Era una finesettimana lunghissima!

San Marino e Urbino

Saturday we traveled to San Marino, an independent state within Italy (like Vatican City), and Urbino - another beautiful historic small town in Le Marche. The day started off early(ish) at the bus terminal at 7:00 am. After a few hours' journey we arrived in San Marino which was beautiful but more touristy than I would have liked. We passed store after store selling both real and imitation brands for prices both outrageously expensive and ridiculously cheap. The best part was arriving at the top of the castle atop of the city and looking down on the marvelous view. The views that I am now (unfortunately) becoming used to. I say unfortunately because I miss the feeling of awe and wonder I used to get every time I looked out my bedroom window. It's still there to an extent but not like it used to be. Signs that I am growing accustomed to living here I suppose.
In Urbino, we found ourselves in the home town of Raphael Sanzio which still contains the house he grow up in. We also took a tour of the Le Marche museum located in the historic Duke and Duchess's palace. It was a beautiful and massive place with loads of religious artwork one can only marvel at. With my love for houses, I also enjoyed reading about the different rooms we walked through and imagining how the Duchess's bedroom, for instance, looked at it's finest.
As mentioned in the title, this was a long day that tired me out immensely because of the walking but also because of the talking. I found a Brazilian girl with my same interest in learning to better speak and understand Italian in a conversation so we talked in Italian all day. This was also best because otherwise she speaks Portuguese and I speak English (although her English is also quite good). By the end of the day my head was spinning from both my conversations with her and from translating the commentary that our tour guides had been providing us all day.
Let's just some this up by saying I was very happy to see my bed that evening and longed to remain wrapped in my covers longer than our trip to Rome would allow.

San Marino

 

Rome!

St. Peter's

Meet Fernanda who helps me practice my Italian!

Roma

Sunday we awoke bright and early to make the 4 hour trip to Rome. The day was beautiful but terribly hot. The sun was completely unforgiving I'm afraid. Luckily for me, I had made arrangements with Tatum before hand to meet up and go to mass so my day was less demanding than those who stayed with the group.
After helping Fernanda practice her English, Tatum and I met for the Regina Caeli (a Marian prayer said at noon) in the square of St. Peter's. It was at this moment that I saw the pope in the flesh for the first time and it was so exciting!! I clapped and waved and imagined he was waving back just at me. I was actually so excited that I wasn't quite able to understand all that he said. However, his humility and "cuteness" moves me every time and I felt such joy at this moment.
Next, Tatum and I moved to the nearby church of the Holy Spirit for 12:30 Pentecost mass before returning to St. Peter's to eat the lunch she had so generously brought from home. It was delightful to sit and share my first week in Camerino with her and here more about the Sisters and girls in formation in Rome.
After, Tatum had to leave so I went back to the church of the Holy Spirit to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet and my holy hour at 3 pm. I didn't mention this earlier, but this church contains both a relic of  St. Faustina who God revealed the Divine Mercy Chaplet to and one of the Church's latest saints St. Pope John Paul II. Therefore, the church was packed for this event too and the chaplet was followed by a rosary alternating decades in Italian and Polish (both saints mentioned above were polish).
I left here around 4 and headed to the line for entering St. Peter's Basilica. The line had thankfully died down and after about 20 minutes, I was inside. There really aren't words to describe it but it was simply magnificent; it was everything that a church in the heart of the Roman Catholic Church should be. I saw Michelangelo's Pieta and even got to go to confession (in English thank goodness)! I normally go every 2 weeks and the Lord, true to His word, took care of me once again. It was time that I go and there happened to be confession at that time. Why I ever doubt Him, I don't know.
My one piece of advice to those who go to St. Peter's (and all churches in Italy for that matter): one must not forget to look up! The ceilings are extravagantly decorated!
However, as rich and gorgeous as St. Peter's and the other churches I've visited so far are, the thing inside of them that is most beautiful of all is always the Lord. There He is in the form of bread, stored away in a small gold box that is humble in comparison to all of the other decorations and adornments. He is the first Person that I look for when I enter the church to remind myself that without all of this silver and gold, He would still be the same God that loves me more than I will ever be able to comprehend which, at the heart of it all, is really the only thing that matters.

13:49 La Scuola di Dante Alighieri