The kids and I spent two nights in the tiny hilltop town of San Giovanni Rotondo to visit the church of Padre Pio. Padre Pio is sort of the patron saint of Puglia and seeing how our kids go to Catholic School and their family also comes from Puglia, I loved getting to introduce them to this town and the story.
We left the main highway and found ourselves within hills and then we slowly - very slowly mind you as we have individuals in the car that are prone to being car-sick - very slowly, wind our way around the hills until we came upon our destination. Our hotel was amazing with a cool loft room that the kids thought was out of this world and great views of the valley below.
Olivia had broken a religious bracelet while still in the US, but she brought it with her anyway. She left it on the hand of Padre Pio in one of the churches we visited and replaced her bracelet with another from the same church. She was so happy and insisted I take a photo. There it is below on his right hand.
After visiting a couple churches we took a walk up maybe 200 steps through a nature preserve that is dedicated to a monastery. This nature preserve is intended for visitors to recite the rosary quietly as they wind their way through the park. There were signs everywhere to not use loud voices which is interesting when coaxing three kids up 200 steps. They did their best and no one seemed offended by us.
View from the top. Well worth the climb.
My pensive little man. Hopefully taking in the view but probably wondering why is mommy makes him walk up 200 steps.
Once we ventured down through the preserve and took in the statues dedicated to each station of the cross, we came upon this gentleman playing the violin. We were so taken with him, Mario gave him some coins.
Taking a break, sitting in the piazza of the Santa Maria della Grazie.
Outside the Santuario of Padre Pio, compared to the other churches in town dedicated to the saint, this one resembles a hockey stadium. Incredibly big and very modern design.
The mosaics in the basement of the sanctuary were very impressive though and we walked the basement halls a few times to take them all in.
Inside the crypt where Padre Pio is laid to rest, also all mosaic art.
No matter how big or small, I love taking adventures with my family. The kids enjoy it (most of the time anyway) and I think there's something exciting about calling our activities adventures. Makes us seem like explorers or pirates discovering new lands. For all the griping of "are we there yet?" to "I'm hungry, I need to go to the bathroom, It's hot/cold," I love it all and in the end have made a new memory for them.
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