Why Rome?

I have a personal tradition of staying up and watching Midnight Mass early on Christmas morning as well as trying to take notice when Pope John Paul II is in the news. Each time I saw His Holiness on tv made me sad that he was continuing to grow weaker as he aged and his health worsened. I knew that I had not taken the opportunity to see the Pope or at least be in his presence when he has traveled to the US. I also knew that if I didn’t try soon, I may not get the chance in the future. Robert and I are both practicing Catholics, so I knew that a trip to Rome and Vatican City would be the trip of a lifetime for both of us. I began talking to Robert about what he thought of going to Rome and Vatican City. He, of course, was very interested. The only questions were when and how much was it going to cost us. I brought up the idea several times during 2003 until my mom put me in contact with a travel agent, Beverly, that she knew from work connections. I sent Beverly an email and began getting information about what it would cost us if we decided to plan the trip. The trip costs were not too bad, especially if we traveled during the winter season. After about 2-3 weeks of debating, we decided to go for it…even if it would rack up the credit card debt a bit. The trip was well worth it. We didn’t know if we would be able to see Pope John Paul II until we got there, but it was worth it to take the chance especially since we were able to see him twice!]]>