Buckle your seat belts . . .

  . . . because we have a lot to cover! We've got less than two weeks left in the Eternal City, and so much has happened (once again!) that I'm hoping I can appease y'all with pictures instead of detailed explanations of all we did!


Left: One of the random gorgeous shots you get walking around Bella Roma . . . 




 The week after we came home from Lourdes we had several midterms and papers due, but one evening we decided to go exploring and went to the beautiful Santa Maria in Trestavere (one of the oldest churches in Rome) for Mass.










Above: Santa Maria in T from the outside. Left, the interior (amazing) apse mosaics. Below, the Ponte Sisto which we crossed on the way home, with St. Peter's Dome sticking up in background.








 Left: On the feast of All Saints, there was a special event at St. Peter's: the exposition of  over 100 relics of various saints on the main altar.

 Then, last weekend Jordan and I and our friend Joe took a weekend trip to the famous Amalfi Coast, with a side trip to Naples and Pompeii.

Our train from Rome stopped in Naples, and we went to one of the reputedly best pizza places in the world: a tiny little hole-in-the-wall that apparently has been in business since the dawn of time. They had amazing pizza for only 4 euro!

Then we went to Pompeii! 

Much to my surprise Pompeii was really very beautiful. The weather was gorgeous and the ruins were, well, extremely photogenic.

We found an odd corner of Pompeii that was very peaceful and relaxing: the ruins of some temple entirely covered by shady trees.  After our long journey by train and metro, we were ready for a break, so we hung out there a long time, just chillaxing in the shade and chatting and soaking up God's glorious good weather.







Right: Jordan getting ready to take a nap on what looks like some ancient altar.

Below: Me standing in the ancient ruins of either a giant hot tub or a tiny, tiny amphitheater.

 Left: Some very nice courtyard. Right and below: the sun going down in Pompeii.

 We were very blessed afterward to stumble upon a hillside on the outskirts of Pompeii that afforded us an incredible view of the mountains and coastline!

Left: Jordan and below: Jordan and Joe soaking up the sights.






















Amazing views of the sunset!

Left: My favorite shot of the ruins of Pompeii.








 Below: Well, well, well, the man that started it all . . . Mount Vesuvius!


After the sun went down in Pompeii, we caught a train and then a bus to the Amalfi Coast. We saw the lights of the city along the coastal mountains from the bus--gosh, the guys were pretty nervous about those steep and twisty mountain roads! Below: the cathedral of St. Andrew the Apostle in Amalfi, where his body (except his head, which is in Istanbul) is kept.






 Right: the beautiful view of the coast at night near our hotel.  That evening we stood out on the rocks of the shoreline, listened to the sea and watched the stars. It was amazing!

 Unfortunately, Sunday was very, very rainy in Amalfi. So no time on the beach for us! But it was still beautiful, and we got a few lovely pictures before we spent the rest of the day hiding from the pouring rain in cafes and gelato shops.

















Below: The interior of St. Andrew's before Mass on Sunday morning.

Good bye Amalfi! You were too rainy, but still pretty. :)

Below: A random trash receptacle in the Naples Train Station on the way home had this sign on it--which made me laugh very hard! Made me think of the "33 lbs of unbridled fury" back home. ;)



















On the way home, the boys had a very intense discussion. Below is them arguing . . . . and my reaction. :P

Later that week, we went to the home church of the Dominicans on the East side of the Tiber. On the way, we passed Tiber island.


Autumn in Rome is very lovely.

The Dominicans have possibly the best view of Rome . . .

Below: The "Best baroque Joke." You look through this keyhole and look at land owned by Malta, then you see the Vatican and Italy through the other side--so three countries in one peep!

Left: I took this shot walking back from class one day:

"Lauren, get out of the road, cars are coming!"

"Wait . . . just a sec . . . "

One evening I went to St. P's for Mass and realized I was sitting below the founder of the Carmelites . . . Father Elijah! :)

Right: A random misadventure one evening with Zach and Jordan. We went looking for a church, found it, but it was closed . . . looked for a memorial and found the wrong one . . . but got an awesome view of Rome at night!


And then had to find our way back home . . .

Then we went up the dome of St. Peter's yesterday morning! Inside the dome . . .













Below: Zach demonstrates the tilty, claustrophobic walls going up the inside of the dome to the top.

We made it to the top!

This morning we went to The Gesu, the home church of the Jesuits, for Mass. It was incredible.

In one of the side chapels, we came across this beautiful reminder of what this semester is really all about for us. As our time in Rome swiftly draws to a close, we were reminded of why we came here at all: ultimately, to get closer to Him.