Viva Roma

Ah.  Where do I start.

There is a beautiful thing about travelling with a six year old.  Beautiful thing.  It is the pace.  If you rush a six year old it is not fun.  Not Fun.  There is no point in rushing a six year old.  And it ends up being good for all of us.  So, we meander through our travels.

Even on the way to a Papal audience.  Here is my recommendation for going to a Papal audience with a six year old.  Get up early.  Go get some fruit from the market.  Let her wear her sparkly shoes, because after all, it is the pope.  Stop for some chocolate brioche.  And espresso, but not for the six year old, if you get my meaning.

Then, when you get to the Papal audience and have two and a half hours to wait, make it fun by eating.  And playing tic tac toe and "spot the Cardinal" and then your six year old will be pumped about meeting their Papa.

I will be filing this under "how to have a good trip to Italy with your children."

So don't worry.

It was all worth the sacrifice of patience, calmness and chocolate brioche.

So all our prayer and strategy about how to get the best seat paid off.  Papa drove right by.  He looked Huckleberry right in the eye.

So here are my thoughts while waiting for our audience.  Good seats are good seats, but personally, we are here at the Vatican and shouldn't it all be a good seat?  It is all a good seat.  It is a good life.  Whether I am 20 inches away from Papa or twenty yards or twenty hours by flight.  It is a great seat.

There are no bad seats.  If you play your cards right.

And so, the climactic Papal audience comes to an end, and we are invited to join Father David to Mass in the catacombs.  And, he says, just before Mass, why don't you just stay and tour with us for the afternoon?  The catacombs, St. Paul's outside the walls, St. John Lateran, the Abbey of the Three Fountains, where Saint Paul was beheaded.  His head bounced three times, and in each spot, a spring miraculous came up from the ground, and still bubble today.

All on an air conditioned bus tour with the super nice people from Illinois, and the amazing Italian tour guide.  The catacombs were truly amazing, and today's highlight for the kids for sure.

He has invited us to join them again tomorrow.  I think so.