local dishes. This weekend’s trip to the Bay of Naples was no different. When we had our group dinner on Friday night, we all had the traditional ‘gnocchi alla sorrentina’ aka delicious gnocchi with homemade sauce AND mozzarella. It’s no secret that I love cheese, and I was on cloud nine eating this.

The amount of pictures that I have of me eating
and laughing is almost embarassing.

An Adventure I Went On:

Capri. We had a blissfully free day on Sunday and could use it to do whatever we pleased. Since Sorrento is such an easy ferry ride away from Capri, we knew that despite the weather we needed to take advantage of this chance. After a r-o-u-g-h ferry ride, we arrived on the island of Capri and spent the better part of the day climbing up to get into town, eating a lovely lunch with some of the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen and shopping. Although the weather wasn’t great, it was a lot better than it could have been, and for that I am so grateful. Standing looking out into the beautiful water, you can’t help but take a deep breath and offer up a prayer of thanksgiving for the beauty that is God’s creation.

Despite the weather, ABSOLUTELY breathtaking. 

Contemplating the weather? Or just caught off guard. . .

The Craziest/Most Interesting Thing That I Saw:

Pompeii. On our way to Sorrento, we stopped off in the ancient city of Pompeii which was one of the places that I was most looking forward to seeing. I felt like pinching myself the entire time because I remember SO clearly learning about Pompeii in elementary/middle school and the craziness that was the circumstances surrounding this event hundreds of years ago. To be able to see and experience things that I have previously only learned about in textbooks is in and of itself one of the most rewarding and humbling experiences.

I so clearly remember seeing this VERY
mold of someone that died after the volcanic
eruption in a textbook. Crazy. 

This was their forum--the center of life for the citizens of Pompeii.

We took a picture of all the CUA-ers in the theater! 

We avoided most of the rain, thank goodness! 

In Which I Attempt to Ride a Unicycle. . .

It's a dreary day here in Rome, but you can't win them all! My time here is winding down (I can't believe it!) but I am trying to soak up this beautiful time here and am really looking forward to a program-wide trip to Bay of Naples this weekend. Who cares that it is a 100% chance of rain all weekend. . .

Something I learned about myself:

You’ll never know if you don’t try.  If you would have asked me yesterday morning if I was going to attempt to ride a unicycle that day, I would have a) laughed b) rolled over because I would have thought I was dreaming or c) glared at you because you’d probably be laughing at the thought of me doing it. Anyways, yesterday after a glorious afternoon of sports at the NAC (North American College—the American seminary in Roma) which pretty much consisted of me running around like a lunatic screaming ‘ISN’T IT SO NICE TO BE ABLE TO RUN AROUND OUTSSIIDDEEEEE??’ we were on the roof which boasts the best view of Rome and I ran into my friend Taylor. I went back down to the field to play get beaten soccer by a darling little girl that was there with him and he cranked out his unicycle. At first I was just in awe of the whole situation, I mean it's not every day you see someone pedal across the field on a unicycle, but then I got the courage to ask if I could try. It wasn’t an easy process, and involved lots of screams on my part, BUT I made it up and even pedaled a little bit. All the credit goes to Taylor, who was incredibly patient. You have to start somewhere, right?

For my self-esteem, it's a good thing that no one took a video. .  .

The Best Thing That I Ate:

It’s worth noting, first off, that I ate FOUR pieces of salami at this meal. After such a wonderful Easter Monday, it was such a treat to be able to sit down at a local mom and pop restaurant near Castel Gandolfo. This particular place is known for their meat, so for this non-meat lover it took a lot for me to get over myself. HOWEVER, everything was absolutely delicious! Lots of warm bread, fresh cheese, pasta and vino. I am going to miss meals like this. . .

I was too busy gorging my face to take
a picture of the rest of the meal. . .


Dinner is more fun with friends and adorable children. 

An Adventure I Went On:

Easter Monday day trip! It is an Easter Monday tradition to flee Rome and go spend time outside of the city since it is a holiday. After an extremely efficient morning, we all got on a bus and started at the catacombs of St. Sebastien. It was cool because we took a bus where I had walked the week before, which gave me some sense of accomplishment. After a visit through the catacombs, we went off to Castel Gandolfo which is where the Pope’s summer residence is. He was actually there that day, too, but unfortunately had a previous commitment. Nonetheless, it was absolutely beautiful, and I met the nicest priest who blessed my rosary only to later find out that he is the Holy Father’s secretary! It’s funny how life works sometimes. After a pre-dinner dessert, we went to the next town over where we had dinner and enjoyed time with each other celebrating the joy of the Resurrection! How blessed are we that we have 50 days to celebrate this joyous Easter season?!

Illegal shot taken in the catacombs.. .
.

                                                     

                                              Castel Gandolfo with my swiss guard boyfriends in front. . 

The Craziest/Most Interesting Thing That I Saw:

For the record, I almost wrote a post mentioning class, but then decided to talk about something a little more important. But being the classy person that I am, I’ll tell you about seein beer in a vending machine. Classic Rome. When I’m forced to adjust back to American life, one of the things that is going to shock me will be not seeing this in your friendly neighborhood vending machine:

                                                      

This has taken some serious getting used to, and I have yet to take advantage of the whole ‘put in a coin and out pops a beer’ thing, but who knows. . .It’s just one of those things that people don’t think twice about here. Hey, more power to ya. For now, I will stick with my coca-cola light.

Can I get an alleluia?!

First of all, HAPPY EASTER! It has been such a beautiful and fulfilling week here. It was jam packed with awesome liturgies and opportunities to grow deeper in my faith. I am exhausted though, after a wonderful day with mass and time with the Goerdt's, it seems fitting that my 'Easter dinner' consisted of potato chips and fanta in my bed. 

Something I learned about myself:

Some lessons are tougher than others. . .Remember that time I wrote about how I spilt coffee in my bed?  One would think that I learned my lesson about trying to do semi-difficult activities in the comfort of one’s bed, BUT apparently not. As I was harmlessly trying to paint my nails while laying in bed, all the sudden I saw my life flash before my eyes. Well, that might be a bit overdramatic, but I spilt an embarrassing amount of nail polish down the middle of my brand new dress. After I screamed rather loudly, I went in to survival mode (which is of course what one does when something of this magnitude happens) and came up with a solution. I cracked out my sewing kit for the first time this semester, sewed part of the front of it together, and averted any major crisis.

Can you even tell? 

The Best Thing That I Ate:

Polpettone. So darn good. Ellie and the Goerdt’s are saints and in some miraculous way weren’t sick of me after my wonderful weekend visiting them in Holland a few weeks ago and stayed in Rome for a few days before they went off on their Easter break trip. We were able to spend some wonderful time together and lots of delicious meals, which I’m grateful for. Anyways. Our Easter lunch was a sheer delight, made all the better by my delicious polpettone. Polpettone is basically Italian meatloaf, but more delicious. And this is coming from the girl who hardly EVER orders meat by choice. I also tried octopus for the first time. But I don’t think I’m ready to talk about it. . .

YUM.

An Adventure I Went On:

One of the things that I am in awe of every day while in this city is its rich tradition. *Cue Fiddler on the Roof Music here* For this year’s Holy Week festivities, there were so many opportunities to not only further enter into the unifying events of Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection, but further immerse myself in some of the cities richest traditions.  After Holy Thursday mass at the Venerable English College (yes, mass is so much better with a british accent), a group of us set off on one of the city’s oldest traditions of visiting seven different altars of repose. These are the special altars in each Church where the consecrated hosts are reserved for mass the next day. For several hours after mass, one has the opportunity to visit this altar and pray in a special way. Or, if you’re lucky enough to be in Rome, you can go visit several different altars of repose in different churches throughout the city. It was such a beautiful opportunity to be in community with others throughout the city that were participating in the same way, and truly something I won’t forget. This proved to be only slightly more entertaining than Saturday evening’s Easter Vigil at the British Seminary where the night ended with prosecco, cake, and me asking a British priest if I could use their pool.

Not nearly as beautiful as the Altars of Repose,
but it will have to do. 

The Craziest/Most Interesting Thing That I Saw:

If I could write a book called “Crazy People and Things That You See at the Vatican”, I would. It would be a best-seller right up their with “Crazy Things That People Will do for a Seat”. I mean, come ON people!! Some highlights of the weekend include:

1.     1. Homegirl dropping the f-bomb in St. Peter’s Basilica because someone tried to take her seat. It took EVERY ounce of strength I had to not run up to her.

2.     2. This guy that was clearly nervous about missing an opportunity to take some pictures. . .

I've gotta commend him for his ingenuity. 

3.     3. Never have I ever thought I would appreciate normal, black clerics as much as I do now. Because every once in a while, you see priests dressed like this. Whhaaaaa.

I mean have you ever seen anything like this??

Most importantly, the Easter Mass with Pope Benedict this morning ended with him giving a blessing 'to the city and to the world'. There were explicit announcements before the blessing that the Holy Father's blessing contains a plenary indulgence for all who participate with him, including those who view it through 'new media'. How cool is that? I know it is in Latin, but if you would like, pray on! 

La vita è bella.

Don't be fooled, the title is straight from google translate, but that doesn't make it any less true. . .It's been a crazy week here up in these parts. Being in this city for Holy Week is the most amazing thing in the world, and truly the opportunity of a lifetime. I pray that everyone is having a blessed Triduum! 

Something I learned about myself:

I have a thing for bling. Appreciate the fact that I just laughed at my own joke for an embarrassing amount of time. At today’s Chrism mass (I just spent five minutes trying to think of a theologically concise way of explaining the Chrism mass, but figured this would be better given that my explanation included ‘it’s SO cute’ and ‘you should have seen all the priests!! : Chrism Mass) Pope Benedict glided down the center aisle of St. Peter’s and although I was in possibly the most beautiful church in the world, feet away from the Vicar of Christ, the first thing I thought of was how shiny his vestments were today and how precious it was that he was wearing all that bling. There may have even been some squealing. You know me, always keeping it appropriate.

The cameras don't really do the bling justice. . .

Shiny AND Holy. Beat that.

The Best Thing That I Ate:

Don’t laugh at me (or more accurately, laugh at the computer screen). BUT I had the most delicious Chinese food the other night. I know, I know. Rome, Italy does not seem like the place where this would be possible. However believe it or not, there are some nights when one wants to eat something other than pizza or pasta and luckily we found something to hit the spot. I did have a bit of an identity crisis walking into a Chinese restaurant while in Italy, but that all changed once I saw the word ‘dumplings’. Not to mention the fact that I almost started drinking straight from the soy sauce bottle.

At this point, I was too busy drooling and not in
any shape to get my picture taken so luckily
the beautiful Laura pulled through for me. 

An Adventure I Went On:

To get an idea:

Can someone PLEASE appreciate the fact that this is
ALMOST the shape of the great state of Minnesota?! 

The Seven Church Walk is a Holy Week tradition that goes back several centuries. Along with several seminarians from the North American College, college students, and other faithful from throughout the city who could spend the day doing this pilgrimage, I spent the better part of the day visiting seven churches throughout the city, moving deeper in prayer during this Holy Week and growing in fellowship with the people that I was with. I’m not going to pretend like I didn’t wake up sore, or that I would have survived without my goldfish snacks (yes, I am still three years old) but it was truly one of the most incredible experiences that I have ever had. It is experiences like this that remind me of how truly blessed I am to be in this spiritually rich city. The blister on the bottom of my toe (I know, how does that even happen?) is a small price to pay. Through the fourteen total miles, I was reminded again and again of how blessed I am that I have the privilege of witnessing all the ways I get to see His glory manifested.

The Craziest/Most Interesting Thing That I Saw:

And then there are some afternoons where you climb down into an aqueduct. As a part of my class (the thought occurred to me that I literally never mention class, I promise I do go to school. . .) we went and visited the American Academy here in Rome. Of course what casual afternoon class would be complete without a visit to an ancient aqueduct? As soon as the trap door was lifted, I was the first one to volunteer to go down. Unfortunately there were a few inches of water so I wasn’t able to walk through it, but I did climb all the way down and peeked around. I was a little unsure about the latter being UNATTACHED to anything, but I kept my cool.

Here goes nothing. . .

Success! 

Benedetto.

Something I learned about myself:

“That’s the whole point.” This starts with a story. As I was walking out of the Upper Basilica of St. Francis this past Saturday, I was on cloud nine. I had just been in one of the most beautiful churches I had ever seen, and was so aware of all the blessings that the Lord has given me. When I exited the church, my breath was taken away by the beautiful Italian countryside to my right, the words ‘pax’ and the Tau cross in front of me, and the basilica behind me. There was so much beauty, I almost couldn’t speak (keyword: almost. . .). I looked to my friend Laura and said to her “It’s just one of those moments where I can’t even begin to comprehend how good God is.”, her simple response of “That’s the whole point” was one of the most profound things I’ve heard all semester. I truly believe that that is one of the most important lessons I will learn in my lifetime—God’s glory is so much greater than I will ever comprehend, and I will never be able to comprehend how good He is.

Behind me.

In front of me. 

                                       To my right.                                      

The Best Thing That I Ate:

At this moment, I’m still full which means I am one happy girl. Tonight we went out to dinner and despite the fact that I ate my weight in starburst (thanks mom and dad) all afternoon, I was still ready for a solid meal. Enter chicken parmesan and penne alla vodka. Done and done.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.              

An Adventure I Went On:

Assisi! As a part of my class, we went to Assisi for the day on Saturday. This was one of the places I was most looking forward to visiting all semester, so it was truly a dream come true. The city and experience far exceeded my expectations, which I didn’t think was possible. The weather could not have been more perfect, I made a new Franciscan friend (shout out to Fr. Joseph!), and all the churches we visited fulfilled me in ways I didn’t think were possible. It’s moments like that where you’re on your knees praying and there’s nothing to say because you’re so darn grateful.

Walking up the hill from the Sam Damiano Church. 

In front of St. Francis' Basilica. 

Wouldn't be complete without me taking creepy pics of Franciscans.               

The Craziest/Most Interesting Thing That I Saw:

Masses of people for mass. Hahahaha, I’m laughing at my own joke. Once Annie and I settled into our seats, which happened to be two rows back, I threw up a couple prayers of thanksgiving and then I turned around. And this is what I saw:

                                         

Hundreds of thousands of people. All there for the same reason: to celebrate mass with the Holy Father. People of all different ages, from all walks of life, and from different countries were all there to celebrate Palm Sunday mass. It was not only humbling, but gave me a profound sense of hope for our Church. Oh, and this was kind of crazy, too. . .

Like a boss.