C 3rd Day- Pigrimage to Rome

3.5.50.
After breakfast of coffee and rolls at the hotel, while waiting for the
coach to take us to the station, we
visited a nearby church. This was the first Italian church we had
entered. It was richly decorated and
had a beautiful statue of our Lady.

At 9.30 am we left in the same train in which we had travelled through
France, now on the last lap of
our journey to Rome. We took with us packed luncheon boxes. The Italian
countryside was very
beautiful. The grape-vines were growing on the terraced hillsides, mile
upon miles of them. Decorative
palm trees were planted by many stations.

For a long period the train travelled alongside the beautiful Tyrrhean
Sea. We had stopped a while at
Genova. Then onward we sped through the lovely coastal towns of
Monterosa, Corniglia, La Spezia,
Arcola, Massa Centro, Pietrasanta, Pisana and then Pisa. There we saw
the leaning tower of Pisa in
the distance.

Our train passed through a tunnel on the very edge of the craggy coast.
Through holes in the rock, we
saw the entrancing blue of the sea. Alternatively through tunnels and
through ravines in the rocks we
continued. When a cleft in the rock came into view, we all peered out
of the window, to glimpse the
indescribable beauty which met our eyes. Rocks rose sheerly out of the
water, almost encircling a pool
of blue. Brilliant sunshine added to our delight.

On leaving the sea behind, the railway track traversed a course further
inland with the mountains of
central Italy in the distance. The nearer slopes were terraced, every
inch of land being used. Grape-
vines spread across miles of the land. On many hilltops, seemingly
inaccessible, was perched a
monastery. Family vaults of massive structure were evident in the many
cemeteries. Spires and towers
of the churches perched on the hillside and dominated each hill
town.

Our train was over an hour late arriving in Rome. It was about 9.45 pm
when we arrived, and then
were swiftly transferred to our respective hotels in coaches. Ours was
the Pensione Gerber. Father
McKenna introduced himself as being in charge of our group.

Margaret and I with two other persons were the last to be fixed up with
rooms for two. There were only
two rooms left, one being for three persons, and the other for one
only. It was then that I learnt my
first italian word "Due" meaning two, constantly repeated in the
conversation between Father McKenna
and the manager of the hotel. Eventually the manager agreed to transfer
one bed from the room for
three to the room for one. Margaret and I took the single room in which
there was just room to place
the two beds and the two others had the room for three. Father McKenna
was very patient in arranging
all this which took about half an hour. At 11 pm we had late dinner,
the meat being delicious and
tender as were all our meals in Rome. Then supremely happy at having
reached our goal, The Eternal
City, we retired to bed.