Smart Planning

It’s important to be smart during the planning stage of your trip. Making the right decision on when to go and where to stay can save you hundreds of dollars.

If your schedule permits, travel in the off season. Winter in Europe is not only inexpensive, but also less crowded than the summer months. Don’t let the weather scare you off. I’ve had many winter trips to Europe with nothing but perfect blue skies. Sure, it was cold, but it was great to have all the sights to myself!

If off season travel is not an option for you, the following tips can still help you save money.

Your biggest travel expense will most likely be your hotel. Choosing a place to stay is one of the most important decisions you can make. To save money, you may think you’ll need to stay far outside the city or in some dive of a place with a bathroom down the hall. However, staying in a hotel that is centrally located, even if it costs a little more up front, can actually save you money. If your hotel is in the heart of a city, you can avoid the long and pricey commutes required when you stay outside of town.

All across Europe you’ll find many of the same chain hotels we have here in the States. Stay away from them! Sure, they offer many of the same comforts you’d except back home, but do you really want to travel overseas and feel like you are still at home? I hope not! Stay in a family run hotel, the prices are often comparable to the big chains, but you get a much more cultured experience. 

Another option, which can save even more money, is to stay in convents. Many convents have en suite bathrooms, heating and air, and yes ladies, some even have hairdryers! Most convents do not have televisions in the room, but have a common room for watching TV. The biggest drawback to staying in a convent is the curfew. But if being in by 10:00 or 11:00 PM is not a problem for you, a convent is a great alternative to hotels.

If you are staying in one city for an extended period of time, or traveling with a large group, an apartment might be your best option.

Become a Local

Once you are on the ground, you can save money by traveling as a local.

If you need to get across town, use public transportation instead of a taxi. A good map and a little knowledge of the metro system can save money and add excitement to your journey.

When it’s time to eat, stay away from the touristy spots. You know, the restaurants with menus in eight different languages and that guy out front who keeps harassing you to come in. Look for the place filled with locals, the food will be better and most likely cheaper. And though you may need a little help with the menu, you’ll soon taste why the place is packed.

When ordering at a restaurant, eat what’s in season. How do you know? Ask the server! Instead of ordering that fancy bottle of wine, get the house wine. Most restaurants, especially those who cater to locals, offer a great house wine. If they take pride in their restaurant, of course their wine is going to be good!

Planning Your Time

A well-organized schedule is not only valuable for your wallet, but also your time. Many people want to be carefree when they travel. These same people often end up spending their days waiting in line or trying to decide what to do. While I love the idea of carefree travel, unless you have a huge budget and lots of time, it’s just irresponsible.

Now, to somewhat contradict myself, I do feel that it is important to be flexible in your scheduling to allow for serendipity. When you travel, things will most certainly come up. You may run into someone you know, you may come across an impromptu concert or that museum you heard all about may be an absolute bore. So although you should have a well-planned schedule, do not be afraid to change things up.

Although our dollar is in decline, please do not let it stop you from traveling. Simply make a few adjustments in your travel style and you can enjoy a more affordable trip abroad.

Many will write of Saint Paul this year. There will no doubt be some profound writings on his life and on his teachings, and I will read as many as I can. But, as a travel writer, I want to take a different approach. My goal here is to take you back to his time and to the places he lived and visited. And with all his journeys, I’m now wondering if twelve articles will be enough!

So over the next twelve months we’ll travel together to follow in the footsteps of Saint Paul. We’ll visit his birthplace in Tarsus. We’ll witness his conversion on the way to Damascus. We’ll set sail from Seleucia to spread the Gospel. We’ll pass through the Cilician Gates with Paul and Barnabas. We’ll travel to Antioch where the disciples were first called Christians. We’ll sail from Troas to Neapolis and be with Paul as he first sets foot on European soil. We’ll be there as Paul baptizes Lydia. We’ll hear Paul preach in Thessaloniki. We’ll travel south to Athens and walk with Paul through the Agora. We’ll explore Corinth where Paul wrote the Epistles to the Thessalonians and to the Romans. We’ll travel with Paul to Ephesus and then on to Jerusalem. We’ll be with Paul as he is arrested and eventually sent to Rome. We’ll experience the shipwreck at Malta. From Malta, we’ll sail to Rome. In Rome, we’ll visit places where he lived and was held captive. We’ll travel outside the walls of Rome where we’ll witness his martyrdom, visit his burial place and tour the basilica built in his honor.
Today we’ll start with Paul’s birthplace, Tarsus.

Long before Paul, Tarsus was a well known and important city. Situated on the Cydnus River, which emptied into the Mediterranean, and next to the Cilician Gates, a pass through the Taurus Mountains, Tarsus was already at an advantage geographically. But it was through the hard work of it’s people that Tarsus came to be a popular stop on the trade route. The determined people of Tarsus deepened the Rhegma lagoon, which the Cydnus passed through before hitting the Mediterranean, to form a port. They then enlarged and deepened the river to make a channel connecting the lagoon to the sea. These engineers worked on land as well, cutting a road through the Cilician Gates which connected the East to the West. Through these engineering feats, Tarsus became one of the greatest ports of the ancient world.

Augustus Caesar made Tarsus a free city which allowed the residents to have Roman citizenship. This would later help Paul as Roman citizens had rights that did not allow for scourging without being condemned and also allowed a person to appeal to the emperor if charge was brought against him.

It was here in Tarsus that Mark Antony ordered Cleopatra to meet him after his defeat over Philippi. Paul must have heard first hand tales of Cleopatra’s magnificent entry into the city, as the Greek historian Plutarch writes: “she came sailing up the river Cydnus in a barge with gilded stern and outspread sails of purple, while oars of silver beat time to the music of flutes and fifes and harps. She herself lay all along, under a canopy of cloth of gold, dressed as Venus in a picture, and beautiful young boys, like painted Cupids, stood on each side to fan her. Her maids were dressed like Sea Nymphs and Graces, some steering at the rudder, some working at the ropes. The perfumes diffused themselves from the vessel to the shore.” This event took place just 40 years before Paul’s birth.

Paul was born of the tribe of Benjamin and was named Saul after the first king. As he was Roman, he also went by the name Paul. He was taught the family trade of tent making. Tarsus was famed for its tent cloth, cilicium, made from goat hair.

Imagine Paul growing up here. Walking down a road past the weavers who were busy making their famous tent cloth. Passing merchants from the east and the west as they shared stories of journeys afar. Watching as ships set sail for distant lands and caravans headed north through the mountains. Looking out to sea with the open road to his back, surely he dreamt that someday he too would travel. But I doubt he could have imagined the places he would go and the impact he would have spreading the Word of God throughout the world.

Today, let's start outside, beside the church. Near the side entrance stands the tallest and oldest authentic Egyptian obelisk in the world. This single block of Egyptian red granite stands over 100 feet tall. It first stood in the Temple of the Sun in Heliopolis today's Egypt. The obelisk dates back to the fifteenth century, that's fifteenth century, B.C. Because of the age and where it was located, it's believed to have been seen by Moses. It's been in Rome since the first century B.C. It was moved to the Lateran in 1588.

Before we go inside, let's think about how an obelisk, one of thirteen here in Rome, got all the way here from Egypt. After moving into Egypt, the ancient Romans brought back obelisks as souvenirs. They put then up across Rome to show off the strength of the Empire. To do this they had to take them down, move them across land, over water, again over land, and put them up. Quite a task back in the B.C. years. Quite a task today! For the record, some of the obelisks in Rome are copies, or all together fakes. Only eight of the thirteen are believed to be authentic.

Let's move to the front of the church. The central set of doors are from the Roman Senate House, the Curia. Coming from one of the most important buildings in ancient Rome, think of those who may have walked through these doors in the past: Caesar, Augustus, Mark Anthony, Cicero? I've heard that these massive bronze doors can be opened easily with just one hand, though I've never had the opportunity to try.
This was the first public church in Rome. As such, it was also the model for later churches. Based on the large ancient Roman public buildings, basilicas, the church was built with a large central aisle flanked by two smaller aisles on either side.

The nave of this church is lined with statues of the twelve Apostles. Above them are parallel scenes from the Old Testament and New Testament. 
Near the back of the church, is the Altar of the Sacrament. Here, above the tabernacle, is a gold relief of the Last Supper. Behind this panel is a table that is traditionally thought to be the same one used by Christ at the Last Supper. Quite fitting that we are here today, the day we commemorate the institution of the Eucharist.

There's still lots to see here. We'll be back on Saturday.

Tomorrow we return to Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, but we'll begin our Good Friday across the street from the cathedral at the Scala Santa.

When the Jews were expelled from Rome, Paul met and worked with Prisca and her husband Aquila in Corinth (Acts 18: 1-3). He later traveled with them to Ephesus (Acts 18: 18,19). Prisca and Aquila were eventually able to return to Rome.
It is believed that today's church is built over the house to which Paul is referring in Acts. As a disclaimer, I should mention that some feel the Prisca to whom this church is dedicated and the one mentioned by Paul may be two different people. However, the Vatican states that this was once the home inhabited by Aquila and Prisca. The finding of first century walls marked with the Chi Rho indicate that this is a very early house of worship.

The church was built in the fourth or fifth century. Several restorations have taken place over the years, the biggest in 1660, when a new façade was added.
Inside the church is a font with an inscription that reads Baptismus Sancti Petri. While some think that Saint Peter used this font for baptisms, many feel this is unlikely because he most certainly would have baptized by immersion. This font is much too small.

This is our last parish station church as organized by Gregory the Great.

Throughout the remainder of Holy Week we will be returning two times to Saint John Lateran and Saint Mary Major and once more to Santa Croce.

Today's church is built over the house where the sisters would hide Christians during the persecutions. The first church was built in the fourth century and dedicated as Titulus Praxedis, one of the first twenty-five churches of Rome. The present church dates back to the eighth century and was built under Pope Adrian.

In 822 Pope Paschal enlarged the church to hold all the relics he brought in to protect them from heretics. He brought the bodies of both sisters here, as well as Saint Zeno and Saint Valentine. He filled a chapel with some 2,300 relics, many of which could not even be identified by anyone but God alone.

Near the entrance of the church is a marble slab on which Praxedis once slept.
A porphyry disc on the floor of the nave seals the well into which the sisters would pour the blood of martyrs. They collected the blood with sponges.

During her time in Rome, Saint Bridget of Sweden would often come here to pray. In the Chapel of the Crucifix there is a crucifix said to have spoken to her.

In the Chapel of Saint Zeno is marble column. It was brought here from Jerusalem in 1223. It is believed to be half of the pillar at which Christ was scourged.

Tomorrow we visit Santa Prisca.

Surely this is a mistake, right? Isn't Saint Peter's Basilica the mother and head of all churches?

No, as lovely and important as Saint Peter's may be, it is not the mother and head of all the churches. This title belongs to Rome's cathedral, Saint John Lateran.

After Constantine defeated Maxentius in 312, he marched to this spot and dedicated the land to Christ. He gave the property to the Church so that a place for public worship could be built. As the first cathedral of Rome, it was dedicated Basilica Salvatoris, the Basilica of the Saviour. The church eventually became known as Saint John Lateran, named for both Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist.

For the next one thousand years, the Apostolic Palace was located here, beside Saint John Lateran. To put this into perspective, the pope has only lived at the Vatican for about seven hundred years.

So, for one thousand years, this area was held in the same regard as we today hold the Vatican. It was the home of the Church. It was the home of pope. It was known simply as the Lateran.

The Lateran gets it's name from the former owner of the land, Plautius Lateranus. After a disagreement with Nero, yes, that Nero, Lateranus was executed and his family's land was taken. The disagreement was that Lateranus felt the evil ruler Nero needed to be dethroned and killed.

Throughout Holy Week we will return to Saint John Lateran two more times. We'll dig deeper into Rome's Cathedral on each visit.

Tomorrow we'll visit the church of Santa Prassede.

A much smaller chapel is built over the location where the attempted martyrdom took place. It's called San Giovanni in Oleo, Saint John in Oil.

Our church, San Giovanni a Porta Latina, was built in the fifth century. The roofing tiles even are dated as such. One of these fifth century roofing tiles, is used as the church lectern.

A six story bell tower dating back to the eleventh century rises high above the church.

An eighth century well sits in the piazza in front of an arched portico.

Over the centuries, the church has been restored several times. During the most recent restoration, workers discovered twelfth century mosaics underneath a sheet of plaster. These mosaics, representing the book of Genesis (the creation and fall of man) and the New Testament (the redemption and renewal of man) were completely restored in 1940.

The picturesque architecture, and quiet setting of this church makes it hugely popular for weddings. It's not uncommon for several to occur here on the same day.

Tomorrow we visit the cathedral of Rome, San Giovanni in Laterano.

Lining the walls of the outermost ring are twenty-four sixteenth century frescos each depicting a scene of horrific martyrdom. The scenes even include descriptions of the event and name the emperor responsible for the execution. Not long after the completion of the frescos, seminarians were encouraged to study the scenes. Not only did the scenes show them what the early martyrs endured for their faith, but they also helped prepare for possible future torment, especially  for those about to be sent off as missionaries.

The church was first dedicated to the protomartyr, Saint Stephan, whose relics were moved here from the Holy Land. He has since been moved to San Lorenzo Fuori le Mura. The church was rededicated to Saint Stefan of Hungary.

There is a tablet recording the burial here of the Irish king Donough O'Brien, who died in Rome in 1064. He was the son of the legendary King Brian Boru.

Near the entrance to the church is an ancient wooden throne where Pope Saint Gregory the Great sat to deliver one of his homilies.
Tomorrow we visit San Giovanni a Porta Latina.

This church was founded in the seventh century, using materials from nearby imperial ruins. It was declared a station church by Pope Gregory II in the eighth century. One thousand years later, Pope Benedict XIV completely rebuilt and rededicated the church.

Just outside the church is the Chapel of Graces. Inside is a fifteenth century fresco of The Virgin, Queen of Apostles. During the sack of Rome, in 1527, priests covered the fresco with lime to hide it from attack. It was not rediscovered until 1645 after an earthquake shook free some of the lime.

Over the centuries, the church has been served by Basilian Monks, then the Jesuits, followed by the Lazzarists and now Opus Dei. Today the church is part of the Opus Dei Pontifical Institute of Saint Apollinaris.

Below the main altar are many relics from Eastern martyrs brought over by the Basilian Monks.

Tomorrow we visit San Stefano Rotondo.

Emperor Maxentius continued his rule until October 28, 312, when he went to battle with his brother-in-law, Constantine. This was the battle that led to the legalization of Christianity. The night before the battle, Constantine had a vision of the cross and heard, "in hoc signo vinces", in this sign you will conquer. He ordered his men to mark their shields with the sign of the cross. The next day, the two armies met at the Milvian Bridge. Constantine defeated Maxentius and became the first Christian Emperor of Rome.

A church was built over Lucina's home and dedicated as Titulus Marcelli, one of the first twenty-five parishes of Rome. The remains of Pope Saint Marcellus were transfered to this church from the catacombs. In the year 418 a papal election was held here and Pope Boniface I was consecrated as the pope.

In the sixteenth century a fire destroyed much of the church. Only the outer walls and the wooden crucifix from the altar survived. During some celebrations, the crucifix is carried in procession through the streets of Rome.

Also of note here is the fourth or fifth century baptismal font. There was a time in the early Church when baptisms were allowed only at the cathedral. In fact, there was a time when baptisms had to take place outside the church, usually in a separate building known as a baptistry. As the demand for baptism increased, other churches were given the right to confer baptism. The baptismal font here is one of the oldest as it was built into the original church. They keep it locked away, though. So, if you want to see it, you must ask the sacristan.

Tomorrow we visit the church of Sant Apollinare.