Last Saturday we began four free days and we went to different places, as we liked, usually in groups. Four of us, Srs. Marilyn, Cecilia, Lia and I went to Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento, and the Island of Capri! On Sautrday we went to a late afternoon Mass, in Italian, and on Sunday we took off early in the morning on a tour bus. The weather was very beautiful. We went to one of the Blue Grottos, of the Capri Island. In small row boats, we laid down and went through a very small opening in the sea water, into a cave with a higher celiling. It was so exciting! Inside the cave the color was a beautiful blue! A shrine of Mary overlooks the area on the cliffs above. The day before people weren't able to go because of choppy water. We were told that about ten thousand people come everyday to see these areas. I can show photos later.
We finished our time at those places on Monday and returned to Rome. Then on Tuesday, Sr. Marilyn and I went to Tivoli to the excavations of Hadrian's Villa and the beautiful fountains at Villa d'Este!
On Wednesday all of us went to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. As you know, they are very beautiful with all of the art. We had learned the evening before about those places and some of the artists... so it became even more meaningful.
Today we went to Monte Cassino, where St. Benedict lived towards the end of his life and where he wrote his famous rule from which so many religious orders have received help. In World War II the monastery was bombed because the Allies thought German soldiers were hiding there. It was a mistake and no German soldiers were there. The monastery had also been destroyed three times before, by one or two invasions and by an earthquake. After World War II, the monastery was built again, much in the way it had been before the bombing. Of course, it was very special for us to be there, especially in the areas where Benedict had spent more time and which hadn't been destroyed. (One bomb fell just by the remains of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica, under the main altar of the church. The bomb didn't go off and the saints' remains continue to be there!)
We Sisters are very congenial as a group and we enjoy each other very much. We are blessed!
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2 comments:
I have heard things get more "Italian" and less touristy the further south you travel --- which means you experience the culture more! I've seen a Rick Steves episode in which he visits the Blue Grotto and he had to do exactly what you explained. It seemed like it was breathtaking once he got inside though. I am excited to see your pictures! Do you think you'll spend the 4th with us?
The Blue Grotto is breathtaking, as well as the motorboat ride to the area, with the high cliffs above us and sea gulls flying around us.
I would like to be with you for the 4th of July, but I'm not sure I'll be able to do it. As you can imagine, after being gone for so long, I may need to work on that day. I'll be very happy to show you photos!
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