Time To Head Home

Here is a photo from Assisi...We saw many sites just like this one in Assisi. It was really beautiful.


Although we've had a wonderful time and were able to see so much, we are very anxious to head home. We started at 6:30 am (11:30 pm Central time). We had an uneventful trip home including a bus ride to the airport, three flights, and the drive home from St. Louis. We went from sunny and 60 degrees in Rome to a blistery 30 degrees in St. Louis. We were back in Effingham at 10:30 pm (23 hours after we started).

We had the trip of a lifetime. It was our first trip to Europe and our longest trip away from our children. We were able to see so much in so little time and we learned so much about the history of the church, Roman history, and European travel. We appreciated the humbleness of Assisi and the grandeur of Rome. At the same time, we have gained an even greater appreciation for our community, our church, and our school system. We are very grateful. Thank you so much to everyone for all of your thoughts and prayers. Special thanks to our parents for helping out so much. We couldn't have done this trip without your help. And kids, we're very happy to be home. Thanks for being so well behaved.

Wednesday In Rome

Wednesday - last day in Rome. We got up early and went to Mass at the Church of St Spirito in Sassia (Divine Mercy). This church was frequented by Pope John Paul II. After Mass, we went to our seats for the weekly papal address and blessing. The address/blessing is given in multiple languages to accomodate the thousands of people in attendance. As you can see in the photo, the weather was perfect - 60 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.

In the afternoon, we took of tour of Ancient Rome. The architecture and history of the Colosseum (think Gladiator) was fascinating - one of our favorite parts of the trip. Can you believe that they built a stadium out of bricks, concrete and marble to hold 60,000 people with a retractable roof over 2,000 years ago? We also saw the location of Circus Maximum (think Ben Hur). Many early Christians were martyred here. We also were able to see the ancient ruins of Rome. At St. Peter In Chains church, we were able to see Michelangelo's statue of Moses and the actual chains which were used to imprison St. Peter. Can you believe this stuff?

Although we were tired from a long day, we were rejuvenated by the 'St. Paul Outside the Walls' bascilica http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/rome-st-paul-outside-walls.htm . This church was rebuilt in the 19th century in the exact format from which it was built almost 2000 years ago. We felt like an early Christian going to Church. This church was built over the cemetary in which St. Paul was buried. While we were there, we came upon a mass was being celebrated by a cardinal and concelebrated by about 60 priests.

Late in the evening, we went out for a delicious farewell group dinner at Ristorante Benito. It was highlighted by a three person Italian music group that sang several popular Italian songs. Very festive and very filling.

Beuno sera!

Tuesday Afternoon In Rome

Buon Giorno! BTW - Tess is laughing at my poor attempts to speak Italian on this trip ;)

On Tuesday afternoon, we went to the Vatican Gardens for a tour of the Sistine Chapel. I've never really taken the time to understand the history behind the painting and the chapel. Most of the paintings are telling the stories of the Old and New Testament for those that could not read or write. The Cardinals congregate in this chapel during the election of a new pope. The scupltures, frescos, tapestries and paintings were amazing. I now understand what they did with their time before television and computers. It was really breathtaking - especially the ceilings. After an enjoyable meal with two other couples that we had met on the trip, we called it an early evening.

Ciao.

format for our trip

while tess is telling you about yesterday and today, i'm going to tell you about our trip. we are on a tour/pilgrimage with 48 people associated with franciscan university in steubenville, ohio. about 20 people are from a parish in detroit while the rest come from all parts of the US . they are all wonderful people. we have a bus (with a personal bus driver) available to us every day and a private tour guide / escort from rome. we also have one person from the university that organizes everyone. we do most of the tourist visits as a group; but, we also have some time available on our own or with other small groups.

we only have a day in a half left before we head back home to Illinois. we're having a great time, we're getting lots of exercise, we're getting just enough sleep, and we're seeing some wonderful, historic sites. all in all, we're having a wonderful time. this afternoon, we're heading to the sistine chapel. should be cool.

our hotel in rome is very nice and very new.

a few other observations - the history in rome is amazing, finding a bathroom is difficult, the food is wonderful, the streets are narrow, and the people are fun to watch.

kids- sorry that we have not called. we do miss you and love you. we're anxious to see you.

ciao

rome

hey again
well we had a very full day! we had time to see a lot of the old tombs underneath the vatican. It was a part of history i did not know. St. Peter was buried there and Constantine (the guy that made Christianity legal in the 300's) wanted a Church built there. Well it was a pagan cemetary and they had all these really nice mausoleums (burial houses). I had not figured out why they buried St. Peter in a pagan cemetary? Anyway they had a Roman law that forbid the desecration of burial sites. He got around the law by filling it in with dirt and building the Church on top of it!(where the vatican is now). Ok, so St. Peter is buried down there and the high altar was supposed to be built on top of the St. Peter's tomb. But no one ever knew for sure. Well in the 1940s the pope that died (forgot his name) wanted to be buried close to Peter so they started digging and found the old cemetary and eventually St. Peter's tomb. SO, we got to go underground to see the old mausoluems and St. Peters bones! Was that cool! wow-this was like 2000 years old- and they still looked good!

Ok, then we went to a really nice resturant-they had a sweet oven that they baked their bread in-using wood. Itatilians like to eat for about 3 hours! always 5 courses!

Ok well this will probably be the last blog-tommorrow we see the Pope! We are getting ready to head over to the Sistine Chapel-Michael Angelos great works-did you know he worked for free for 18 years for the Vactican! How did that guy make it!

Oh and another thing we did today-totally amazing. St Helena (300s or so) Constatines mother brought the actual steps from Jerusaleum where Jesus walked to be condemmed to death -when he was facing Pontuis Pilate! They were marble steps! how did they get them here to Rome! They are in a Church here and you cannot go up them unless you crawl up them in silence! That was amazing!

Kids, I am getting homesick! and although I am having a great time I cant wait to see you all! We will be home about 10 on thursday night!

I love you all and hope that you are doing great! I did get a chance to do a little shopping:) for you kids!
mom

first full day in rome

have we mentioned that the keyboards are different in italy so it is difficult to type. after a late evening, we woke up at 5:30 this morning so that we can have mass as a group at st peters. st peters bascilica is unbelievable. it is ginormous and the artistry is so beautiful and so precise. we had mass in an Hungarian crypt in the basement of St Peters. after mass, we were able to see the tombs of St Peter, Pope John Paul II, and several other popes. We are definitely on holy ground. after mass, we took a tour of the vatican gardens. it was a two hour walk through gardens, trees, fountains, etc. it was massive and spectacular. after the tour, there was approximately a two hour wait just to get into st peters. we're glad that we woke up early.

we now have a few hours of free time before we have another tour followed by a group dinner.

special thanks to grandma and grandpa kabbes. hope that all is well and that you're enjoying the extra time with the kids. we really really really appreciate all that you are doing.

steven, allie, michael, james, katie and elizabeth. we miss you and cant wait to see you. cant wait to hear how you are doing.

our cell phone is not working so we'll do our best to call again.

arrevederci

p.s. to look more italian, i've decided to buy tight jeans, a scarf, thick glasses, and grow a two day old beard. finally, we're going to try to buy some really small cards. just kidding ...

sunday in assisi and rome

hi there all-glad to finally find this internet place! We got to see San Damino-the church St. Francis repaired after hearing Christ speak to him telling him to rebuild My church. Thinking he was to become a carpenter he did not realize Christ words had a double meaning-spiritually help the Church. St. Clare joined St. Francis after running away from her very rich and powerful family. Francis hid Clare there at San Damino. It became the convent for the Poor Clares. She died there and we were able to see the exact place she died. Sorry about the history lesson!

We also ventured up the mountain to see the place St. Francis went to get away from it all. It is called the Hermitage. That was sweet! There was a thousand year old tree sit standing. Franciscans still live there! We had a great tour guide. Pavlo. We also went down to see the caves were Francis and his followers went to pray. The actual hermitage was built about 200 years after Francis died. SO the place Francis went to get away from it all was the caves! amazing that man!

Got to Rome late last night and went out for Pizza and gelato. Great food here!

Went to see the tomb of John Paul II-I heard from a great source that is the place all the Polish women go to ask for his intercession if they want to become pregnant. I was bringing all those I promised to pray for:)

i love you all! thank you for your prayers!
tess

All righty then, I should sign off.

our day in assisi

greetings everyone. we had a free day in assisi on saturday. after sleeping in, we walked to the top of the city to tour the castle/fortress. although a long hike, the view was well worth the effort. ever wonder how the italians stay so skinny (question mark) ... its because they walk and walk and walk. after the castle tour, we simply walked the streets of assisi. it was simply beautiful. we saw the stable in which st francis was born, we saw the area in which his father imprisoned him, we saw the baptismal font in which he and st clare were baptized, and we viewed his tomb. while on our walk, we also came across the chapel of st stephen - a very old and simple church.

much to our surprise, the restaurants do not open until 7 oclock. so, we went out for a wonderful dinner at an italian (surprise) restaurant. later, we went to an italian musical on the life of st clare. it was an awesome event but difficult to follow.

we then walked back to the religious house / hotel only to discover that we were locked out. tess was unwilling to climb over the 10 foot gate with pointed edges. see what happens, kids, when you stay out past curfew. when a car left, we were able to sneak back into the house.

it was an awesome day. it was really amazing to view the everyday life in assisi.

we're having a great time, we're seeing so much, and we're meeting some wonderful people from across the US. we miss you all so much and we're anxious to see everyone when we return on thursday.

we love you, kids. hope that you are doing well.

james - how was your first game (question mark) cant wait to hear about it.

the day in assisi

Well, it is unbelievable! Beautiful to say the least. With all the old buildings, and just knowing Francis and Clare walked these streets I am in awe! The people are so good and kind. There are only about 1000 residents inside the Assisi walls. They all seem to know each other very well. Seems like it is one big happy family. It is truly amazing, way more than I ever expected! Seeing the crypt where Francis body was buried was very moving. (Father Daren I remembered my promise to you). We ventured out to a local winery, it was lots of fun. The simple beauty of the locals is amazing. Assisi is high on a hill and over looks the valley where there are about 26,000 residents. The gates and walls to Assisi are over 1000 years old! The food is great too. Although very rich and I did have to watch not too eat too much! Allie you know the feeling!

I hope all is well with everyone. Kids, sorry our phone is not working. We miss and love you! We are having a great time. We have a free day on Saturday in Assisi and then we head to Rome on Sunday afternoon.

Happy Birthday Grandma Unterreiner! Thank you Mom for all your help! Dad, thanks for giving her up for a few days:)

Hope to find a internet cafe in Rome to keep you posted! you are in our prayers!

tessie

trip to assissi

hello everyone. sorry for the delayed post. Kids - we're sorry that we did not call. we've experienced some challenges with our us cell phone in an area that is 2,000 years old.

We finally made it to Italy. We left wednesday morning at 4:30 am, flew from st louis to raleigh and onto new york city. our 5:00 pm flight was delayed until 7:30 due to mechanical problems. ninety minutes into our flight to rome, we made a U turn over the atlantic ocean and returned to JFK in New York city. although the airlines called it a delay, it was truly considered an emergency landing. the jet was experiencing problems with the hydraulics. everyone was pretty calm until we saw several fire engines and ambulances escorting us down the runway in new york. we were very thankful to be back on the ground. thank you for all of your prayers as it sure helped.

we boarded a new plan at 1:00 am and flew uneventfully all the way to rome. the 8 hour flight actually went very well. we arrived in rome, got our luggage and boarded our tour bus to assissi. due to the extensive amount of rain that day, the traffic was deadlocked. so, more delays. but we arrived at the religious house at 11:00 pm. although weary, we kept a positive attitude and we're very happy to be italy in our soft beds.

craig

It's Time...

My turn to write. We have plane tickets. We have passports. We have debit cards, travelers checks, and cash. We have clothes to wear. We have a camera, ipods, and books (some fiction, some about Rome). We are not bringing laptops or my PDA.

We have been warned about the pickpocketers. We have been warned about the gladiators at the Coliseum that steal cameras. We have been told by numerous people about the beauty and history of Rome and Assisi. We have a great tour group to take care of us.

We know that the kids will be well cared for. Thanks to everyone for the well wishes, prayers, and support.

24 hours left

24 hours from now we will be arriving into JFK! Then off to Rome. WOW! Ok, well that leaves me a little less than 9 hours to finish everything I need to get done before my dear mother gets here! The fridge is cleaned out and ready to be stacked full of food. The bathrooms are getting cleaned and the sheets are in the wash! Oh and did I mention that there is no school today! Just what I needed more hands to help out!

I do hope we will be able to blog along the way. We decided not to follow Father Daren's good advice to bring our computer. The kids need to use it for their homework and of course to check on our blogspot! I didn't mention though the places we will be staying are religious homes and there is no TV, so I assume no internet access! We will have to do our best to find those internet cafe's. If not, know we are thinking and praying for you all!

arrivederci!

tessie

Sunday Night

Can't believe here it is! Almost time to depart! Big, huge thank you to Fr. Daren for setting up the blog for us! The purpose of the blog is to bring the kids without really bringing them:) More to come!

Getting ready

We leave early Wednesday for our pilgrimage to Rome and beyond. Please keep us in your prayers.