Now this couldn't ever happen back home...

So sometimes living here in Rome I just have moments in which I just end up saying to myself...now this couldn't/wouldn't ever happen back home...and it makes me appreciate the experiences I am able to have here (the good, the bad & the ugly!). There are so many examples for this statement, but I want to blog about the most recent one.
This past Monday evening I was in my apartment with the balcony doors open making dinner (pasta...as usual). I found it strange that there were 2 police directing traffic at the intersection near my apartment even though the lights were working, but just went about my business. Then I heard many sirens, which typically in the city I've noticed they don't use unless they really need to. I went out on my balcony to see what was going on & I saw a motorcade with a police escort coming down the street. So being curious, I stayed out to see who it was...thinking it was probably an actor or something like that. In the middle of the motorcade there was a black Mercedes with the Vatican flags mounted on the front...and as it quickly passed I looked in the back seat and the guy in the back was wearing all white. Now I didn't see his face, but I am 99.9% sure it was Pope Benedict!! I mean he does live about a 10 minute walk from me and they were going in the direction of his apartment, so I'm pretty sure it was him....and I will continue to say it was the Pope who went past my apartment. I caught myself saying outloud several times after that...wow the Pope went passed my apartment! That would never happen back in Houston!!

Right after that I sat watching an Italian soccer game, eating the pasta I made & drinking a glass of red wine. Now you can't get too much more Italian than that can you! :-)

(hmmm...I wonder if I get any special blessings just by being on the Pope's route?!? ;-) ).

Springtime in Roma

Well it finally feels like spring in Rome to me now! The weather has warmed up a bit this weekend and it has been beautiful! Every season here is new & exciting for me because I don't know what to expect - what the weather will be like, what types of activities will be going on, if more & more tourist will be here, etc. I have always liked spring...and spring here in Roma is so nice! Yesterday I took several hours to just walk around the city to enjoy it & to test out my new camera (sounded like a good excuse). Walking around this city is one of my favorite things to do - I can go see the same places over & over again & never get bored of them.
I also saw on-line that there was suppose to be some festivities today to celebrate Rome's birthday that were taking place kind of near my apartment, so I went to see what that was all about too.
Here are links to my pictures from this weekend & some video. I plan to take some night pictures with my camera sometimes too - so expect that in the future.
Pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=108214&l=80816&id=800405227
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=108220&l=d6627&id=800405227
Video: http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=32706715

Oh and since I'm way behind in blogging, just a quick update:
1) I was able to make it back to Texas for Easter (the day before) & stayed for several weeks. It was SOOO good to be able to spend time with my family & some of my friends. It was a bit weird being home at first (and driving for the 1st time in about 8 months), but quickly that went away and I had to keep reminding myself I had to return back to Rome soon. And I guess I'm getting use to life here in Rome a bit more too because this time it wasn't was bad to come back & I was able to get into the swing of things a lot easier than before.
I also think I'm becoming more "Texan" by being away. I don't remember when I have ever been so excited about seeing bluebonnets...but on my trip home I was so excited to see them in bloom (even have a picture of one up now in my office).
2) Work has picked up in the last couple of months and keeps me VERY busy! The types of clients I have here in Rome is completely different from Houston and is still a challenge to learn about the client, get to know my colleagues, figure out how stuff is suppose to be done here, and deal with the language difference. But I figure if I can make it through all of this here, I should be able to do even more once I return to the US.

Well that's it for now - I have to go run some errands & take care of my laundry that's drying out on my balcony (yes I have become one of those that put their clothes out to dry for all to see...simply because my washer is broken and when I hand wash my clothes and hang them to dry inside water goes EVERYWHERE! I hope none of the tourists walking by are taking pics of my undies! :-o)
Take care and drop me a line whenever you can - I love hearing from people back home! Ciao for now!

Trip to Napoli (Naples)

Originally written on January 30, 2008

On 27 December Francie & I decided to make a day trip to Napoli (Naples) since we heard that it is known as a place to buy handmade nativity sets during Christmas. It is only about a 2 hour train ride South from Rome, so we figured it would be interesting since neither of us had been to Napoli.
So when we arrived we went straight to the street with the nativities, which was packed with people and indeed there were nativities and things for nativities in all the shops and we even saw some people making some. As I mentioned, in Italy they sell the pieces to that nativities separately so there were all kinds of different things you could buy for the nativity. And the managers and scenes ranged from small ones to ones so big at least 2 people would have to carry them. Some shops also had statues of famous people they put in the nativities etc. It was very interesting, but in the end I only bought this inexpensive one that was one piece that later I accidentally left at the restaurant we went to for lunch. That was okay, because after I bought it realized it wasn’t handmade and it didn’t cost me all that much (although I did go back to the restaurant to try to find it, but it was no longer there).
Other than looking at nativities, Francie & I just looked around the town. Naples is known for it’s pizza as well (they make theirs different vs. Rome – Neapolitan pizza has thicker crust), so of course we had to go to a pizzeria and have some pizza. It was VERY good! Mmmm!

Observations about Napoli
I thought Roman traffic was crazy until I went to Napoli! After that Roman traffic seems calm and orderly! I’ve never been so scared that I would get hit walking as I was there. And scooters just go on the sidewalk without any notice and you have to watch out! Yes the drivers there are just insane!

And there are WAY more street vendors in Napoli compared to any where else I’ve been. Rome as quite a few, but in Napoli you couldn’t go down any street without finding someone trying to sell fake purses, some little toys you have no idea what they are, DVDs, etc.

We didn’t stray too far off the main streets because we read that some areas of town could be scary, so we just stuck to the main streets and went to some of the shops there. At first I got excited because the prices seemed so much cheaper compared to Rome, but after I started looking I realize most of them were cheap because they weren’t as good of quality. So all we ended up buying were tights (and the nativity set I lost!).

I did get to see the sea from there – even though it took me a bit to find a place where I could see it! They have a port, but when I tried to go close to the water I got stopped because they said it was a customs area. So I made Francie go all around just so I could take a picture by the sea! He! He!

One of my favorite memories from Napoli that I will always laugh about (and my sister will probably always get made at me for bringing up) is the ‘friend’ my sister found in Napoli. When we were shopping this golden lab came by my sister, started licking her hand, and then started following her. My sister doesn’t really like dogs that much, so she kept telling it ‘Go away! Get away from me!’ and instead of going away it just followed her more and then she would get more aggravated at it. Then we would go into a store and she would say ‘Good it’s finally gone!’ and as soon as we went back out there was the dog waiting for her and would follow her to the next store. This went on for about 10 minutes at least. I made her take a picture with it and then after that it went away.

So that was our quick trip to Napoli!

Here’s a link to some pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=87395&l=fd6cb&id=800405227

Christmas in Rome 2007

Christmas in Rome
Originally written 30 January 2008
I’m writing this blog as I am in flight to New York, where I will work for a couple days for a client of mine (yes it’s a bit odd that I move to Rome and then have work in NY, but that’s what happened!). Since I have several more hours left in my fight I figured it is the perfect opportunity to catch up on writing some blogs that I’ve been wanting to write for a long time, but haven’t had time to sit and write them. So here is the first of a couple…since some time has passed, hopefully I can remember everything! (For those of you who don’t like reading long blogs, you’re probably happy if I DON’T remember everything! ).

This year was the first year that I have spent Christmas and New Year’s away from home! I had decided before even moving that I would not go home for Christmas this year because 1) I knew I would need to go home around the end of March for a family event and it’s too expensive to keep flying back and forth & 2) Since I’m in Italy I want to be able to experience Italy and Europe including the holidays. The good part about it was that my sister wanted to come join me, so at least that way I was with SOME family….which was nice.

My sister arrived on 21 December and we stayed in Rome until 30 December and then flew to Paris (only a 2 or so hour flight) to spend New Year’s there. On 3 January my sister flew from Paris to Houston and I flew back to Rome. This blog is about our Christmas in Rome. I will also write in other blogs about our trip to Napoli and spending New Year's in Paris.

Christmas time in Rome
One thing I absolutely love about Christmas time in Italy is that it is more aligned with the Christmas calendar in the Catholic Church rather than being so commercial! The decorations typically aren’t put up until 8 December (feast of the Immaculate Conception) and stay up until 6 January (Epiphany). In fact, when I went to St. Peter’s this past week the Nativity was still up in the Square (it wasn’t revealed until Christmas Eve).
Another thing is that you definitely see more nativity sets compared to any other decorations. There were several large Nativity sets throughout Rome (in Piazza Navona, Spanish Steps, and of course St. Peter’s) and they even had an exhibit that Francie & I went to that had 100 Nativities (100 presepe) made from different materials and from around the world. We both really liked that exhibit because it was interesting on how the nativities were so different. Typically when I have seen nativities it is just focused on the manager and that’s it, but most of these (including the ones around the city) included more and showed life that was going on around the manager. Also at this exhibit they had nativities made from everything from wood and ceramic (with moving parts) to soap, pasta, crayons, CDs, etc. I also noticed when I went to the stores that in the Christmas section there were more nativities and nativity parts compared to the other decorations. And when you buy nativities here you buy them in parts and then build on them – so you buy a manager or whatever scenery you want, then you buy each piece separate. So I guess it’s like a family tradition to buy pieces to the nativity every year to add to your nativity at home. It was all a very nice change from the VERY commercialized Christmas in the United States.
I must speak some on the Nativity in St. Peter’s – although my description and/or picture still won’t do it justice! I noticed at the beginning of December that they had started to put up scaffolding around the obelisk in center of the piazza and were doing work on it and then added some cloth hanging in front of it so you couldn’t see what they were doing. I thought they were going to have it uncovered before Christmas since they started so early, but after I saw the finished result I understood why it took so long! This by far is the largest nativity I have ever seen and probably would fill at least half of my apartment! The scene for the nativity this year was focused on Joseph’s hometown on Nazareth. The were three sections to the nativity – the center was the manager scene, the right side was a carpentry shop, and the left side was a kitchen set-up with the woman cooking and people eating. All the statues in the nativity are life size, so you can just imagine how big it all was! On Christmas Eve when Francie and I went to go see it for the first time we were walking down the street and we could see that it was uncovered, but I though they were still working on it because I thought there were people moving around in it. When we got closer I realized that what I saw were the statues and since they are dressed in real clothes (made of cloth) it was moving in the wind. I took many pictures and some video that I will post that will give you an idea, but it is still something even more amazing in real life! Also after the Epiphany I went back to see the nativity and they actually changed set-up a bit. They moved the 3 wise men to center in the manager and instead of the baby Jesus being in the crib he is sitting on Mary’s lap. I have pictures of that as well.
Some other things that went on during Christmas time in Rome were some markets – the biggest and probably most well known is the one in Piazza Navona. From 8 December to 6 January the piazza changes from being filled with artists and musicians to being filled with booths of candy, toys, jewelry, some handcrafts including nativities, and carnival type games. They also have stands were you can buy little Befane, which look like a witch. I was very confused when I first saw this, so I had to look it up! The day of the Befana is celebrated in Italy on 6 January and that is actually when traditionally the kids would get their stockings and if they were good they get a stocking of candy and if not they get a stocking filled with this black candy that looks like coal and they even have sticks you can buy to put in there too. Here is a link where you can find out more about la Befana: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Befana. So to me, this Christmas market looked more like a combination of a Christmas market and Halloween carnival!
One thing I was really surprised about was how many tourists there are in Rome during Christmas! I guess since in my family we always spent the holidays at home and that’s what I associate with Christmas vs. going on a vacation for Christmas. So I just didn’t think there would be as many people…but there were tourists EVERYWHERE!
Also the official holidays during the Christmas time are 8 December (feast of the Immaculate Conception), 25 December (Christmas Day), 26 December (St. Stephen’s Day), & 6 January (Epiphany & celebration of Befana).

Midnight Mass at St. Peter’s
One of the highlights of our Christmas was attending midnight mass at St. Peter’s with Pope Benedict XVI celebrating. My sister and I use to watch it on TV back home, but never did I think I would actually be there in person! I had reserved tickets was back in August or even before to make sure we would be able to attend. The mass of course begins at midnight on Christmas Eve (or I guess it’s Christmas day at that point!), so they started letting people in at 10 I think it was. When I picked up the tickets, they told me that it probably would be a good idea to get there around 7pm to get in line if we wanted to make sure we got in. It was a long time to wait, but we figured this is one of those once in a lifetime things that is worth it.
As a side note I find it a bit funny how at masses with the Pope it’s the only time that people WANT to really sit in the front row and will come hours & hours ahead vs. normal Sunday services were most people are late and prefer the back seats!
So my sister and I get ready and head to St. Peter’s around 7pm, thinking we would be near the front of the line. MAN were we wrong!! When we got to the piazza, the line was already half way into the piazza and was already wrapping like a snake to that point– and let me tell you the piazza is big, so that’s a lot of people! By the time the doors opened, the line went all the way along the outside of the piazza and then wrapped around that whole length in the middle of the piazza. It was incredible! Once we saw were we were in line, we were just hoping to get inside and get seats! Of course we were doing okay BUT when we got to the security lines of course something was wrong with the one we were in line for and by the time we realized the line wasn’t going to move soon and got in another line probably another 50-75 people or more had gone through. We did get a seat towards the back, but mostly because we decided we wanted to get as close to the aisle as possible so we could see everybody coming in & out. The mass was amazing (even though I didn’t understand most of it since it was in Latin & some Italian). I still can’t believe that I actually attended Midnight mass in St. Peter’s – that’s something I won’t forget. And I was so happy I could experience that with my sister because it was very special to her too!
(Here is a link to the Pope’s homily in English if you are interested: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20071224_christmas_en.html)

Christmas Day
The next day before noon we went to St. Peter’s again for a special greeting and blessing the Pope does on Christmas day called URBI ET ORBI. I thought it was going to be more like what he does every Sunday where you can show up about 15 minutes before and the crowd isn’t all that bad until right before he comes out. I was SO wrong! When we got there the piazza was SO full! But I’ve increased my skills of making my way through crowds since I’ve been here and was able to get us close to the front. One of the most impressive things to me was when the Pope went through and did a Christmas greeting in various languages. Now typically on Sundays he does a greeting in about 4 or 5 languages which is impressive enough to me, but for this he did greetings for about 10 minutes straight in languages I didn’t even know existed! I have a link to video of this below just for you to get an idea. It was unbelievable!
(Here is a link to the Pope’s message if you are interested: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/urbi/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20071225_urbi_en.html )

Francie and I decided that for Christmas we were going to try to make our version of an Italian meal…and I think we did a pretty good job! Not that I have experience a traditional Italian Christmas meal to compare it to! The weekend before we went to the Campo del Fiori open market to buy fresh vegetables and herbs, the meat market (my first time there actually!), and the grocery store. We also stopped by a bookstore and bought a Roman cookbook…in English of course. So our meal consisted of white wine, ravioli, lemon veal, potatoes, eggplant, and we topped it off with the traditional Christmas cake (bought, not homemade) called panatone. It all turned out really well and was different from our Christmas meals back home. It also took us from around 2pm until 4pm to cook and eat it all (we would make one course and eat it while the next was cooking). Overall we were happy with our Christmas meal and had an enjoyable Christmas! J

Here are some links to related pictures and video:
Christmas in Rome 2007 pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=87387&l=7b9ac&id=800405227

Nativity sets in Rome pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=87390&l=6db92&id=800405227

Nativity sets in Rome video: http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=30044047

Midnight Mass video: http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=30046702

Urbi et orbi video of Pope Benedict: http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=28040433

So it's been FOREVER since I've written a blog!

As a sign that things have been a bit busy for me, it's been a VERY long time since I've written a blog. In fact I couldn't even remember the last time I blogged and had to look and couldn't believe it has been so long! What is even worse is that over a month ago on a flight to New York for work I wrote several blogs and only needed to proof them and and some link and never got around to doing that!

So hopefully I can get up to speed shortly...or at least I hope! I will post them as a series of blogs and hope to get at least some posted this week.

Love to you all!

Lynette

In memory of my Grandpa Minks

My Grandpa Minks (mom's dad) past away last Thursday night at the age of 97 and his funeral was today. It's been a bit hard at a time like this to be away from family & not be able to attend my Grandpa's funeral. I did write the passage below on Saturday and my sister read it at the wake service Sunday night...so even though I wasn't physically there, I was able to kind of take part in some way. I just wanted to share this all with you...(BTW this picture of my family with my Grandpa was taken the last weekend I was in Wallis before I moved to Rome. He was 96 in that picture!)

My Grandpa – Mr. Ivan Minks, Sr.
By Lynette Uhyrek

When I think about my grandpa, Mr. Ivan Minks Sr., there are many things that automatically come to my mind and that I will always remember about him.
The first is how he loved to tell stories about when he was a kid and his many jobs throughout his life. I loved just sitting around and listening to him tell stories. He would tell them with such great animation and really get into them. I could hear the same story many, many times and still love it just the same every time. It was like learning a part of history first hand..and a lot more interesting to me than any history book. And usually when all of us kids were around and he would be telling a story, he would stop and say 'I'm sure you kids don't want to hear all my old stories…they aren't that interesting.' And we would tell him of course we did, and then he would continue and would have about an hours worth of stories to tell. I think the last time that most of us grandkids (and some great grandkids) were around and all got the chance to listen to his stories was for his 95th birthday when we got together at my parents' house. I still remember that day and will cherish it forever. That was my grandpa….the story teller.
Although he never received any music lessons or formal training, my grandpa was fantastic at playing the harmonica. At family gatherings, in addition to listening to his stories, we would also gather to listen to him play his harmonica. That was my grandpa…the harmonica player.
Another thing I will always remember about my grandpa was how hard of a worker he was. He might have not been a big man in stature, but he was a strong man indeed. Just to think about how many fields he plowed, cotton he picked, stacks of feed and sugar and various things he carried, how many houses he help build, how many times he moved the yard…by a push mower of course, and how many kids he carried makes me tired. I remember when Uncle Ronnie was building his house years ago and I saw someone up on the roof and asked who it was…and found out it none other than my grandpa of course. Up there on a 2 story house, not a young lad at that point to say the least, and he was up there working away! That was my grandpa…the hard worker.
My grandpa was a sharp man too! He had a memory like you wouldn't believe (which is why he told stories so well I guess). And he never ceased to surprise me! Like speaking Spanish to someone…and none of us knew he could even speak Spanish. Later we found out he picked some Spanish up from some of the Mexican people that worked in the grocery store with him when he was much, much younger….and after not speaking it for over 30 years or more, he still could have a conversation in Spanish. Also he LOVED doing word finds and those types of things. Even in these last few months he would do word finds with Mrs. Elenora. I think I'll be lucky if I could even see the words at 97! That was my grandpa – the intelligent man.
Any of you who visited my grandpa and grandma's house before my grandma got really sick must remember their garden! They seemed to be able to grow anything and took pride in doing so. Their garden was always so full of fruits and vegetables – my favorites were always the cantaloupe and icebox watermelons! I think the best cantaloupe I've tasted to this day are the ones that came from my grandpa's garden. Maybe it was the love he poured into them…I don't know, but they were always good. And who could forget the poppy seed plants he grew….nothing like tasting poppy seed kolaches made from homegrown poppy seed! Any Czech (and non-Czechs too) know that! That was my grandpa…the gardener.
Two other things that I admired about my grandpa, that to me I think go hand & hand, was his strong faith and he and my grandma celebrating their 70 th wedding anniversary before my grandma passed away. When I was younger and they were both well, I remember seeing Grandpa and Grandma in church together-usually holding hands all through the mass. And daily they would pray together and especially pray the rosary together. There was no doubt my grandpa was a praying man and his faith was important. My mom said even up until the end he prayed the rosary and even the day he died he made the sign of the cross. And to known a couple that was married 70 years, in this day and age where it's amazing if people seem to stay together long enough to celebrate their 10 th year anniversary …to me that's amazing! I've heard a saying that goes 'Those who pray together stay together', and to me my grandparents were a testament to that. So that was my grandpa…the devout husband and devout Catholic.
There are other things I will remember about him too…like how feisty and stubborn he could be, which is probably where I get it from, and how set in his ways he could be on a subject …and I would never want to have been on the opposing side of an argument with him because I think he would always win.
And to be able to live until 97 and not have had to be hospitalized much and up until recently was still pretty independent! To me that's amazing. And Just to think of what he saw in his lifetime…the changes to society, the changes in the way we live, as well as how many grandchildren and great grandchildren he has held and kissed, the number of weddings he's attend, and the number of funerals he's been to – including those of his wife, children, & grandchildren. That was my grandpa – the man who saw a lot in his time.
All these things were what made my grandpa who he was….the grandpa I knew and will always remember. That's my grandpa!
Right now there is really no where else I would rather be than with all of you, there, celebrating my grandpa's life and praying that he's in the place he's been longing for…in heaven, looking down on us all, away from all the pains of aging. Unfortunately I can't be there physically, but please know I am with you all there spiritually and my thoughts are there with you. Living in Italy, I am starting to learn some of their customs. And one that is related to funerals that at first I found a bit odd, but now I think it quite interesting is that at funerals, the Italians break out in applause in celebration of the life of that person. Although if my grandpa was still alive he might not approve since he was very much into being traditional, despite that I still think it is fitting at this time that we take a minute to celebrate his life and all that he was and celebrate his being now with the Lord by applause…for my Grandpa…Mr. Ivan Minks, Sr.

Houston has a Cardinal...And I was there to see it happen!

Every now & then certain once in a lifetime events come up & you are blessed to be a witness to them...and when you do it's simply exciting & an amazing experience you will never forget! For me, this weekend was one of those experiences.

Those of you in Houston might be sick of hearing about this since apparently it's been all over the news for the past week, but this is the events from my point of view...which I KNOW you haven't heard/read!

This weekend the Archbishop from the Galveston-Houston Archdiocese (all the parishes in the Houston & surrounding areas...actually a VERY large surrounding area!) became a Cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church & I was lucky enough to witness it and actually got to congratulate him in person soon after the ceremony (called the Consistory Ceremony)! For those of you who aren't Catholic, the Cardinals are the ones who elect the Pope...so basically the level below the Pope. Cardinal DiNardo is the 1st bishop from the Southern US that has become a Cardinal...so for us Catholics from the Houston & surrounding areas that's a big thing!

Let me go back a couple weeks to let you know how this all played out. On 17 October 2007, Pope Benedict announced the 23 bishops that would be elevated to Cardinal... including Archbishop Daniel DiNardo from Galveston-Houston Archdiocese. That same day I got an e-mail from my mom with the news saying the ceremony would be in November & she said 'Who knows, maybe you will get to attend!' I've requested tickets for a mass at St. Peter's before, so figured it was worth a shot to see if I could reserve tickets for the Consistory. With events at the Vatican where the Pope is celebrate, tickets are usually required if you want a seat...they are free, but you have to request in advance. So I sent an e-mail & the next day I got a reply saying they would reserve a ticket for me. Yay!

So then a couple days later I got an e-mail from one of my friends from a church group I was in back in Houston asking if she came to Rome of the Consistory, if she could stay with me. Of course I said yes...and I was able to get a ticket reserved for her with no problems & fortunately she (Hilary) was able to arrange to stay here in Rome with me for over a week.

So now I'm going to fast forward to Sat. morning. Hilary & I had been looking forward to this day & decided that it was going to be worth getting up VERY early to make sure we had a good spot in line & thus a decent seat. The Consistory was to start at 10:30 with the doors opening at 8:30, but the nun at the US Bishop's office told me when I picked up the tickets that if we really wanted to be near the front of the line we probably would need to get there really early...like around 6am. So that was our plan...and thankfully I live about 10 minutes from St. Peter's, so we left my apartment around 6am and were there soon after. We even had a backpack of stuff to keep us busy & food...we were prepared!

St. Peter's is SO AWESOME that early in the morning...before sunrise. I have pics and you can see for yourself. Anyway so I hurried to the line as Hilary met with her Aunt & Uncle who also came to Rome for the Consistory. I got to the line & just wanted to jump up & down...only 2 couples in front of us (one from Monterrey & the other from Houston)! Woohoo...number 5 & 6 in line! Accomplishment #1 for the day! (Wait #2...accomplishment #1 for me was that I actually got up before 6am!)

There was a little confusion later about the lines because they did the lines a little different from usual and made everyone move out of the square (piazza) & had 4 entries vs. the one like normal. When they moved us it seemed that they were going to make the 20 or so of us standing inside the piazza go to the end of the line that had already formed outside the piazza, but they didn't...we just had to squeeze in the front. I was stuck between a column, a gate & the other people in line for several hours...legs & feet in weird positions...but it was worth it. Oh & that backpack of stuff...didn't even use it...actually didn't even have enough room to pull anything in it out! But the couple right in front of us ended up being from Annunciation Church in Houston, so I talked to them as we waited. They also sat behind us in the basilica.

Another bit of confusion was where the Consistory was actually going to be held - the announcements and tickets said it was to be in the Piazza, but due to the threat of rain they decided to move it inside the Basilica. The major problem with that is that they issued tickets based on the number of chairs they put in the Piazza, but the Basilica holds a lot less. So that meant even though you had a ticket, that didn't assure you a seat.

When the gates open for an event like this at St. Peter's, it's almost like when you see people going for the big sales the day after Thanksgiving...people just running to be the 1st in line & trying to get the best seats! And yes I was one of them....but so were nuns, priests, and tons of other people! I didn't shove anyone or anything like that! But before they opened I had thought through my strategy - from past experiences I knew that the best spots are the aisle seats - it's better to get an aisle seat vs. a seat up front. So that was my target. And Hilary & I actually got separated when the line moved because she had gone back to my apartment to get the Texas flags she brought that we left back at my apartment. I told her that I would go get both of us a seat and save one for her. So my strategy worked & I did get us an aisle seat! We still had about 2 hours until the Consistory was to start, but it seemed to go by fairly quickly.

This is the 3rd event I've been to inside St. Peter's that the Pope celebrated - one was with my sister almost a year ago when he did the evening prayer service the 1st Sunday of Advent, one was in June with my friend & her mom during the feast of Sts. Peter & Paul, and then for this occasion. One thing I LOVE at these types of ceremonies is to just look around the Basilica and look at all the different types of people there from all over the world gathered in this one place. Also during the Consistory & Mass most parts were in Latin or Italian, but they also did some in various languages. The Pope himself speaks multiple languages in which in addresses the pilgrims every Sunday. It is just amazing & makes me realize how global the Catholic church is and that I have brothers & sisters in Christ in every place of the world!

The countries represented by the new Cardinals alone were: US, Italy, Spain, Ireland, France, Senegal, India, Mexico, Brazil, Kenya, Argentina, & Iraq. The Cardinal from Iraq always received a big applause...he is likely to become a martyr because of all the violence in Iraq against Christians and now that he is a Cardinal he is even more of a target...but he has willing accepted being a Cardinal.

I was able to get some pretty good pics of Cardinal DiNardo & Pope Benedict at the Consistory as they went past us. During the Consistory any time DiNardo's name was announced there were cheers throughout the Basilica - the Galveston-Houston Diocese was very well represented! I've read that there were at least over 600 people from the diocese that came for the event...but then someone else said they were told it was more like 3000 -- not sure what the actual count was, but it was A LOT! One thing Hilary & I noticed is that if someone from Texas brought a flag, 9 out of 10 times it was a Texas flag & not a US flag. This was confusing many people & we were asked several times if we were from Chile (since their country flag looks similar...blue is just half the length of the flag vs. full length).

The Consistory lasted about 2 hours, but it flew by! When it was over the couple from Houston we met in line asked if we were going to the reception for Cardinal DiNardo. Since we weren't part of any tour group we had no idea there was even a reception. They found a priest from Houston that had all the details & he actually lead us to the North American College (residence for American seminarians) where the reception was taking place. We walked in & the seminarians did a fantastic job greeting everyone, providing music & answering questions. There was finger food set out, drinks, and some jazz music. They had signs posted - receiving line for Cardinal DiNardo on one side & for Cardinal Foley (another American) on the other side. So Hilary & I made it toward the DiNardo side - maybe 50 people from the front. They said he was meeting with the media, so they weren't sure how long it would take. We didn't care - we were going to wait until we could see him & congratulate him! As we were in line I saw Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza, the retired Archbishop of the Galveston-Houston Diocese (he is the one who confirmed me). I also saw a coworker from PwC Houston...in addition to just seeing a lot of faces I'm sure I've seen before...some of them I finally realized which church I've seen them at before! The Houston news crews were going by too. I got in a couple seconds of a Channel 2 video when they were talking to a priest (http://www.click2houston.com/video/14683403/index.html at about 1:53). We were interviewed by the Houston Chronicle too, but the apparently didn't use any of it. They did put a horrible picture of us on their website - but it's only chin down (the one in my pictures is MUCH better!)

Before Cardinal DiNardo arrived, we looked back at the line and it was all the way down the hall as far as the eye could see with more & more people arriving. When he arrived he took time to greet each person & take a picture with them. If you have not met him before, he is such great guy...very kind. But as Hilary & I are walking up to go see him, I was thinking to myself - what do you tell someone who has just knelt before the Pope & became a Cardinal?!?! 'Congratulations' I believe is all that came out...and 'An exciting day, isn't it??!' Because of the number of people in line, you couldn't talk to him for too long! But hey we saw him & took a picture with him THE DAY he became a Cardinal!

Another surprise was as we were leaving we passed this bishop that looked familiar...and I quickly realized it was Bishop Pat Zurek, who grew up and still has family in Wallis (my hometown). My parents knew him ever since he was little! So I was able to tell him HI and take a picture with him too!

The day was so exciting, but I was also exhausted...ended up taking a 5 hour 'nap'!

On Sunday was the mass celebrated by Pope Benedict in which the Cardinals received their rings. Hilary & I decided that if we were able to get really good seats on Saturday, we would get there a little later on Sunday - so we go to St. Peter's around 8ish (gates open at 8:30 & Mass at 10:30). When we got there, there were of course tons of people in line already. As we looked at the crowd we figured there was no way we would get inside St. Peters -- not with all those people! Once the gates opened we watched as hundreds of people rushed to get into the Basilica...many probably ones that weren't able to make it in for Sat. We got through security, but when we got closer to the Basilica they stopped the lines for a bit to see if the Basilica was full yet I suppose (they don't count the number of people as they go in). Then they let us go, but when we got to the front doors they told us to go the the right & we ended up going halfway around the Basilica on the outside. Then we went up this small stairwell & we arrived in the Basilica behind the high altar. But again they didn't count, so when we got there Hilary found a seat but I didn't. I thought there was a section right next to where we were that had seats, but as we went around they kept telling us to keep going until we got to the front of the Basilica. I finally asked a Swiss Guard if we needed to go outside & he told us that we could stay inside, but there were no more seats so we would have to stand. I was wearing heels again (wore them on Sat. too & my feet were killing me!), so I wasn't looking forward to standing for 4 hours straight, but was willing to do it if I had too. We were standing behind the last row of seats with a couple of Irish couples between us and the seats. After about an half hour of standing there, one of the Irish ladies taped me on the shoulder and said someone was looking for me. I was a bit confused because the only person I was with was Hilary, who was right next to me. So the Irish crowd parted so I could see who it was & it was a husband & wife that looked at me & asked 'Are you Lynette Uhyrek'?!? I guess for this to make sense I have to mention that my mom had emailed me to tell me that the couple that has the hardware store in East Bernard (small town next to my hometown) were going to Rome for all the events. My parents gave them my contact information & I actually told my mom maybe it would be good for them to at least show the couple a picture of me since I don't know what they look like & they probably wouldn't recognize me. I received an email from them, but they said they had a lot of things going on & weren't sure if we would be able to meet. So I look at this couple & ask 'Are you the Vacek's from East Bernard?" They said 'Yes we are!' I was just thinking how in the world did we actually run into each other amongst these hundreds (well thousands) of people?!? Then they ask if I would like to sit with them because they had an extra seat. I asked if they had a seat for my friend as well...and they did! So we actually got to sit with them! Mr. Vacek told me that he was actually praying the rosary & was scanning the crowd & just caught a glimpse of me. He said he couldn't see my whole face, but he thought I looked like the picture and apparently I look a lot like my mom too! Then he asked his wife and they were trying to decide & when they saw they Texas flag in my purse they figured it must be me! They also said they were saving a couple chairs for people in there group & felt a little bad saving the chairs with all the people standing, but in the end all of them were used! I just could not believe how it all happened - it was meant to be & I must have had angels guiding me...because if I didn't end up right in that spot, I probably would have never got to see them!

On Sunday I really didn't take that many pictures, but I did get a few of Cardinal DiNardo. The mass was about 2 hours long, but was very nice.

There were other events that took place on Monday & today, but I didn't get to go to any of those since I was working.

Overall it was an unbelievable experience. All the people I was able to see, experiencing the ceremony for the 1st Cardinal in the South and then being able to congratulate him THAT day only hours later, being so close to the Pope, being surrounded by other Catholics from all over the World....no other way to describe it except UNBELIEVABLE. And it also left me feeling very blessed...that I am...blessed in many ways!

Here's a link to my pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=71162&l=f2f82&id=800405227

(I've having problems getting the pictures from Sunday to post, but hopefully in a day or so they will be there!)