The Beatles recorded a version of Kansas City? Wow...
I'm going (back) to Kansas City, Kansas City, here I come!
God bless!
19 April 2011
I'm Going to Kansas City, Kansas City Here I Come (Tomorrow)
It has been a crazy ride. It's hard to believe that my trip ends tomorrow, but alas, I will be on a plane bound for the States at 10.30 tomorrow morning.
15 April 2011
Roma
Sorry for not updating, guys. It has been a long, long, LONG few days in Rome. I'm going to try and recap starting at Tuesday, which is when we moved to Rome.
Tuesday: So we got to Rome in the afternoon arriving to our Villa called Buon Amici. We spent the afternoon at the Vatican City and then headed back to the Villa for the night. We spent the rest of the night playing soccer on the awesome soccer field on the property but that's where things started to get out of control. Tuesday night we started hearing beeping down in the lounge from around the security system.and it was all just a little shady. We went to sleep and around 2:30 the fire alarm went off. I sat up in bed thinking this can't possibly be happening... I don't want to get out of bed just to do some damn fire drill. Nathan and I crawled out of bed and into the hallway to see smoke pouring up the stairs. This was a legitimate fire. We grabbed as many people as we could from the rooms and rushed out of the side stairwells to meet up with the rest of our group. The lounge area below our rooms was lit ablaze and we had to evacuate the area. Mind you, this was five hours before the Papal Audience we were attending. It was a VERY long night that I will never forget, especially after a resident a few doors down from me jumped out the window to escape the fire that was nowhere near her.
Wednesday: The fire didn't keep us from going to the Papal Audience. It was absolutely awesome. I even got a professional picture from the Vatican with part of our group and the Pope driving by. It is one of those experiences I will never forget.
Thursday: On this day we went on the Scavi Tour which are the ruins below St. Peter's Basilica. This was really cool as well. Sadly we couldn't take pictures underneath it, but we got to see the Tomb of St. Peter as well as the tomb of John Paul II. After our tour we visited Piazza Novana, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and the Piazza Popolo. It was a great day and the pictures from all of this will be up soon.
Today: Man, today was where I got to see everything I've wanted to see since I was little. We went inside the Coliseum, which was amazing, and visited all of ancient Rome. I saw the Roman Forum and the old palace ruins. It was unbelievable. I really can't put into words because it's one of those things you're going to have to experience. After this great experience we visited St. John Lateran and I went up the Holy Stairs (the stairs Jesus walked up to see Pontius Pilate) on my knees. It was a very surreal experience.
Tomorrow? I have no idea what we're going to do tomorrow, but I can safely say that I'm now ready to go home. I miss all of you guys and can't wait to see you. Only five more days and I'll be back in the states. Love you guys!
God bless!
Tuesday: So we got to Rome in the afternoon arriving to our Villa called Buon Amici. We spent the afternoon at the Vatican City and then headed back to the Villa for the night. We spent the rest of the night playing soccer on the awesome soccer field on the property but that's where things started to get out of control. Tuesday night we started hearing beeping down in the lounge from around the security system.and it was all just a little shady. We went to sleep and around 2:30 the fire alarm went off. I sat up in bed thinking this can't possibly be happening... I don't want to get out of bed just to do some damn fire drill. Nathan and I crawled out of bed and into the hallway to see smoke pouring up the stairs. This was a legitimate fire. We grabbed as many people as we could from the rooms and rushed out of the side stairwells to meet up with the rest of our group. The lounge area below our rooms was lit ablaze and we had to evacuate the area. Mind you, this was five hours before the Papal Audience we were attending. It was a VERY long night that I will never forget, especially after a resident a few doors down from me jumped out the window to escape the fire that was nowhere near her.
Wednesday: The fire didn't keep us from going to the Papal Audience. It was absolutely awesome. I even got a professional picture from the Vatican with part of our group and the Pope driving by. It is one of those experiences I will never forget.
Thursday: On this day we went on the Scavi Tour which are the ruins below St. Peter's Basilica. This was really cool as well. Sadly we couldn't take pictures underneath it, but we got to see the Tomb of St. Peter as well as the tomb of John Paul II. After our tour we visited Piazza Novana, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and the Piazza Popolo. It was a great day and the pictures from all of this will be up soon.
Today: Man, today was where I got to see everything I've wanted to see since I was little. We went inside the Coliseum, which was amazing, and visited all of ancient Rome. I saw the Roman Forum and the old palace ruins. It was unbelievable. I really can't put into words because it's one of those things you're going to have to experience. After this great experience we visited St. John Lateran and I went up the Holy Stairs (the stairs Jesus walked up to see Pontius Pilate) on my knees. It was a very surreal experience.
Tomorrow? I have no idea what we're going to do tomorrow, but I can safely say that I'm now ready to go home. I miss all of you guys and can't wait to see you. Only five more days and I'll be back in the states. Love you guys!
God bless!
04 April 2011
03 April 2011
Bittersweet Symphony
I know you guys missed me, but I have finally returned! I kind of feel like a train hit me tonight so I'm going to try and summarize the last few days as quickly as possible.
Friday: Around two I met Jenny and girls from the program to play soccer with local kids a part of her (Jenny's) Catholic group. It was absolutely awesome! There were so many kids who were just soaking in what it meant to live. I haven't had that much fun in a long time. We came back to the Villa and I found a version of Braveheart for us to watch. So that was Friday in a nutshell. Quick, interesting, fun, etc.
Saturday: Father Meinrad and I ventured to Bologna on Saturday. We visited with Steve Figoni and had lunch with his amazing young family. They then toured us around what has become one of my favorite cities in Italy. I wish I could've stayed there longer but I had to be back to have dinner with Don Mario, Dylan, Brendan, and Dan, and Padre's flat. He is one of the most interesting people I have ever met and his apartment fit that personality. He had priceless works of art and Pavarotti playing throughout. Although the best part was the picture of Rappin' Ronny Reagan he had. Then Father continued to give us wine, food, and good discussion for the rest of the night. I'm going to miss Dylan and Don Mario when I have to leave this wonderful country in three weeks. Of course, as you noticed, I didn't blog last night either and there is a very good reason for that.
After dinner was over I walked over to the Ponte Vecchio with Dylan to meet Ingrid and a few more people from the St. Thomas Moore Society. Around 23:30 I figured I should get back to the Villa because our bus for Monte Oliveto left at 7:30 this morning. As I was sitting in San Marco I realized that I only had one week left in Florence. One week. So I grabbed my stuff and went on a journey to track down Dylan and the gang. I had an idea where to look, but both of those places I didn't find them. I think God wanted me to spend last night in Florence because I was heading back to San Marco in one of the back roads I rarely use and I randomly bumped into Dylan. It was awesome! So I dropped my stuff off at Ingrid's apartment, we got some wine and we walked around the beautiful city of Florence admiring the life that came out after dark. Around 2:30 I got the drunchies, as Dylan coined it, so we got a Kebab at what Dylan also proclaims as the best Kebab place in Florence. The night wrapped up around 4:00 where I passed out for about an hour and fifteen minutes before waking up and taking the first bus back to Settignano around 6:00.
Sunday: Today we went to Monte Oliveto, a Benedictine Order that was reformed by St. Bernardo Tolomei. The Abbey is located just outside of Siena and it was interesting to see all of the scenery again of that beautiful area. We got a personal tour from one of the monks and even celebrated mass with them. After mass we went to have a wine tasting. The monks at this Abbey make wine, olive oil, and an array of other useful products. They make the only white wine I've ever tried that I actually liked so I decided to buy it and bring it home to share with my family. I'm a red wine type of guy, so it was incredibly surprising that I could tolerate a white wine let alone like it. We ate an amazing lunch with the monk pictured below. It was nice having a small group for this trip. It made the entire experience that much more intimate.
We came back to Florence and I stopped in town for a few hours, soaking up what's left of my time here. Came back to the Villa, remembering I had gotten less than two hours of sleep the previous night, ate dinner then took a nap. Woke up a few hours ago and figured it would probably be nice of me to update this blog thingy that I decided to do.
All streaks must come to an end: even one as awesome as my blog streak. 8 Days and I leave Florence for good en route to Rome. Things are moving so fast now! Gah!
Love you guys! Hope you don't hate me too much for forgetting to post for two nights! Ciao a tutti!
God bless!
Friday: Around two I met Jenny and girls from the program to play soccer with local kids a part of her (Jenny's) Catholic group. It was absolutely awesome! There were so many kids who were just soaking in what it meant to live. I haven't had that much fun in a long time. We came back to the Villa and I found a version of Braveheart for us to watch. So that was Friday in a nutshell. Quick, interesting, fun, etc.
 |
| I had no idea that St. Dominic's tomb was in Bologna. It was such a pleasant and awesome surprise! |
Saturday: Father Meinrad and I ventured to Bologna on Saturday. We visited with Steve Figoni and had lunch with his amazing young family. They then toured us around what has become one of my favorite cities in Italy. I wish I could've stayed there longer but I had to be back to have dinner with Don Mario, Dylan, Brendan, and Dan, and Padre's flat. He is one of the most interesting people I have ever met and his apartment fit that personality. He had priceless works of art and Pavarotti playing throughout. Although the best part was the picture of Rappin' Ronny Reagan he had. Then Father continued to give us wine, food, and good discussion for the rest of the night. I'm going to miss Dylan and Don Mario when I have to leave this wonderful country in three weeks. Of course, as you noticed, I didn't blog last night either and there is a very good reason for that.
 |
| The beautiful Bolognese countryside. |
After dinner was over I walked over to the Ponte Vecchio with Dylan to meet Ingrid and a few more people from the St. Thomas Moore Society. Around 23:30 I figured I should get back to the Villa because our bus for Monte Oliveto left at 7:30 this morning. As I was sitting in San Marco I realized that I only had one week left in Florence. One week. So I grabbed my stuff and went on a journey to track down Dylan and the gang. I had an idea where to look, but both of those places I didn't find them. I think God wanted me to spend last night in Florence because I was heading back to San Marco in one of the back roads I rarely use and I randomly bumped into Dylan. It was awesome! So I dropped my stuff off at Ingrid's apartment, we got some wine and we walked around the beautiful city of Florence admiring the life that came out after dark. Around 2:30 I got the drunchies, as Dylan coined it, so we got a Kebab at what Dylan also proclaims as the best Kebab place in Florence. The night wrapped up around 4:00 where I passed out for about an hour and fifteen minutes before waking up and taking the first bus back to Settignano around 6:00.
Sunday: Today we went to Monte Oliveto, a Benedictine Order that was reformed by St. Bernardo Tolomei. The Abbey is located just outside of Siena and it was interesting to see all of the scenery again of that beautiful area. We got a personal tour from one of the monks and even celebrated mass with them. After mass we went to have a wine tasting. The monks at this Abbey make wine, olive oil, and an array of other useful products. They make the only white wine I've ever tried that I actually liked so I decided to buy it and bring it home to share with my family. I'm a red wine type of guy, so it was incredibly surprising that I could tolerate a white wine let alone like it. We ate an amazing lunch with the monk pictured below. It was nice having a small group for this trip. It made the entire experience that much more intimate.
 |
| I feel really bad because I can't remember this monk's name, but he was awesome! |
All streaks must come to an end: even one as awesome as my blog streak. 8 Days and I leave Florence for good en route to Rome. Things are moving so fast now! Gah!
Love you guys! Hope you don't hate me too much for forgetting to post for two nights! Ciao a tutti!
God bless!
01 April 2011
Are We There Yet?
It has been a LONG day, but that's ok. Had an Italian quiz this morning that went really well, even if it was the most difficult one we've had yet.
This afternoon for Father's class we had a Holy Hour and then turned in our papers. One of the best classes I've ever had, I think. I mean how often do you have a Holy Hour during class? Not that often.
Tonight has been awesome, though. It started out with the bar-b-q I mentioned last night and culminated with all the guys still at the Villa drinking and smoking out on the terrace overlooking Florence. It's the moments like those that I will never forget.
I think that's all though. Ciao a tutti!
God bless!
This afternoon for Father's class we had a Holy Hour and then turned in our papers. One of the best classes I've ever had, I think. I mean how often do you have a Holy Hour during class? Not that often.
Tonight has been awesome, though. It started out with the bar-b-q I mentioned last night and culminated with all the guys still at the Villa drinking and smoking out on the terrace overlooking Florence. It's the moments like those that I will never forget.
I think that's all though. Ciao a tutti!
God bless!
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