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Buon Giorno!



We all made it safely to Rome.

Special thanks to Fr. Jim Chichetto,CSC '64 who met about 30 of us on campus to offer a blessing before we left for the airport. All of us appreciated your kind words and prayers.

We left Boston on time and landed in Dublin ahead of schedule. The plane left Dublin on time and we hit Rome right on time. We were greeted by our tour manager Karin who ushered us to our bus and off we went.

30 minutes later we were in ancient Rome, turned a corner and and out of nowhere was the magnifient Colosseum. A local guide "whispered" in our ears as we explored the stadium after all others have been modeled. Absolutely spectacular!

We drove back to the outskirts of the city and checked in at our hotel. We'll meet for dinner in a few hours and then we'll be treated to a bus tour of Rome at night - the lights are supposed to be beautiful.

While excited to hear the Patriots won - disappointed to hear about the Red Sox missing the sweep.....

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