The Elements

domenica, 29 maggio 2016

Ciao, bellas!
We had a reaaaaally early start to our day this morning- a whopping 5:30AM (That's 12:30AM for all you US folks). It was a tad brutal, but ya know, we made it out alive! Allison and I packed breakfast and then figured out some more public transportation. We're getting quite good at this bus thing. We also managed to figure out the train uneventfully. Needless to say, I was getting a little worried because everything was going so well. But never fear, for the Lord loves to place obstacles in our way! He was laughing at us a lot today, but I'll get to that more later.

After an hour and a half-ish train ride, we arrived in quaint Orvieto for another Corpus Christi celebration! Oh wait, first we had to ride this freaky little thing called a funicular. Absolutely terrifying. I've included a link so you can share in my terrifiment. (Yes, I just invented a new word, deal with it. This is what happens with little to no sleep.)

https://www.funimag.com/funimag07/ORVIET01.HTM

But Orvieto- it was so beautiful there. It's considered a small town (population 21000), which isn't so small to little Pewamo girl (population <500), BUT it did feel small after the craziness of gigantic Rome (population 2.6 million). I hope you enjoyed your lesson in demographics. Moving on....

Oh, wooow!

Look at those hills

Sass.

She's a model

Anywho, we made our way to the Duomo, which is the Cathedral. We were a little skeptical at first when we saw the stripes on the side, but the front and the inside were absolutely incredible. I'm still trying to comprehend the size of this thing. The fact that it was built over 600 years ago just adds to the impressiveness. We got to the Duomo a little early, so we went wandering around Orvieto and came across a parade! These dudes sure know how to be classy. After the parade, we went back to the Duomo square and waited for the procession with the corporal stained with Jesus' blood. You can read all about the Eucharistic Miracle and its ties to Orvieto here -->  http://www.opsm.it/duomo/003b.html.

Outisde of the Duomo

Inside of the Duomo

Blood stained corporal

The classy dudes in the parade

Okay, so here is where the complications begin: the elements. It has been very warm here in Rome, so naturally, Allison and I dressed for warmth: short sleeves and no umbrella. However, that's not what we got. It started pouring and blowing and getting cold and just ew. The only positive was that we felt like we were right back in Michigan... As we stood there, cold and wet, this nice Italian lady pulled us under her umbrella and treated us like her little ducklings. We were extremely thankful for her kindness. Extremely thankful. The wind picked up some more and started blowing the barriers everywhere, so that was kinda dangerous. The guards decided to let us all inside after that since the procession could not go on due to the weather. We were able to walk around, take in the magnificence of the Duomo, and venerate the relic of the corporal. This was a huge blessing. Then there was mass at noon, so of course we stayed for that! Jesus loves us so much.

Once mass was over, Allison and I were both rather hungry, so we found a nice pizza place. We ordered pizza with corn and sausage. I know adding corn sounds weird, but it was actually fabulous. Hooray for happy tummies!!

Yes, we ate the entire thing. No, we are not ashamed.

We then proceeded to church hop (surprise surprise).  By this point, it was pretty hot, go figure. All of the churches in Orvieto are really, really old. Many of the churches in Italy are old, but these churches did not hide their age. They were still quite lovely though. At one point, while we were hunting for more churches, we were looking at a map on a sign, comparing it to our paper map, and using the compass on my phone. There was no hiding our American. We apparently can't fool anyone...

Santa Michanchanga 

Deo et Virgini Perdolenti

La Chiesa di San Domenico 

Della Chiesa die Sadti Andrea e Bartolomeo

Sanctus Iuuenalism

We headed back to the funicular (still scary) and the train station with rumbly tummies and tired everything. We were so hangry by the time we got back that we made food as fast as we possibly could. Shout out to our parents, especially our moms, for always feeding us and keeping our tummies happy. Love you lots!
Kelsey and Allison