Flashback: 2005 Italy trip

Yesterday I mentioned that four years ago I was sitting in a foreign country with a group of friends and classmates on a trip around Europe with the Elder Glee Club (Read more: http://adamniemeyer.blogspot.com/2011/06/flashback-2007-european-vacation.html).

Six years ago I was also in a foreign country on the same kind of trip, but this one was a little more special for me: it was a two-week trip to Italy.

While my last name doesn’t end in a vowel, my mother’s maiden name does. And her side of the family loves their Italian heritage. So do I. Hey, the food is really, really good at family reunions, trust me.

So traveling to Italy was one heck of an experience for me. Plus, we were set to end our journey with a trip to Vatican City, St. Peter’s Square and the Basilica that so many Catholics call home.

St. Peter's Square was filled on a very hot Wednesday morning when we saw the Pope

We began, however, in the northern part of Italy, in Milan, and wound our way down through the boot-shaped country.

A view of Milan from atop the city's cathedral, called the Duomo

We visited the city of canals in Venice, and got a once-in-a-lifetime chance to ride a gondola through the city.

Then we made it to Rome, and Vatican City.

We saw the Pope.

Pope Benedict XVI rode around St. Peter's Square before blessing the audience

We saw the Colosseum, and the Forum.

We celebrated a mass inside St. Peter’s basilica, and we got to tour the Sistine Chapel.

St. Peter's Basilica is an enormous place. Too big to capture in just one photo, but this shows part of the massive cathedral

Oh, and we ate some amazing Italian food.

It truly was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If I ever had a place on the bucket list of places I’d want to visit again, I know Italy is still on my list.

Perhaps the best moment of the trip came on a Saturday night when we were singing in a small town’s church. We sang “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and it was so stunning that the pastor of the church stood up, walked up to our tour guide and told her he wanted to hear it again. So we sang it again.

Even though the folks in Italy may not have understood our English, they sure as hell loved our singing. If I had the chance to do it again, I’d go in a heartbeat. Hopefully I do have another opportunity. It’d be another trip of a lifetime.