Gettin’ Carried Away

The first time I traveled out of the country was when I visited Canada in 2002. In 2004, while attending Saint Xavier University, I caught wind of a trip to Rome that was to be led by one of the English professors. Why? For fun! Having caught the travel bug four short years prior to this, my ears perked up and I made up my mind: I’m going!

Dr. Lawrence Musgrove led a small group to Rome about a year before his next planned trip. He created the SXU Travel Society, and expressed a desire to lead interested Saint Xavier affiliates on excursions to Italy. This was just too good to pass up.

Along with other students, I met with Dr. Musgrove several times to discuss the logistics: fees, itineraries, flights, accommodations, etc. We were to depart from Chicago O’Hare the day after Christmas and return on January 2. Upon hearing this, I thought, “I GET TO SPEND NEW YEAR’S IN ROME? That seals the deal… count me in!”

So on a very cold, semi-snowy December day in Chicago, a rather large group of SXU students and professors boarded a coach bus outside of the school and headed to the airport. This would be my first experience witnessing a de-icing of an aircraft. Before we could take off, the plane had to be sprayed with this pink liquid (much reminiscent of the ooze from Ghostbusters II) that trickled down the windows. After about 20 minutes, we were ready for take off. I’ll spare you the details of a cramped 8.5 hour flight.

After we arrived, claimed our baggage and checked into our hotel, we were ready to begin exploring. Dr. Musgrove had already been to Rome before, so he took us around the city to The Coliseum, Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon and the Vatican.

~* Carrie at Trevi Fountain *~

One of the places I enjoyed most was the Vatican. We attended an outdoor mass said by the newest Pope: Pope Benedict XVI. So in my lifetime, I have attended two different masses said by two different Popes. I consider this an honor and a privilege. This is something I will cherish for the rest of my life. The Pope even performed a communal blessing for religious items everyone brought with them to the mass. I brought my Kairos retreat necklace and a brand-new rosary I purchased for my mother.

~* Pope Benedict XVI *~

~* Matt, Ashley, Carrie (me) and Lauren at the Vatican *~

When you travel abroad, you should prepare for the unexpected. During one of our planned tour days, Dr. Musgrove announced, “You can either come to the Villa Borghese gardens, or you can take a day trip to Florence.” Wanting to add to my list of cities visited, I immediately wanted to hop a train to Florence. I was surprised that more than half the group was not interested in going. Only seven of us headed to Florence on a rather inexpensive (and short) train ride. Lesson learned: It’s pretty affordable to travel within Europe.

~* Eileen, Amanda, Matt, Ashley, Lauren & Carrie (me) in Florence, Italy *~

When I say, “prepare for the unexpected,” I mean it. In Rome, it was rainy and cool. Florence was snowy and freezing! We had to buy extra sweaters, scarves and gloves, because we did not think the temperature between Rome and Florence would change so drastically. Lesson learned: Always account for changes in climate. After we warmed up, we hit the streets in search of what I believe to be the highlight of Florence: the sight of the David Statue. That thing is monstrous! I never knew how big it was until I actually laid eyes on it. It truly is a masterpiece, and I can now say that I have seen a world-famous work of art in person. We also visited the Palazzo Vecchio, the Basilica di Santa Croce and the Church of Santa Maria Novella.

On the way back to Rome, we encountered another mishap. When we arrived in Florence, we had not purchased a return ticket to Rome, figuring we would just get one when we wanted to come back… wrong! Every express train was full, and were stuck taking a local train that would take over six hours to get back to Rome. Lesson learned: always buy round trip tickets if you plan to come back to your original destination.

My final memory of Rome comes from New Year’s Eve. My new friends (Matt, Lauren, Amanda, Patti and Ashley) celebrated at the Drunken Ship. Yes, the Drunken Ship. It’s the name of an American bar nested in Campo di Fiori, one of the most visited squares in the city! The bar offers amazing deals for college students such as €1 shots and beers on college night with a student ID. Several TVs in the bar were playing what I believe to be Rome’s equivalent to the Dick Clark countdown in Times Square. We counted down from 10 to 1 as a sparkling ball dropped. I still can’t believe it: I spent New Year’s Eve in Rome, Italy!