The Parents Visit Italy

So it's been about three weeks since the last time I was able to have enough time to sit down and blog about my semester...that's because 2 1/2 weeks ago, my parents flew to Rome to visit. While they were here, we visited everything there is to visit in Rome, as well as Sicily and Florence, both of which I will post about soon. Let me first tell everyone about my parents' visit.
On Friday, Feb 29 my parents landed in Rome. They got settled in their hotel room right down the street from my residence, and we decided to explore. I took them to the Pantheon, the Vatican, and the Trevi Fountain before we decided to go and grab a bite to eat and call it an early night since they were jet lagged. On Saturday morning, we first went to the open air market down the street from my residence, which my parents really enjoyed. We then went to the Colosseum. It's always nice to see the look on people's faces when they see some of these buildings for the first time. From there, we walked around the Roman Forum and the Imperial Forum, which are both right next to each other. They seemed to enjoy the little history lesson I was able to give about everything. That evening I took them to Trastevere, which is a section of Rome what is full of old streets, small restaurants, and an excellent group of people. We had a very good dinner there, and came back early to sleep since we were leaving for Sicily the next morning. I will talk about Sicily in a separate post...feel free to read it above.
The day after we got back from Sicily, we all walked around all day. We went to the Spanish Steps and did some shopping, and also walked to the Barberini section of town and did some shopping there as well. That evening we ate at Dino e Toni, which was a restaurant that had been recommended to me. The restaurant was amazing. it had no menu, and the food was whatever was fresh that day. The place was very deceiving, and run by a few guys who clearly know how to make some of the best food in Italy, which is really saying a lot. On Tuesday we had to go to the Vatican to pick up tickets for the Papal Audience that happens on Wednesday from a Priest I had met here who works in the Vatican. Before that, however, we finally went into St. Peter's Basilica. Both of my parents could not believe the size of it, nor the beauty that is held all within one building. We then saw the tombs of the popes, and climbed to the top of the dome, or the Cupola. The climb wasn't too bad, and it was worth every step once you saw the views of Rome. The views are really not to be believed, and cannot be compared to anything else like it in the world. After climbing back down, it was time to pick up the tickets, and Father Grous welcomed my parents into his office that overlooks St. Peter's Square, which is a magnificent view. We relaxed for much of the day after that, and found a nice place to eat at night. Wednesday was the Papal Audience. The Papal Audience is held every Wednesday for thousands of people who go to the Vatican to be blessed by the Pope, and to listen to the message that he has to give that week. Because Father Grous was able to get us such good tickets, we were only 13 rows back from the front, which was an amazing experience being that close to Pope Benedict. People have a tendency to go a little crazy at this event, but that only makes it even more fun. We spent the afternoon walking around the city, and doing a little more shopping since the Italian stores are so great. Thursday morning we left for Florence, which again, you may feel free to read about above in a separate post.
Sunday we came back from Florence and relaxed for a bit, before going out to find some dinner. Monday was the start of classes again for me, but my parents went to Venice. They fell in love with the city, and said it is truly impossible to believe how beautiful it is. When they got back on Wednesday evening, we walked around a bit and went out to dinner before calling it a night. Thursday was our catch-up day. We saw everything that they had not been able to see yet, and also returned to the Trevi Fountain. Thanks to the help of Father Grous, we also managed to get tickets for the three of us to go see the excavations of the original basilica under St. Peter's, which only about 150 people get to see per day. The original basilica was discovered by accident in 1939 when construction work was being done on the modern one. When ti was found, the excavations were originally ordered to be in secret by the Pope, since it was during the time of WWII, and he did not want the Nazis to find out about it. The search all began because the Pope wanted to know if he could find St. Peter's Tomb, which is supposed to be directly under the altar. Stepping into the excavations is like going back in time to 127 A.D. You are walking down streets and going into buildings that are 2,000 years old, learning history and seeing things that most people will never get to see. It is one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced. The tomb was discovered, but it was found to be empty. They realized soon why, and found out that at one point they were afraid of people trying to harm the bones, so they had been placed in a wall next to the tomb. Once they were found, they were analyzed and determined to be the bones of St. Peter. The bones were put back where they were found for respect purposes, but this time in a special container that would prevent them from being harmed. It is really a fascinating thing to see, and is truly a humbling experience to stand next to the bones of St. Peter. Thursday night we had a great last dinner, and relaxed for the night, since they had to pack for the following morning. On Friday morning we took one last stroll around, and drove back to the airport. It was hard to say goodbye, but I only have less than 6 weeks left here as I write this, so it won't be long until I see them. I hope that everything is going well back in the states, and keep in touch,

~ Mike