July 9 - Catacombs, City Quest

 l love that I've gotten to see new things in Rome, even though I've been there before. The meeting with the Swiss Guard was new, and interesting. Spending more time at St. Peter's was a definate plus! And today, we were able to visit the Catacombs of San Callisto. I've never been in catacombs like this before. After all the heat we've experienced lately, the temperature was a welcome relief!

These catacombs are known as the the first official cemetery of the Church of Rome. There are sixteen popes buried there. But I was most interested in two of the saints buried there: St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music; and St. Tarcisius, protector of the Eucharist. St. Ceclia's remains have been moved elsewhere, but St. Tarcisius is still on the property. It was a somber, yet peaceful place. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to visit. We weren't permitted to take pictures within the catacombs, but I was allowed to take a shot or two of the entrance.

In the afternoon, we did a City Quest of Rome. City Quests allow for discovering tradtional sites at a more leisurely pace. Today, it also gave some time for some last minute shopping. Our delegation manager, Elena, informed us that today is a good day to shop, because the sales will be everywhere today. Most didn't need much more encouragement than that! After all, who can pass up a deal in Rome?

The Quest started at the Piazza Navona, one of the most famous piazzas in Rome. There are three striking fountains along the center area of the piazza, with the largest being in the direct center. Again, the water-theme is ever-present with the statue of the four rivers. It was once a stadium area for the Romans.

While in the Piazza, we got some gelato from Mariotti's. It is some of the best gelato to be found in Rome. It's so hard to choose a flavor because they all look, and sound, so good!

We then wove down the streets to the Pantheon. It is a beautiful structure with magnificent acoustics. It was considered to be a temple of all the gods, but is now used as a church. The dome is definately the key element there, and everyone who enters immediately heads to the center to look up. Last year I was treated to a concert, but no such luck this year.

Then we headed to the Trevi Fountain. The fountain has a defined water theme, with the ocean and Neptune riding on a shell. Many delegates followed the tradition of throwing a coin in the fountain, to ensure a return to Rome. It's still under construction, so we didn't see any water, but we still threw a coin in to ensure a return trip to Rome.

The Quest concluded on the Spanish steps, a staircase of 135 steps leading to the church of Trinitia de Monti. It's always a great place for a photo op. :) 

Dinner was a great preparation for our trip home tomorrow. We went to the Hard Rock Cafe for some traditional burgers and fries! They even have real catsup, not that tomato sauce stuff that Europeans try to pass off as catsup!

On the ride back to the hotel, it was touching to hear the delegates talk about what they enjoyed, what they'll remember, and the great friendships they have fostered. This is really a good group, and all of them have grown in some way. I'm proud to have taken them.

Tomorow we'll be back home with you again! Unless there is a change, we'll be on Delta 1897, due to arrive at 10:10. If that changes, you will be contacted. Otherwise, we'll be looking forward to see you at the baggage claim area.

July 8 - Vatican, St. Peter's

What a day! We started the day with a tour of the Vatican museum. We had a wonderful guide. She explained much of the history of the paintings of the Sistine Chapel before we went in. It really helped the delegates know what they were seeing.

The hallways to the Chapel (which are part of the Museum) were filled with artwork and tapestries. The hall of maps was really interesting. And I never had a guide explain the tapestires the way Claudia did.

The Chapel was awesome, as usual. We were fortunate that, while there were a lot of people there, it wasn't as crowded as I've seen in the past.

When we left the Chapel, we had a considerable amount of time to explore St. Peter's Bascilica. I have never had the opportunity to really explore before, and today I was doubly blessed. I found a Mass in one of the side chapels, and I was able to attend!

After lunch we met with a priest at St Anne's Church. St. Anne's is the Pope's partish. It is where he celebrated his firrst Mass after being named Pope. It was unbelievable to be sitting in that church.

We also met with a former member of the Swiss Guard. He described how the guard came to be, the requirements, and the responsibilities. He said he's met all of the Presidents in the last 30 years, and had nothing but high praise for the United States.

We did a lot of walking today (6+ miles) but had some great experiences. It's hard to imagine that tomorrow brings our last experiences here.

July 7 - Colosseum/ Forum

Today was more time in the bus as we headed north to Rome. We did get to stop along the way, and it was a memorable one. Our stop along the way was at the Siciily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial.  It it home to soldiers who lost their lives during WWII in that area. The cemetery, totally funded and managed by the United States, is beautiful. It opens to an open space with a fountain area and has the burial sites on either side. 

The open space leads to the memorial and chapel area which features a sculpture of two brothers in arms.

During our tour, we learned about a few of the people buried there. One was a Medal of Honor awardee who was from St. Clairsville, OH! He led an extraordinary attack, even after being wounded.

The grounds and chapel were meticulous. It was evident that this memorial is well-maintained and respected by the Italian community.

The delegates were most respectful and very moved by the stories they heard. President Eisenhower would be proud.

Then, it was on to our final destination: Rome! We hit two of the major attractions in the afternoon. First we toured the Colosseum. It was a busy day, as always at the Colosseum. Crowds were thick, and the temperature was hot, but we enjoyed the tour. We learned that a common story about the Colosseum is a fallacy. It's often said that the Colosseum was flooded and used for mock navy battles. That is not true. They may have once put a couple of meters of water in it, but soon after that the dividers were put in the ground area, so it would have been impossible to use for that purpose.

Then we walked to the Forum from the Colosseum. It's a short walk, and you can almost feel the history there. Every time I go, I can get over the knowledge that I'm walking on the same ground that Julius Caeser walked. And I can walk up to the place where his body was creamated.

By the end of the tour of the Forum, we were all pretty beat. It was a long, hot day, and we just wanted to get checked into our hotel.

We did have a little delay, though. Seems there was a very peaceful demonstration near the restaurant where we ate dinner. We had just gotten back on the bus when the protesters made their walk around the traffic circle, stopping all traffic for a while. We had a good view of their walk, and then it dispersed. Once traffic got flowing again we were on our way to the hotel. It's nice to know this is the last hotel before we come home. I have a feeling the next two days are going to fly by quickly.

July 6 - Pompeii, Naples

We had to get up early this morning to clear the rooms for the ship. But that doesn't mean we departed all that early. We managed to be on the bus by 9:00. 

The driver immediately took us to Pompeii, where we at our breakfast right next to the site. We had a delightful guide named Nicola who showed us all around the area. I saw parts this time that I didn't get to see when I was there four years ago. I think it would be impossible to see all of it at one time. For one thing, the area is massive: 165 acres. And another: it's always so blasted hot!

This time we saw the auditorium, which is still used for concerts. There is still some of the original seats visible. Many of us went to the top to see the view.

We also saw the many shops, which were so small, and a house that had the original paintings still on the walls.

But, I think the highlight of Pompeii is the forum area. Now, as then, it was bustling with people. It's a little eerie to walk around and see Mt. Vesuvius in the background. It looks so calm and peaceful; hardly capable of causing such destruction. But the evidence was all around us.

It was a little hazy today, so Vesuvius wasn't in sharp contrast with the town.

Did I mention that it was hot?? So we had the perfect day to go to the water park. It was a really nice place, and it was so refreshing!! Just perfect for this part of the trip.

Tomorrow, we head north: all roads lead to Rome!

July 5 - Segesta

We had an early start this morning. We traveled to Segesta to view the ancient Greek temple. It is a Doric style temple made with rock from the area instead of marble.

The Temple was unfinished, so they are not sure which god was being honored. It's 2500 years old and has never been damaged by natural elements, such as earthquakes. It did get hit by lightning recently, but the damage was minor.

I found it interesting that the guide's story about the Athenian army coming to Siracusa picked up where the story we heard at Delphi left off.

Close to the Temple area was a beautiful banquet facility. It had mosaic tile in the outside flooring and plants and cacti flourished everywhere. There was even a pool for the outside reception area.

The insidewas spacious, and that's where we made our pizzas for lunch. It was a lot of fun, and the people were so friiendly and accomodating. They even had gluten-free dough for Katelyn!

We traveled into Palermo, where we had a bus tour of the city.  Since it was Sunday, it wasn't very crowded. Our guide said that most of the locals would be at the beach.

Then, it was on to the ferry (our last one!!!) for the trip to Naples. As ship pulled out of the the harbor, we saw the sun set on Sicily.

July 4 - Cefalu

We picked up the delegates and were on the road by 9:00. After the traditional morning song of "500 Miles" we listend to "Born in the USA," "Firework," "In America (from West Side Story," "Party in the USA," and "Proud to be an American." It was pretty moving, having the delegates singing along. Brought a tear to my eyes.

Our first stop of the day was at at pottery studio on Caltagrione. It is family-owned and  they have won international  competitions for their work. We've seen their work in almost all of the hotels we have been in. First they showed us how a pttery bowl is made. Then a couple of the delegates got to try their hand at it. Their shop was filled with ceramics of all kinds and purposes. The owner offered us a discount, and there was some heavy-duty souvenir shopping going on.

We spent some time in the beautiful seaside town of Cefalu. It had picturesque little shops and an extensive beach. We ate dinner there and they served cannoli for dessert!

Apparently there was a major road closed that we were supposed to take. Consequently, we had to take the long way around. We drove the majority of the coast of Sicily today. It was a lot of bus time. Tomorrow, we'll be leaving Sicily for the mainland. One more ferry ride...

We were treated to a beautiful sunset this evening on the way to the hotel. Made up for the long trip.

July 3 - Mt. Etna

We needed two busses to pick up the delegates and their home stay partners.

We drove an hour or so to Mt. Etna. By the time we reached the bus drop off we were already 6,000 ft. up from sea level. The delegates climbed another 1,000 ft.

It was a perfect day!  The sky was blue and clear and there was just a slight breeze. The higher we got,  the more breeze we felt.

The landscape differences are fascinating. We could see lush,  green hills contrasted by the stark,  coarse remnants of the 2002 eruption. I didn't realize it on the way in,  but we saw hundreds of acres of lava and bare trees.

On the way up,  we saw the roof from the hotel that was lost in the last eruption. I found it interesting,  and hopeful, to see flowers and plants bursting through the rubble of the lava.

Unlike Vesuvius, Etna has four craters. It is still an active volcano. We could see gas, which looked like a cloud, at thetop of the highest peak. We could also see snow.

I was surprised to learn that the area is used for skiing,  and we could see the lift.

For some reason, when we got back to the hotel,  all I wanted was a Sprite with ice.  There's a nice café next to the hotel,  so Tammy and I headed there. Not only did we get something to drink,  we indulged in a cannoli, too!  It was heavenly.

Spent the evening organizing my suitcase and getting ready to leave in the morning.  Hard to believe that this time next week we'll be on our way home!

July 2 - Acireale

Unfortunately, leaders do not have a home stay. We are staying at a hotel in Acireale. It's a nice, older hotel in town with a sweeping marble staircase.

With no "delegate responsibilities" we could sleep in.  So,  of course,  I was up at 5:30. I lounged around,  though, and enjoyed the down time.

We found a laundry close to the hotel and dropped off our clothes. Mine was mostly t-shirts and underwear and my pajamas. When I got it back, everything (minus underwear) was pressed,  even my pajamas! I almost felt guilty sleeping in them last night.

We explored the town a little in the morning and decided to go to the beach in the afternoon. That was an adventure!

First of all, my companions decided to walk to the beach instead of taking the bus. One if the locals said it would take a long time on the bus and it was only a 20 -minute walk. The town is on the top of a hill. The walk down was along a rock path which wove back and forth the entire way down. It took close to an hour.

The Siciliano have a much different concept of "beach" than Americans have. While beautiful, there is absolutely no sand.  It is entirely rocks. They had a wooden platform for sunning and stairs down to the water. The stairs continue into the water. When I stepped off of the stairs into the water,  there were rocks for about two steps,  then nothing! I found a rock close to the stairs and stayed near it. Most of the time I just floated or tread water,  but it was good to be in the sea. To dry off,  we joined the locals and sunned on the rocks by the shore.

After the trip down,  we decided to take the bus back to the hotel. I inquired as to where we would find the stop,  and learned it was not to far: by the "little church" in the piazza. No problem,  except one we got there, we found it would be a two-hour wait.  After much discussion and assistance, we managed to acquire a
taxi and return to the hotel.

For dinner we found a neat pizzaria with outdoor seating. It was very quaint, and we had a blast!

Tomorrow we'll meet up with the delegates took go to Mt. Etna, and then they'll have one more night with their home stay families.

July 1 - Taormina

Today we drove through the region of Calabria to take the ferry to Sicily. From my vantage point, it's fairly hilly, but has some flat areas too. We're still seeing an abundance of olive trees,  but other crops,  too. We've seen corn and grapes and tomatoes and an abundance of fruit.

We've driven through so many tunnels! Southern Italy is very mountainous, and often the tunnels are back to back. Some are quite long, and some don't have lights.  Pretty spooky in those!

The good news concerning the ferry today was that we were only on it for about 20 minutes and we got to keep the bus. That bad news was that we had quite a wait to get on the ferry. We could see Sicily from where we waited in line.

We crossed at the Straight of Messina. The water was so many shades of blue!
When the bus pulled off the ferry,  into Messina, it was full of hustle and bustle of a good-sized city. There seem to be less single family dwellings and more multi-level flats with shops on the first floor.
Again,  we encountered quite a few tunnels on our way to Taormina.

Our tone in Taormina was delightful. We had lunch at a darling cafe that overlooked the bay. Lasagna and sorbet for dessert.

Then we explored the Greek Theater and head time to shop. The Greek Theater is massive and cute out of stone.  It is still used today. They were setting up for a concert while we were there.

While I was walking down the street of shops, the music from The Godfather was playing.  It was so surreal!  From what I've seen so far, they are really cashing in on that movie here.  There is Godfather everything,  everywhere you look.

The delegates hag an opportunity to learn some dances.  The first ones ate more of the salsa type,  but they also learned a tarentella. They must have spent about an hour dancing before we were back in the bus to meet the host families.

That was so much fun!  They were all excited and ramped up on the bus. And you could almost feel the energy as they waited to see who they would be with. The families were the same: Watchung the delegates and trying to figure which one (or rwo, in some cases) was theirs.

By the time we saw all the delegates of and got to our hotel ( no home stay for us) it was 9:00  and we were hungry and tired.  After a quick dinner and shower we crashed for the night. It'll be different without the delegates tomorrow,  but we'll see then for about a half day on Friday,  and then get them back on Saturday.

Sicicilan coast. View from restaurant.