Happy Easter 2012

Easter Greetings

Today marks the most solemn day in the Christian calendar. Unlike Christmas, Easter is a movable feast occurring the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox. It can therefore occur between March 22 and April 25. We hope that you saw the full moon two nights ago - it was fabulous.

Christians gathered in churches today, across the world, and rejoiced because He is Risen from the Dead. This Good News has been handed down from generation to generation and is based on the scriptures recorded more than 2000 years ago.

Cruising Europe

We have had the good fortune to cruise in Europe on several occasions.  Our most recent European cruise was to the Mediterranean and Greek Isles.   We began our vacation with a pre-cruise stay in the ancient city of Rome.   

One of the highlights while in Rome was our visit to the Vatican.   We began with the Vatican Museum and continued with St. Peter's Basilica.   This image was from one of the murals in the museum.

Throughout Europe one has the opportunity to visit many impressive churches and basilicas.   These structures have withstood the test of time.  Many of them were damaged during the World Wars and rebuilt.

This year there are many cruises to chose from ranging from just a few nights to several weeks.  You can select from large modern ships which hold thousands of passengers to river cruises with about one hundred passengers.  We suggest extending your stay in Europe before your cruise.   This gives you the opportunity to immerse yourself in the history of the region.

Visit our Facebook Fan page for images of Europe.

Merry Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas

One of our favorite cruise ships is Celebrity Constellation.  In preparing this column we searched the web for an image that had the grand staircase decorated for Christmas.   Click on the image to go to the album on Flickr.  Thanks to gailf548 for sharing these pictures of the holiday decorations.

Images like this usually stay with you for some time and when you close your eyes, you can sometimes see them again as if you were seeing them for the first time.

We've had the good fortune of being able to add other images to our memory banks this year.  Our major cruise adventure this year was a 12-Night Mediterranean & Greek Isles Cruise.   We've posted stories on our blog and pictures on our Facebook Fan Page.  If you've not read our posts yet, see Diary of Cruise with Chris to Greek Isles
for links to individual blog posts and the various photo albums.

One of the many highlights of that cruise vacation was visiting The Vatican during our pre-cruise stay in Rome.  Last night the Pope celebrated midnight mass inside St. Peter's Basilica.   The mass was broadcast across the world to millions of viewers. The alter was setup in front of the entrance to St. Peter's tomb which can be seen in this image.  This year's mass had a special meaning since we had actually been there just over six months ago.  See more images in our album: St. Peter's Vatican.


For those that have never been to Rome, we highly recommend adding this to your bucket list of places to visit.  We actually stayed in central Rome and explored the city by mainly walking from one attraction to another.   Our hotel was near the Roma Termini Train Station, so we transferred to the ship by train. Rome is one of those destinations which you could spend days exploring and still not see it all.   That shouldn't stop you from seeing the popular attractions during a pre-cruise stay.   Make sure to throw a coin into Trevi Fountain, so that you'll return one day.

Holidays are a time for family and friends and a good time to share vacation photos and stories. My wish for you this Christmas Day is that you are sharing the day with those that you love and care about, and who have mutual feelings for you. For those that are away from home, such as cruise ship crew and those serving their countries in the armed services, may the peaceful images in your mind help you to be close to those you love, if only in your heart and mind.

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your lives by sharing our adventures and cruise industry information.   My blog and Facebook fan page are my gifts to you.  I hope you enjoy them.  Merry Christmas to all.

Special Vatican Exhibit Pope John Paul II

Tribute on Occasion of  Beatification

Pope John Paul II

“Dear Brothers and Sisters,
as you know, next 1 May
I shall have the joy of beatifying
my beloved Predecessor,
Venerable Pope John Paul II.
The date chosen is deeply meaningful:
it will in fact be the Second Sunday
of Easter, which he himself entitled
Divine Mercy Sunday, on the eve of which
his life on earth ended.
Those who knew him,
those who esteemed and loved him,
cannot but rejoice with the Church
in this event.We are glad!”
Benedict XVI – 16 January 2011

The coffin of Blessed John Paul II, which had been exposed for veneration in the front of St. Peter's basilica during the weekend of his beatification, has now been moved to a final resting place in the chapel of St. Sebastian.

The final resting place of the newly beatified Pope is marked with a simple marble tombstone, inscribed Beatus Ioannes Paulus PP II. The chapel of St. Sebastian is located near the main door of the basilica, just past Michelangelo's Pieta.

John Paul II, a Global Pope

It could be said that John Paul II was the first “global Pope” in the sense that throughout his almost 26 year pontificate he was able to visit local churches and peoples on the five continents from one part of the globe to the other.

In his Introduction to JOHN PAUL II - A tribute from Benedict XVI on occasion of the beatification. Giovanni Cardinal Lajolo writes, "This spiritual, intellectual, and also physical commitment can only instill a great sense of admiration."

He continues, "This exhibit dedicated to him as a homage by Benedict XVI on the occasion of John Paul II’s beatification shows only some of the moments in the life of this great Pontiff. Although there are many other facets and events, also significant, it is not possible to show them all here. These other events include: the many Heads of State he received, the Ambassadors who presented their letters of credence, the many eminent political, social and cultural leaders received in audience. And yet, even more, he met so many humble persons to whom he offered paternal and fraternal words of friendship, consolation, encouragement, and hope, which had an unforgettable impact on their lives."

Visit our Facebook Fan Page for photo albums from our Rome visit including our Sunday visit to the Vatican.

More Photos:  Pope John Paul II Exhibit Photo Album


Additional References

John Paul II Tribute Site
John Paul II Beatification Site
Vatican City State Site

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook Albums.




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St. Peter's Basilica - Vatican

Sunday At the Vatican

St. Peter's Basilica Dome

After completing our self-guided tour of the  Vatican Museums, we continued our Vatican visit inside St. Peter's Basilica. Just a short walk from the museum exit, you'll walk through columns and archways to the entrance of the Basilica. Stepping inside, don't be surprised if your breath is taken away, as you are filled with awe of what lies before you.

The most important basilica in the Christian world, the St. Peter's Basilica, was built in Rome in honor of Saint Peter, the first Apostle and the first Pope and leader of the Church.

Upon this "rock", I will build my Church

These words, spoken by Jesus Christ, gave Peter, the foundation "stone" (in Italian "Pietra"), authority as the first Pope.  After escaping from prison, Peter headed to Rome where he became Bishop and then reigned as Pope for 25 years.  He would later be crucified and canonized as a saint.   Learn more about St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's is an extraordinary museum in it's own right with magnificent marble columns and works of art such as Michelangelo's vast dome and the Pieta, which means "Compassion" in Italian.  It is impossible to estimate the value of these priceless works of art.

Bernini's canopy (Baldacchino) 

above St. Peter's tomb

Looking through Bernini's canopy, which is above St. Peter's tomb, you can see the alter where we were fortunate to attend holy mass during our visit.  Despite being in Italian, we were able to follow the service.   This was truly one of the highlights of our visit to the Vatican.

Unfortunately, we were unable to visit the underground crypts during our visit to St. Peter's Basilica.   We had hoped that following mass, they would have opened the crypt, but that wasn't the case.

These are just a few pictures of the interior of St. Peter's Basilica.   We have many more posted on our Facebook Fan Page:

St. Peter's Vatican Photo Album

St. Peter's Square is also a site to behold - there are more pictures in the album above also.

We continued our Vatican visit with the special exhibit in tribute to the Beatification of John Paul II.   This is a free temporary exhibit.

Read more about this in our next blog post:

Special Vatican Exhibit Pope John Paul II

More Photo Albums:

Pope John Paul II Exhibit Photo Album

Vatican Museum Line
Vatican Museum Part 2

 

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook Albums.




Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

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Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat