La Dolce Vita in Rome :)

Ciao again!

Everything's going very well here still, although it's been so busy I know this semester is just going to FLY by. This week has been so full, I've had to go back and look at the pictures I took just to remind myself of all we've done!

Much of it has just been classes: Art and Architecture with the sarcastic but witty Professor Lev, Moral Theology with the soft-spoken Professor Pal, Italian class, and our fourth class, Roman Perspectives, starts on Tuesday. The classes are longer than the ones at Christendom, although they are less often during the week, and the tours that go with the Art and Architecture class can get pretty hard on the feet. But overall our experiences have been pretty amazing, and our days are packed to overflowing with cool sites and new experiences.

Last Sunday, just for kicks, Jordan and I took the metro to check out St. Paul Outside the Walls. It is easily the biggest church I've ever been in, with the exception of St. Peter's Basilica, and it is beautifully designed, in alabaster and stone. Jordan counted: there are about 80 massive columns lining the main part of the church!

(Yes, believe it or not, I really am here, too: I know there aren't many pics of me usually but that's because I'm most often the one behind the camera.)

One day this week Fr. Bergida took us on a tour of the North American College (or "The NAC," as it's seminarians affectionately call it), where he is currently studying, and said Mass for us there. Then he took us to the top of one of their buildings for this unparalleled view of Rome.

 We loved Nettuno beach so much, and it's such a short train ride away, that we went back for a short visit yesterday:

 

We're making all kinds of other discoveries in our neighborhood, too, that I have forgotten to take pictures of. For instance, this morning being Sunday, we decided to splurge on donuts. So we walked around the corner to the nearby 24-hour bakery called Dolce Maniera, and got four huge, warm-fresh filled donuts. I was expecting it to be a little pricey, as it's a really delicious bakery. Quanto costa? One fifty!

 Mi scusi?

Yes, four huge, freshly-baked donuts for one and a half euros. If you had only seen the looks of sheer delight on our faces when we made this discovery!

"Eating is a way of studying, too," said the very tongue-in-cheek Professor Lev today, and the group is definitely taking that maxim seriously. Every Sunday night we have a potluck in which everybody makes and brings something, and good cooks are popping out of the woodwork. Last week I just made bruschetta; but then I was so impressed with the skill of the other folks that I decided I'd have to up my game a little, and I baked an apple crisp . . . which was gone within minutes of me putting it on the table. (The supreme compliment to any cook . . . )

Speaking of Professor Lev, this week she took us on a tour of the Capitoline Museum, which was the first-ever public museum, originally created out of the generosity of Pope Sixtus IV in the 1500's. We're learning a whole lot about different art forms and styles, from the ancient Greeks to the Medievals, and it's truly a fascinating class. I only wish it didn't entail being on my feet for two and a half hours at a time.

Art can be moving and inspiring . . .

"The Dying Gaul," sculpted for Julius Caesar.

Or . . . hmm  . . . perplexing.

Andrew gets a closer look at Bernini's Medusa.

 Unfortunately, some Italian workers group was going on strike that day, and the Museum people decided that was the perfect excuse to close early and get more free time that weekend--without warning us. Professor Lev was livid; she's good-tempered, but to be in the middle of teaching a clasnd suddenly be told: "Cinque minuti!" would make anyone frustrated!

To try and re-schedule some of what we had missed, we had a make up lecture/tour today of the Roman Forum and the Coliseum. It was cold and rainy, but still very impressive. It is mind-blowing to think how ancient most of these places are. 

The whole group of us, voting someone down in the arena (hehe):

 That's all for this week, y'all! I'm having a fantastic time, although I'm very busy, and I need to go catch up on homework, so arriverderci!


xo Lauren

Adventures in Roma and Nettuno Beach!

Well, we have been back in Rome for over a week now; a week that has been jam-packed with orientation, classes, and exploring! There is lots to tell, mostly about the many sights we've seen this week and the 25--count 'em! 25!--hours of intensive Italian class we have completed this week.

Italian is a beautiful language. But sitting in class for five hours of it everyday has been a bit draining. This is the only intensive week though, thank goodness, so our normal class schedule kicks in next week. :) Meanwhile, I'm starting to get the hang of it: Buon giorno, mi chiamo Lauren, e sono studentessa Americana! Come ti chiami e di dove sei?

 After classes this week we've done a lot of exploring around Rome, and one day was a mandatory "scavenger hunt" to force us to get used to using our bus/metro pass. That turned out to be quite a blessing, because we've now got the hang of getting around the city easily using the public transportation. This week we saw Saint John Lateran, the Pope's official bishopric-seat, and Santa Croce de Gerusalemme, where the relics of the Holy Cross are kept!

The ceiling of St. John Lateran.

 The relics of the True Cross, venerated in a special side chapel of Santa Croce. It was beautiful to be able to pray there before the wood of the Cross "on which hung our salvation."

A group of us also checked out The Pantheon. Brendan, front and center in this pic, is one of our history majors who was acting as our guide that day and who is honestly nearly as good as a professional tour guide; he really does know an astonishing amount about all these historical sites, including dates, names, and interesting events.





 The Pantheon:

Former pagan temple. . .

. . . Now it's a Catholic Church. 

We win.

The (very cold and wet) day we went to St. John Lateran, we also passed the Coliseum. Which I forgot to take a picture of. :-/ But I have a hunch we'll go back to it at some point.

Although I don't have a picture of the Coliseum, I do have a picture of Jordan looking at the Coliseum . . . hmm.

A lot of our free time is also taken up by locating, buying, preparing, and eating our own food, since there is no cafeteria here. It's actually quite nice to determine our own menu and be able to eat light or healthy as we please, and when we please. Because eggs are quite cheap here, all of us college kids are getting very creative with our egg dishes! Omelets, fried eggs, french toast, egg sandwiches, scrambled eggs, hard-boiled eggs, eggs with tomatoes, eggs with salami, eggs with bread, eggs with nutella . . . and for that matter, anything with nutella! :) Fruit is also pretty inexpensive here. So with fruit and eggs and bread and cheese and tomatoes and coffee (and nutella, of course), we're actually eating pretty hearty most days.  With, of course, the occasional gelatto. :D

But before I go on, I thought I would share two miscellaneous adventures of this week that were quite unexpected.

"An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered." --G. K. Chesterton.

 Misadventure number one: So, as most of you probably know, in a moment of sleep-deprived jet-lag, I stupidly left my glasses in the taxi we took from the airport to the hotel, so ever since I got here I have been walking around squinting at all the art and straining to read things in class. Yesterday, though, my new ones finally arrived from home, which made me very happy, as now I can see again! Not to mention, they're quite stylish. :)

But getting a hold of them wasn't exactly the least stressful thing I've done.

Three days ago, the front desk called me and told me something was there for me--turned out it was a fax from Fedex: two forms covered in my mom's handwriting and something that said "AirWay Bill" that basically repeated the same info. Confused, I asked the lady at the front desk for help; turns out, I should have done anything but that, because she knew even less about it than I did. She was a bit flighty and told me that because the paper said "200" I must owe customs 200 euro and they wouldn't give me my glasses unless I paid them that, and that I should have written "old, used personal items" on the postal form unless I wanted to pay a hefty fee.

 Cue my heart dropping to my shoes.

But of course, that was a mistake, thank heaven. I owed customs nothing; so after panicking for a few hours and frantically calling the Italian Fedex office, I discovered they just wanted me to tell them that yes, I was expecting a package.

Miscellaneous adventure number two:One morning this week before our 9 am Italian class on the other side of the Vatican, we went to the 7 AM Mass across the street. After Mass, while I was praying, a lady came up to me and tapped me on the shoulder; she looked familiar, but I couldn't immediately place her face. Then she politely asked if I was from Louisiana, and said she recognized me from Mass there; she correctly mentioned how many brothers she usually sees with me, and at what parish. Talk about a coincidence! Of course then I recognized who she was, one of a group of consecrated women I see sometimes at Mass--and admitted that yes, that was who I was! "I thought you looked familiar!" she cried. She explained she was on a pilgrimage with her family and was on her way to Assisi. I promised her she was in for a treat!

So, there's two notable adventures of this past week. :) Today was a special outing though: we took a train to nearby Nettuno Beach! St. Maria Goretti is buried in a (hideous modern) church there, and we visited her tomb.

 

She's beautiful, even if the shrine is not.

Chilling by the Mediterranean. :)



That's all for now, folks! Ciao!

xo Lauren

Last Days in Assisi, and time in Siena

Ciao again! I know it's been a long time since I last updated but our schedule was so full I wasn't able to get internet any place until now. So I will try to do a brief summary of what's been happening, and the wonderful things we've seen and done, with a few pictures! I wish I could recount it all in all the glorious detail . . . Lemme 'splain . . . no, is too long, lemme sum up!


Tuesday, we did a rosary walk down to the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli and saw the Portiuncula. Then in the afternoon we hiked all the way up Mount Subasio to the hermitage of St. Francis, which was incredible. There are no words to describe the peace and beauty of this place. I loved the chapel especially. So Franciscan, beautiful and yet quite simple. By far it was my most favorite place so far.

The Chapel of the Hermitage of St. Francis.

 

The view from the Hermitage.

Wednesday morning was our last day in Assisi, and it was so beautiful. We had Mass in a gorgeous side chapel of Santa Chiara (St. Clare), and then I went back to the tomb of St. Francis to pray. We were given Tau Crosses by the priest with us, Fr. Bergida, and we touched to the tomb of St. Francis. Then on the way back Jordan surprised me by giving me a stunning green scarf to remember Assisi by. :)

Our group praying before the original San Damiano crucifix before we went in to Mass.

We encountered some random burros . . . and so the boys decided to try to feed them . . .

                                           Wednesday afternoon we left by bus to Siena!

And this is why my back has been feeling great the last few days . . .

Siena is very different than Assisi. It's more city-like and modern, and is full of fashionable shops. Whereas Assisi is all about St. Francis and St. Clare, in Siena places of spiritual significance have to be sought out.

The Duomo, the gorgeous huge church of Siena.

Inside the Duomo. I have so many pictures, it's hard to choose just a few to put up here!

In the crypt of the Duomo is this touching Medieval fresco, which reminded me of The Pieta.

We got to climb to the top of the archway of the "New Church," which was started centuries ago but never completed, and got an incomparable view of all Siena and the surrounding countryside. (Notice my very pretty green scarf. :)

Today, the feast of the Triumph of the Cross, we had Mass at the church of San Francisco, and we saw the Eucharistic miracle there of the hosts that have been miraculously preserved for over two centuries after having been stolen and then found again. I don't have any pictures of this, unfortunately. After Mass an elderly priest with a thick Southern Italian accent showed us the room with the miracle, and displayed it to us for adoration for over an hour. It was such an intense experience: all of us paying homage there to Our Lord hidden in the hosts on our knees on the marble floor of the cathedral. We sang hymns and went up individually to pray before the miracle, and Fr. Bergida waited in the back to hear confessions of anyone who wanted to go. This was even more amazing than the hermitage, and I think it was a very solid, good experience for our whole group. 


Then, afterward, we wandered out and now have some free time until dinner with the group. Some decided to spend their time, erm, exploring the nearby Italian playground.

Oh, those boys . . .

Even Padre got in on the fun!

Well, that's all for now! Tomorrow we head back to Rome at last. It has been a beautiful pilgrimage, and I can't wait to see what God has in store for us in the rest of the semester!

Arrivederci!

This exit sign and crucifix in the hallway of our hotel cracks me up. In case of emergency, run to Jesus! :)

xo Lauren

Assisi

JMJ

Buongiorno! :) The sun is coming up over our third day in Assisi, and I've finally found an internet spot so I can update here. 

Assisi is so beautiful. There is something special about this locality that is unlike any other place. It is so peaceful, and so Franciscan. . . the "peace that passes understanding" fills this town.

The most they've done to special sites, like the house where St. Francis grew up, is convert them into chapels. They're otherwise preserved just as they were. Every nook and cranny of this town is utterly gorgeous, especially the churches. The Basilica is my favorite . . . although the tour guide said there are something like 46 churches in Assisi!

Our schedule has been quite packed; meals are scheduled every day, along with Mass and at least one tour, and we have talks in the evening. But during the hot part of the day we have a little extra time, so yesterday I was able to pick up a few postcards and do a little exploring around Assisi. :) 

Our very down-to-earth Philly tour guide Mike, a third-order Franciscan and an excellent guide through the Basilica. He showed us the lower church, and the upper church, and explained the frescoes and the theological intentions behind the art and architecture. Unfortunately, pictures were strictly not allowed inside the Basilica. 

This lovely rose fell out of nowhere onto the ground in front of me! It must have fallen from someone's balcony or from a flowerpot on a ledge or something, but I couldn't see where it came from, and no one seemed to be looking for a rose they had dropped. 

The central square, or Piazza de Commune, of Assisi. 

Some of the good ol' boys in our class with us this semester. 

Assisi. The Citta delle Pace, city of Peace. 

The Tomb of St. Francis, where we had Mass yesterday. 

I have many more beautiful pictures to share, but I have limited internet at this little cafe, and I have to rush back to the hotel now, or I will be late for breakfast. Today we are headed down to Santa Maria degli Angeli, Mary of the Angels, where we will have Mass, and where the Portiuncula now resides. 

I'm praying for all of you here every day at all of these sacred places, especially at the Tomb of St. Francis. Please keep praying for us as we continue our pilgrimage in Assisi today and tomorrow leave for Siena. 

Ciao! Or as they say here in Assisi, Pax et Bonum! 

ROMA

Ciao! 

Now that I am safe and sound in Rome, the adventures have begun! Yesterday we went to St. Peter's for Mass and out to dinner, and then this happened along the way: 

Teehee.

St. Peter's is . . . amazing. 

The most beautiful thing in St. Peter's is The Pieta. 

Dinner was delicious!

And Roma is . . . well. There is a reason it's called Bella Roma. :) 

xo Lauren

Safe and Sound

Hello! I'm sitting in in my tiny but lovely Roman room and have just awoken from an attempt to outfox the jet lag, but I don't know yet how successful I am. Time will tell I guess . . .

My Virginia adventures have been many and marvelous, and I do have great pictures from most of them, but I might forgo detailed accounts until later this week. Here's a few samplers though:

             This is Jordan's amazing parish, St. John's . . . brand new, gorgeous church!

 

 Ashlynn and I goofing off at dinner on Saturday night.

                     Jordan and I at Harper's Ferry, before we got all hot and sweaty from hiking. (I fixed it! It was upside down before.)

                                                 The unbelievable view from the top!

Now I am settled safe and sound in my room, which is very pretty, and has this tiny patio  . . .

Ciao for now!
Lauren