TheTravelingMan

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…the moment of truth. Before we left Father John gave us the priestly blessing of safe travel. We arrived and tried to get some recon at 5pm. The mass began at 10am Sunday. We determined they would close the square and got a good camping spot on Via del Conciliazione, which I kept confusing with colazione the Italian word for breakfast, after talking to three guards with three different stories. It started to rain as set up our camp and within a half an hour the police showed up and decided to shut down the street as well. They herded people who were already camping there before us out and they were not happy about it. Many traveled very far to get an opportunity to see the Pope canonized not one but two influential popes in ... read more

April 25, 2014 Rome Rise and shine! Well this is the big day; time to greet the Bishop. In the morning, his excellency the Archbishop of Baltimore said our mass. It was done with parts in English and Polish. The mass was beautiful and afterwards I got to meet the Bishop, our Supreme Knight Carl Anderson and his wife, and Count Enrico Demaio the head of i Cavalieri di Colombo, Italy. The Knights are very active with the Vatican, restoring many of the beautiful sites the world enjoys. When introduced I greeted him with a hearty “piacere.” He smiled for a moment acknowledged my sign of respect and returned a piacere back. I totally marked out as well and kissed the ring of the Archbishop. He did not expect it, but I am an old school ... read more

Ahhhhhhhhhh Milano! A rather industrious city, but beautiful in its own way. The flight was amazing, the best experience in the air I have ever had! Not only was Air Emirates the cheapest direct flight from JFK to Milan Malpensa, but the service was outstanding. In flight movies, TV and music in multiple languages for free. All alcohol was free except for champagne. The food was restaurant quality and all pillows, blankets and headsets were complimentary. They even gave you a warm towel to clean your hands before the flight took off. When I arrived in Milan, my first task was to find Ray. the airport was not very large and we had agreed to meet at the McDonald’s at 12:15. I mayyyyyyy have sent Ray a misleading photograph of myself from when I was snowboarding ... read more

Outside of the trail my father and I took the opportunity to see what else the great state of Kentucky has to offer. Horse racing and bourbon go hand in hand in Kentucky. While we were unable to catch a race we were able to tour Keensland and The Churchill Downs. The Downs is where the Kentucky Derby is held and they have a great museum of the sport. We enjoyed a traditional Mint Julep at the Derby Cafe and got to see where the millionaire rows were. My sister would have really enjoyed the downs. I could picture her strutting around with her fancy hat drinking a julep. While we were in Louisville, we enjoyed the Urban Bourbon Trail, which basically was a pub crawl that takes you all over the city. It was fun. ... read more

Day two on the trail was a good one. We took this day to check out some of the remaining distilleries on Lexington. Buffalo Trace, while not officially on the trail, was my favorite distillery. Named after the buffalo crossing of old, Buffalo Trace easily won a place in my heart and a spot in my liquor cabinet. Our tour guide Freddy was quite knowledgeable and very friendly. One thing that deeply impressed me about the bourbon trail is that the industry is like a big family. Buffalo Trace trains all its workers to do every job from the bourbon line to the lawn care. During periods of slow production, they will employee their workers with beautification projects to keep them employed. In a day and age where corporations are villainized as being only out for ... read more