Salve ragazzi,
So today is Friday, November 13, 2015, and in exactly 7 days my parents arrive here in Rome for the annual AUR Thanksgiving family weekend. Aside from Christmas, Thanksgiving probably places second in the running for my favorite holiday. There is just something about gathering around a large table, reminiscing about days when we were younger and eating a nauseating amount food. Unfortunately, here in Rome turkeys are extremely tough to come by so I have a feeling that my family and I may have to go against tradition and forgo a large turkey dinner.
As the days approach to my families arrival in Rome, I begin to draw up a lesson plan containing a detailed description of what we will do each day. When developing this lesson plan I must keep in mind each of my family members personalities, which vary greatly on the “personality spectrum.” For example, my mother is hugely religious and loves learning about history, but she hate large crowds, my sisters as I’m sure you can imagine, love to go shopping…in large crowded stores, my stepfather is a sucker for high quality authentic Italian food, but absolutely hates shopping, whereas I’m confortable doing all or neither of these things……so let’s just say I have my work cut out for me.
As I mention earlier in one of my posts, I met a man named Ft. Gino who exercises at the same fitness center as my buddies and I. He explained to me how he was one of the main pastors who oversees Jubilee year and works directly with Papa Francisco. I told him how religious my mother was, and that my entire family would be here for Thanksgiving. Ft. Gino was kind enough to offer us all a private tour of the Vatican, which is major brownie point for me when my mother finds out. The funny thing is, my mother has been trying to get a group tour of the Vatican for months, but since Jubilee year is approaching everything has been booked. I’m confident my mother will be surprised that I pulled this off, and I think this will be the highlight of her trip.
At this point I’m still working on the itinerary for my families stay (November 20th – December 1st), but this is what I have so far.
Lesson Plan:
- Tour of the Vatican (St. Peter’s Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum)
- Tour the Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill
- Visit Hadrian’s Pantheon
- Visit the Spanish steps
- Visit the Trevi Fountain
- Piazza Venenzia
- Circus Maximus
- Galleria Borghese and Villa Borghese Gardens
- Meal in Tuscany Excursion with the school
- Piazza Navona (shopping for the sisters)
Many of the sites listed above are the main tourist attraction that one must certainly visit during there stay in Rome. Though they may not necessarily appeal to the entire family, they will most certainly make my mother happy which it ultimately the key. Growing up in a large family I have learned that if you keep mother happy, everyone is happy.
I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving. Stay tuned for an update on how our Thanksgiving excursions went.
Until next time,
Arrivederci 🙂