I started this newsletter in 2011 to send out occasional updates from my travels – usually those were very occasional, like once every six months. The subscriber list grew to nearly 60,000 readers over the next 10 years. I was using a different service at the time and was paying a lot of money each month for a service I rarely used. I moved over to Substack nearly two years ago and completely started over. I’ve been more consistent with this new set up and have enjoyed the community aspect. But I wanted to be more structured as well, so here we go.
Starting today, I’ll have four regular sections:
I have a story: This section will be for paid subscribers only (more on that below). But the first one here is available for everyone. Some of these stories I’ve shared previously through my writings or Tipsy Tuesdays or on trips, but most will be new to you. It’s also a way for me to gather all my stories for that book that I’ll probably never write.
Pilgrimage spotlight: Here I will highlight an upcoming trip. I am asked several times a week if I know anyone who organizes pilgrimages, so I must be doing a terrible job at promoting my work. Maybe this will help.
Travel tip: Hopefully something new to you to help you plan and prep for your own travels.
Coming up in Rome: activities, liturgical celebrations, etc for the days and weeks ahead in Rome.
The newsletter remains free.
Paid subscribers will have access to the new stories feature and will be the first to get notifications for new pilgrimage announcements.
If you want to upgrade to a paid subscription and help support my writing, just click this button.
We’ll see over the next few months how you like the new format, what works, and what does not.
I have a story…
I’ve been leading group pilgrimages for nearly 20 years. Imagine the stories I have after leading thousands of different personalities on 150+ group tours. Plus with all my solo travel, recon work, and behind the scenes trying to grow a travel business brand, I have a lot to share.
This being Saint Valentine’s Day, a day we celebrate love and a martyr, I thought I’d start with a love story that nearly ended with my own death.
An Almost Disastrous Honeymoon
The honeymoon was all mine to plan. The one thing we had to do was meet the Pope, but other than that, I was free to design a honeymoon adventure.
I decided to leave the trip a surprise, for no reason other than it was fun to keep her guessing.
We agreed on traveling, rather than staying in one place. I did let her know we’d be flying around Europe, but that was all she knew. Well, other than we were meeting the Pope and obviously starting in Rome.
The trip started out as a disaster.
We were married on January 4th and planned to leave for Rome on January 6th. She lived in midtown Atlanta, and as of January 4th, so did I.
Since we lived in the big city, we – mostly me – decided it would be exciting and city-like to take the subway to the airport. Also, we would not have to bother any friends or family to take us.
So, we were all packed and ready to go. We walked a few blocks to the subway and waited for the train. And waited. And waited.
There was no train, and no announcement. So we continued to wait.
You know when you are waiting for something and it’s already taken a long time? You don’t want to leave, because you just know whatever you are waiting for is going to happen the second you leave.
Well, we kept on waiting. It got to the point where if we left to find a taxi, we probably would miss the flight.
Finally, after way too much time, and our first argument as a married couple, the train finally arrived. Still no explanation as to what happened.
We got to the airport very, very late. Got to the Lufthansa desk, literally 2 minutes after they closed down. They lady at the desk was extremely nice. She made some phone calls, but they could not let us through. We were too late.
Christina cried. I felt horrible. The Lufthansa agent tried to get us on other flights, but none were available. Our only option was to fly out the next day.
No problem, right? Wrong. Our audience with the Pope was at 10:00 AM on Wednesday. If we left tomorrow (Tuesday), our flight would not arrive in Rome until 10:30 AM on Wednesday. This was the only reason we were going to Rome.
We went home and I got on the computer. Finally around 3:00 AM, I found a one way ticket flying from Atlanta to Rome that would get us in at 9:30 AM. One hour earlier than our scheduled arrival and only 30 minutes before our audience with the Holy Father.
If the flight was delayed or if we got caught in customs, we’d be late. But, it was our only chance. Keep in mind too, that it takes about 30 minutes to drive from the airport to Rome, plus we’d have to find a taxi, and there’s usually a line.
I booked it. I should probably mention that the deal we had on Lufthansa was great. A two for one special. Both roundtrip tickets cost only $430. That’s for two people! This new one way ticket, bought on the day of travel cost more than the entire honeymoon, flights, hotels, food, etc. But, if it worked, I guess it would be worth it.
Who would’ve thought I’d be sleeping on the couch after just 48 hours of marriage?
Christina was not happy. Not happy with our subway experience. Not happy with missing the flight. And now, not happy paying all this money for these tickets. Most importantly, not happy with me.
So, here’s the deal. When one meets the Holy Father for a nuptial blessing, one was required to have special tickets (that’s no longer the case) and the bride must wear her wedding dress and the groom a suit.
Our flight was scheduled to land at 9:30 and we had 30 minutes to not only get into Rome, but have our tickets and be dressed. Getting dressed was easy for me, I just wore my suit on the plane. Not so easy for Christina. She would have to figure something else out.
By the grace of God, we arrived ahead of schedule, just before 9:00 AM. We breezed through Passport control. Christina ran for the restroom, wedding gown in tow. I found an illegal taxi – someone that charges a ridiculous amount of money and is not licensed to drive a taxi. But, for him there was no wait. For the legal option there was a huge line.
Christina emerged from the bathroom looking as lovely as she did at our wedding. We got quite a few stares sprinting through the airport dressed for a wedding.
Even though we arrived early, we still did not have time to go and pick up the tickets for the audience. So, we took another risk and headed straight to St. Peter’s Basilica, luggage and all.
The driver got us there in record time. He somehow managed not to wreck the car while watching Christina getting dressed in his rearview mirror. I paid him a ridiculous amount of money for an illegal taxi ride, and we rushed across St. Peter’s Square, in the rain.
We checked our luggage (Saint Peter’s has a luggage storage) and ran back across the square to the hideous Paul VI Auditorium. The Swiss Guard did not even ask for our tickets, he just pointed us to the newlywed section.
As soon as we got to our seat, the Holy Father came out.
Perfect timing.
He did his usual Wednesday Audience thing as we tried not to fall asleep from jet lag and the stress of the last few days.
After the audience, all the newlyweds lined up to meet the Pope.
Just before it was our turn, we were asked our language and told not to kneel or kiss the ring.
Well, we couldn’t help it, we knelt in front of the Holy Father and kissed his ring. It’s the Pope, how could we not? He spoke to us in English. Unfortunately, neither of us can remember what he said. We could understand him, it wasn’t that, but here we were face to face with Pope John Paul II. He was touching our hands and talking to us.
I can remember his ring, it was very thin. I can remember the smell. He smelled Popey? I can’t really explain that one, but it was almost a grandfatherly smell mixed with incense and a bit wintery. I can remember the voice and his eyes. But, not the words. Maybe someday it will come back to me.
After the audience we took advantage of the sights of Rome and Christina in her dress. We got some great pictures and Christina was applauded almost everywhere she went. Young kids came up to her several times and sang songs.
It was a beautiful morning.
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Pilgrimage Spotlight
My Thanksgiving pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Jordan was so much fun that people following along wanted to do something similar in the spring.
I announced this Easter Season pilgrimage just a few weeks ago. It filled up in about 24 hours, but now I have a few additional openings. If you are interested, and can get away in two months, it should be a great pilgrimage.
We begin with a visit to Bethlehem and the Church of the Visitation in Ein Karem. We’ll travel north for a few nights on the Sea Galilee. From here we will visit Nazareth, Cana, the Mount of Beatitudes, Capernaum, and more. Then we head up to Jerusalem to visit the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, Mount Zion, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We have Mass each day, excellent meals, and my favorite local guide.
After Jerusalem, there is an optional extension to Jordan. Here we will visit Mount Nebo, where Moses saw the Promised Land. We will stop in the actual spot of the Baptism of the Lord – while He was baptized in the Jordan River that divides Israel and Jordan, the traditional spot is in a tributary across the border in Jordan. And for a best day ever, we will hike through Ancient Petra and then watch the sunset from Mars – actually it’s the Wadi Rum desert, but it’s hard to tell the difference. We will do a bit of glamping in the desert before ending our Jordanian excursion with a few nights in a five star Dead Sea resort.
Sound like your kind of pilgrimage? Click here to sign up.
Travel Tip
The Catholic Traveler’s Guide to Rome is accessed around 10,000 times a day from people all over the world. After a decade of answering the same questions over and over and over, I decided several years ago to post all my favorite travel tips for free on my website. I’ll highlight some of those here each week.
Did you know you can go to confession in English in Saint Peter’s Basilica?
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available everyday from 7 AM - 12:30 PM and again from 4 PM - 7 PM.
The confessionals are to the right of the main altar. Each confessional has a list of the available languages.
After your confession, the adoration chapel is a great place to pray.
More here on confession in Saint Peter's Basilica.
Also good to know… all four major basilicas (Saint Peter’s, Saint Mary Major, Saint John Lateran, Saint Paul Outside the Walls) have reconciliation available in English.
Coming up in Rome
Lent begins next week, and the tradition of the Lenten Station Churches of Rome continues. More on that next week, but for those who like to look ahead, I have an article, a video featuring my kids, and a podcast with Joannie Watson for each Lenten Station Church here on my website.
To kick off Lent, my favorite Papal Mass of the year takes place on Ash Wednesday at the basilica of Santa Sabina. It’s a tiny ancient church, so it’s very difficult to get tickets. But it is possible to participate from outside. I recommend you arrive no later than 3 PM.
That’s it for today. Happy Saint Valentine’s Day! Here’s his skull.
🧡 MTN
Well finally. I will encourage you to write that book. Doesn't have to be lengthy - just start somewhere.
BTW. I get lots and lots of posts on Facebook of people requesting suggestions of where to visit and tours of Italy. I give them my ideas and an expose of favourite tour Director - The Catholic Traveler and glowing description of him.... God bless you Mountain and the family
Mountain do you have any reflections on why you have been so successful at growing newsletters? Growing to a five-figure follower count twice is incredibly impressive!
Aside from regularly releasing high-quality writing, which you clearly do, are there any particular actions, habits, or strategies that have been instrumental for you?
Thank you!