visiting info

its been one of those weeks where it seems like no matter what you do you can't get anything done. reading has taken a major hit and i need to get on that today. we are gearing up for "new man weekend" where the "new men" put on a variety show for the rest of the college, prepare a dinner, and the highlight of it all the "spaghetti bowl." this Thanksgiving weekend program is a football game with "new men" vs "old men" where it is set up for the "new men" to lose, but we've got other plans. i think i'm playing a receiver in the game, i'm a writer for the show, and hopefully i can just be a set up/clean up guy for the dinner. i'm looking forward to it. sorry no pictures this week, but here is some information if you ever want to come visit:

things to do:
St. Peter's Basilica - tomb of St. Peter
St. Paul's Outside the Walls - tomb of St. Paul
scavi tour - going underneath the crypt of St. Peter's (must be 15 or older, $10/person)
send an email to scavi@fsp.va with the following info:
1. I want to visit the excavations underneath St. Peter's Basilica
2. language you want (=english)
3. total number of visitors NAMES IN BLOCK LETTERS
4. dates available to visit the scavi (from.... to...)
5. contact person
6. address in Rome (also hotel room number if necessary) with telephone number and email
7. home address
8. date and "signature"
Sistine Chapel
Pantheon
Coliseum
San Clemente - 3 cathedrals built on top of eachother
visit Assisi - 3hrs or so on train from termini for less than $10 euro
the best advice i have is pick a couple of things you want to see and really experience them, don't worry about seeing everything.

places to stay:
there are many hotels, apartments, and religious places to stay, but if you want to stay near the NAC (10-15 min walk to St. Peter's) the best place is right across the street for $50 euro/night:
Suore di S. Dorotea
via del Gianicolo 4/a
00165 Roma
tel: [011-39 from US] 6880-3349
if you have more people coming, its probably better to get an apartment set up.

other info:
average meals can cost from $10-$30 euro if you eat out
bus/metro tickets cost $1 euro
only go to taxi's at a "taxi stand"
Fumincino (FCO) seems to be the preferred airport
there are discount airlines in Europe that can get you cheap flights to certain places ($20 from Rome to Ireland for example, i've heard as low as $1), but they have strict baggage requirements, also be mindful of the airports they use (ryanair.com)
the dollar here is like it used to be for us to go into Canada ($1 euro = $1.45 as of today)
prepare to walk a lot
knowing italian helps, but you can survive without it in Rome
also, know that i would like to help you as much as possible, but don't any really good deals (cardinals get discounts not seminarians), and remember i'm still learning my way around so i don't know as much as you might like