Paris, France

I arrived in Paris at about 6 PM and made ny way to Saint Christopher's hostel, which is located on the fringe, quite a ways from train attractions.

The first evening I didn't do anything except for go for a walk along the canal eating a baguette. I felt very Parisian.

That night I had a lot if trouble sleeping. Some moron in the next bed came in at 1 am and started watching a movie and eating chips. It sounded like that had about bags of chips and they were lying on them. There was a constant crunching and crackling and sniffling. And zippers being done and undone. I don't think I've ever been so angry. But for some reason, In my sleep deprived state, I thought it.would be rude to tell them to be quiet. So I waited It out. I should have just gotten up and beaten them into silence.

The next morning I got up at 7:00 and got to the Louvre at 8:45 in order to get in when it opened at 9:00. I had learned from my mistake at the Vatican Museum. But I needn't have worried. Whoever complained about the Louvre lines has obviously not seen the ones in Rome or Florence. I was in by 9:15, but even later in the day, when I re-entered, it still only took 15 minutes. I spent over 6 hours in the Louvre and saw almost every room. It was a lot to take in and I'm pretty sure I got my money's worth.

Halfway through I took a break and went to Notre Dame. It wad cool. Across the square there was a large pavilion in which a baguette baking competition was taking place.

Then I went back to the Louvre.

When I got back to the hostel I got into a conversation with a group of guys in my room and we had a beer together and talked for a while. Then they went off to get drunk and I went to bed and slept much better than the night before.

Then next day I went up the Eiffel Tower with two of the guys from the hostel. It was as cool as everyone said. Then we walked the Swine back to Notre Dame and I went in again.

In the afternoon I read a book and took it easy. It was raining.

On Wednesday I got up early and toon the metro to the Arc du Triumph. Now I've been to most of the triumphal arches in the world. There were two in Rome and one in Delhi.

Then I walked down the boulevard back to the Louvre and went to the Museum D'Orsey. It was great. It only took about 3 hours and was crammed full of impressionist paintings. Cezanne, Degas, Monet, Manet and Van Goph.

Then I went to Saint Chapelle, which is said to be the most beautiful gothic church. They doing extensive renovation which was disappointing, but I could still see enough to appreciate it. The entire chapel seems to be made of strained glass.

Then I went back to the hostel, read and went to bed. I have to catch a very early train tomorrow.

Geneva, Switzerland

The train ride from Como to Geneva was quick and beautiful. I passed through the Italian and Swiss alps and was pretty much glued to the window.

I arrived in Geneva at 4:18 and caught the #9 bus at the airport. Then I transferred to the A bus and arrived at the Masters' house at 5.

I didn't know many siblings Christian had. I was greeted by four very rowdy and fun boys named Micah, Jeremiah, Josh and Caleb. And Charity, who is not rowdy. I immediately felt at home. We could messy, we could be noisy, and we could eat as much food as we wanted. Mrs. Masters was at Christian's graduation, and Mr. Masters was away on business.

The next morning I walked the 4 miles in to Geneva. I have plenty of time and every time I walk I save €3. That is $25 over three days.

First I went to the famous fountain and then to Reformation wall. It was funny. 4 days before I was in Rome at Saint Peters Basilica--the center if Catholicism--and now I was in Geneva, where the Reformation began. I should go to Mecca and Varanasi.

In front if the wall I met another American, named David, whose father is a Calvin scholar. We got to talking and walked fir he cathedral together. I had to work hard not to make the sign of the cross as I entered. I have spent a lot of tome in Catholic territory.

We spent almost an hour in the cathedral listening to the organ play. It was beautiful.

Then we went to the International Museum of the Reformation. It occupied the building in which Calvin used to meet with the other Reformers, and it was incredibly detailed. It even explained predestination and the difference between transubstanciation and consubstanciantion. I hope many non-Christians go there. We spent many hours in there.

After that David and I parted ways and I went to the cemetery where Calvin is allegedly buried. I took a selfie with him.

Then I walked back to the Masters house. In the evening the boys taught me a soccer game called Rapido which involves a lot of running and shooting goals. It was great fun.

The next day was beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky. I walked back into town and for most of the day went from park to park reading my book. I'm reading "A Farewell to Arms" which is great. By the way I just finished "Atlas Shrugged" which I highly recommend.

When I got back to the Masters' house I met Rob Masters, who had just returned from his business trip. He is really cool. What would you expect when he has 7 really cool kids?

That night was movie night and we watched Spiderman.

The next day I took a day trip. I walked into town, caught a train to Montreaux and from there took another train to a small villages called Caux. Picture a small alpine Swiss village. That's Caux. That I hiked up a steep mountain to a peak called Rorchers-du-Naye. It was about 6000 ft of elevation gain. The view was stunning.

I hiked back down and did everything in reverse until I got back to the Master's house.

The next day was Sunday and at 10 I said farewell to all my new friend. Then I took the bus into town and went to an English speaking church called the Evangelical Baptist church of Geneva. Then I rushed to the Tran station and caught the TGV train to Paris.

Geneva was wonderful. For most people it's one of the most expensive cities In Europe, but not for me thanks to the Masters!

Como, Italy

I swore I'd never take another over night train without a couchette. But when I reserved my ticket from Rome to Como it was too late: I was stuck with a seat.

I didn't sleep much. I changed in Genoa, then again in Milan and reached Como at noon. Como is a beautiful lake town situated in the Italian Alps only several kilometers from the Swiss boarder.

As I stepped out of the station I was greeted by Sari! "Hello African." He said, "Tenemos al santa de carra." It was an inside joke. I felt at home.

We walked to a bar and had a coffee. He was skipping school to hang out with me. At 2 we went to the school and met Ilaria and Bubu and two other dogs!

Then Ilaria took me to her house, which she calls "the ship." It is a perfect writers retreat set back in the woods. Her parents live in a much grander house next door. I met her mother.

Then we took a 7 mile hike. We were so used to walking together. At 6 Ilaria had a meeting, so I sat in a field with the dogs for an hour. It was wonderful. I hadn't a care in the world.

I stayed at a wonderful bed and breakfast that gave me a discount because I was Ilaria's friend.

The next day I went with Ilaria to school. She said that her class really wanted to see me and that I would give the lesson. I wasn't that nervous because of teaching in India, I was curious.

There they were: about 20 boys all studying to be plumbers and taking Ilaria's class only because they were required to. It was bedlam. They were playing games in their phones, sleeping, playing with lighters and hanging out the windows. I don't know how she keeps her sanity.

But the boys and I had fun. They asked me many questions. I avoided the ones about sex and drugs (there were many) but I kept grasping for something that would interest them. For some reason I mentioned that I had brewed beer. THAT got their attention. Next thing I knew I was explaining (and diagraming on the board) the process of fermentation to a class of boys (my age) in Italy. It was weird. They wanted exact amounts and everything.

I "taught" for two hours. Then it was PE and the guys asked me to come. Of course PE in Italy is synonymous with football. Today there were tests. We juggled the ball as many times as we could and did as many pushups as we could in 30 seconds. It was a good workout. And I got the best grade in the class with pushups!

At 1 I said goodbye to the guys and went to the B and B where I collapsed for several hours and recovered. Then I met Sari and Ilaria for what Ilaria called a "celebration reunion dinner." I brought my certificate from the Vatican as the centerpiece. We had a blast. Ilaria gave me a signed copy of one of her books and a carved pendant that she got im Jerusalem. It is the Green Tou--the symbol of Christian salvation. Then we all called Luca, our pilgrim friend from Lucca and told him how much we wished he was there. He said he was with us in spirit.

After a dinner we walked the streets of the old town. Como has a beautiful cathedral and many ancient buildings. Suddenly, at one of the oldest buildings, Ilaria said, "This is my house!"

"But I thought the other house was your house." I said.

"This is mine too. My grandparents bought it during WWII." We entered a beautiful courtyard. The house huge. It actually has 5 different flats, each large enough for a family. 3 are occupied by Ilarias siblings and their families, and two are bed and breakfasts. Ilarias sister and nephews are so great.

The next day I met Sari at 8:15: he was skipping school again but after what I had seen of his class I was pretty sure that he'd learn more practicing English with me anyway.

Our plan was to take an incline railway to the top of a nearby mountain but we couldn't find it. So we climbed the mountain. It sure was hard but the view was almost worth it.

My train was leaving for Geneva at 11:17 so we had to rush back down again.

It was hard to say goodbye to Sari. My tine in Como was too short (because it wasn't part of my planned itinerary), and I hope I can come back some day.

Rome, Italy

Before dinner in the first night the people in the convent held a ceremony for the pilgrims who had just arrived. They read a prayer and then washed and kissed our feet.

There are two American girls who live in Rome and volunteer at the Convent where I was staying. Of course they were gold mines of knowledge as far as sightseeing in Rome was concerned, but even better were the conversations that I had with then about their faith.

I have never talked to a Catholic who was my age and actually took their faith seriously. (But I haven't been looking for them or moving in the right circles to for that). Mary Kathryn and Corinne are obviously Christians and they believe in the gospel--that we are sinners saved by Christ alone. We then talked for hours about our differences and I had a lot of miss-conceptions and assumptions corrected. Conversations like this are the reason that I travel. They are wonderful people. (And Erin too, who dropped by).

I had always thought that the saints were viewed almost as lesser-deities who had earned their statuses by living good lives, but they aren't. They are roll models, just as we look up to and emulate Calvin or pastor Rayburn. Erin said that she asks for her friends to pray for her, why then, would She not ask the "great cloud of witnesses" to pray for her too? I thought it was a good point.

On Friday I went out to see as much as Rome as I could. I went with two other pilgrims who had arrived at the same tine as me (they had bicycled which is why I didn't encounter then earlier). Their name.were Oscar and Alexander and they live near Milan.

First we went back to St. Peter's square and applied to the Uffizi gate of the Vatican to receive our Testimoniums, which are certificates proving that we did the pilgrimage. We were allowed in by two medieval Swiss guards and ushered into an office where we were given visitors passes. We felt very important.

Then we went to another office where we gave a man our credentials and then waited. After a while he returned with the very official documents. They have the Vatican's stamp on them!

We took one look at the line into the Vatican Museum and decided that we'd try again later.

We walked to the Spanish steps, the Trevi Fountain, big government buildings ans this magnificent monument/museum dedicated to fallen soldiers. Then it began to pour rain and we took cover with a crowd of people under and awning for about 45 minutes.

Then we continued to the Roman Forum, the Palentine Hill, and the Colliseum. I had read that if we buy our tickets to all the forum then we can skip the ticket line at the Colliseum, and this worked like a charm. We had no wait at all at the forum, and skipped at least an hour's worth of line later on.

The ruins were pretty amazing. But they barely suggest the grandeur which they building must have had when they were intact.

By that point we were pretty tired, So we headed home. I spend most of the rest of the day just talking to them and other people in the convent.

After breakfast the next morning I said goodbye to all my new friends and went off to find my youth hostel. (Pilgrims are only allowed to stay 2 nights). I plan to see the girls again on Sunday in Saint Peter's square. We are going to watch the pope wave.

I walked all the way across Rome to my hostel and then to the train station, to try to figure out a reservation to Como. But Como has three stations and I don't know which one to go to. So I'll have to contact Sari or Ilaria and find out.

The next day I found my youth hostel and then took the metro to a Cappucini Monastary. In this monastary is a crypt where some 16th century monk with artistic ability and a morbid sense if humor decorated the crypts with the bones of 6000 dead monks. It was a sight to see. I wasn't allowed to take photos but you should Google it. Its incredible.

Then I headed to the Vatican to begin waiting in line for the Museum. I had been told that the best time to go was early afternoon. But the line still took me 4 and a quarter hours. I was one of the last people they allowed in. It was aweful. So I sprinted through the Museum and barely got to see the Sistine Chapel before it closed. But I got to see it. It was pretty awesome.

Then I went back to the hostel, made dinner, and called my family. I should do that more often.

On Sunday I checked out of the hostel very early and took the metro back to the pilgrim house where I met Mary Kathryn, Erin and Corinne at 8:45. Together we walked to the North American International Seminary, which is just a few steps from Saint Peter's. The place was full of American Seminary students. It was a culture shock for me. Its the first time I've been to an English service in over a month.

The guys were great. Afterward we all had a brunch together and about 10 of us crowded around a small table and chatted. I felt so at home.

Then we rushed to Saint Peter's and recieved a blessing from the Pope! It was so cool to see him in person (although he was very far away). After that deacon Taylor (from the seminary) mentioned that he had to go to frisbee practice. So of course I went too. We had a great time playing ultimate.

Deacon Taylor and I then had an intense discussion about the Catholic faith as we waljed back into the center of the city. He gave me a rosary that he made himself. I will treasure it.

This has been a perfect day in Rome. No monuments. Just genuine people. Tonight I'm going to the pilgrim home once more then catching an overnight to Como!

Francigena, 12-14