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800-206-TOUR(8687) |
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YOUR TRIP INCLUDES: ~ 1 nights: Hotel Mundial, Lisbon, Portugal ~ 2 nights: Santa Maria Jardim, Fatima, Portugal
~ 1 night: Hotel Abba Fonseca, Salamanca ~ 7 nights: Hotel Cicerone or Quirinale, Rome
Sample Day-by-Day Itinerary:
Day 1 - USA – Spain Evening departure from your home town, for the overnight flights to Spain. Dinner and breakfast will be served on board. Upon arrival you will be met by your tour guide and driver and transferred to your hotel in Santiago de Compostela. Dinner and overnight in Santiago de Compostela.
Day 3 - Santiago De Compostela Visit Cathedral of St. James is one of the finest examples of architecture in all of Europe. As pilgrims, we have the opportunity to climb the stairs behind the high altar to visit the crypt where the relics of St. James are preserved, touch the central pillar (Portico de La Gloria), view the 'botafumeiro' and admire the wealth of medieval art inside the Cathedral, before visiting the cloister museum. Enjoy a stroll on own, though the beautiful streets of Santiago de Compostela, the city of the apostle, full of historical buildings and other attractions (before or after dinner). Dinner and overnight in Santiago de Compostela.
Day 4 - Santiago de Compostela - Lisbon After breakfast we depart for Lisbon.
After breakfast depart Lisbon for Santarem
Six times, from the May 13 to Oct 13, 1917, the Virgin Mary appeared to three novices belonging to the diocese of Leiria. A new big basilica is under construction, however just as beautiful, an older basilica was constructed here in 1928, and millions of pilgrims visit each year. Fatima is one of the most visited holy places for Catholics from around the world. The atmosphere of intense spirituality and the importance of Fatima have been attested to by the visits of two Popes: Paul VI and John Paul II. Touring Fatima, see the After breakfast depart for Salamanca. On the way we stop in Alba de Tormes, where St. Teresa of Avila is buried. Arrive in Salamanca with free time for exploration before dinner and overnight.
Day 8 - Salamanca - Avila - Burgos After breakfast we depart for Avila. Here atmosphere has changed very little since the days of St. Teresa of Jesus, to whom the city is dedicated. St. Teresa the great mystic, was the first woman to be named a Doctor of the Church. In Avila we will visit: the Cathedral, which contains many of St. Teresa relics; The crypt of the Convento of La Santa, built on the site of the house where she was born, is home to the most comprehensive museum dedicated to her life, and La Encarnacion Convent, the first convent she found. Afternoon departure to the city of Burgos, the historic capital of Old Castile. After dinner explore Burgos (on your own), and admire the magnificent limestone Cathedral.
After breakfast, our guided tour of Lourdes will include the sanctuary; the Basilica of St Pius X, the world's largest underground church; and the baths where hundreds of miraculous cures have taken place. Enjoy a video presentation telling the story of Lourdes, and walk in the footsteps of St Bernadette. See Boly Mill where St Bernadette was born and the "Cachot," an abandoned prison where Bernadette's impoverished family lived. Join your prayers with those of pilgrims from around the world as you pray for the sick, drink water from the miraculous spring,pray at the Grotto and submerge yourself in the healing baths. Experience Christ's love as you walk the life-sized Stations of the Cross overlooking the holy Grotto. Kneel in the chapel built on the very rock of the Grotto in obedience to the request of the "Immaculate Conception." Attend the blessing of the sick and participate in nightly candlelight processions requested by Our Lady, and take time for private devotions. Each evening dinner and overnight at your hotel.
Day 12 - Lourdes - Rome Travel by flight(s) to Rome. Upon arrival your escort will warmly greet you this morning and welcome you to Italy. Transfer to your hotel and enjoy a free afternoon for rest, relaxation, or exploration. You tour escort can suggest sights or walks for you to enjoy
Day 13 - Rome (Papal Audience and Vatican Museum Tour)Wake up in Eternal City, one of the greatest centers of Western Civilization and the first truly cosmopolitan city on earth! It is also spiritual capital for all the Catholics around the world. Today is truly a day we will have in our minds for many years to come. This morning we go to Vatican City to attend the weekly Papal Audience or Blessing given by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI (pending papal schedule). Following the audience visit of the Vatican Museums, a group of most impressive edifices with hundreds of galleries filled with art treasures. See awe-inspiring relics and works of art donated throughout centuries as tributes of faith. We'll cover The Tapestry Gallery, The Raphael Rooms and the most overwhelming Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo's Masterpiece, restored mural of the Last Judgment. Later, enter the largest church in Christendom St Peter's Basilica, built on the site where St Peter was martyred. Unsurpassed in beauty, a monument to the long history of the Catholic Church, to which pilgrims come from around the world, St Peter's is the grandest of the world's churches. Marvel Pieta and Bernini's amazing bronze canopy. We will also visit the grave of Pope John Paul II located at the Vatican (time permitting). Before dinner, we'll have some time at leisure, to explore your own paths, to shop, or just to sit in one of the outside cafes and watch the world go by.
Day 14 which includes: the Basilica of St. Mary Major,
Day 15 - Excursion to Montecassino, Naples & Pompeii We leave the Eternal City and head south cross through the Roman countryside with its villas and vineyards, stopping at the Abbey of Montecassino, a beautiful town founded by St. Benedict in 529. Continue through the countryside surrounding Naples. We will have a short panoramic -sightseeingtour of Naples and proceed to Pompeii for lunch (included today) and a visit to the excavations, the town destroyed when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. In early evening, board the bus for your return toRome
Day 16 - Excursion to Florence After breakfast we depart for Florence, a paradise for art lovers, who drew to itself the greatest artists of the Renaissance: Dante, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Donatello and many others. We will enjoy a guided tour of Florence which includes magnificent Santa Maria del Fiore, Giotto's Bell Tower, The Baptistry's heavy bronze "Gate of Paradise" the Academy of Fine Arts containing many treasures, the Ponte Vecchio, The Duomo, whose magnificent dome was created by Brunelleschi. After lunch (included today) you will enjoy free time for exploration before returning to Rome. Day 17 - After breakfast we depart Rome for our excursion to Assisi. We will visit the tomb of St Francis. Explore the quaint hilltop birthplace of St Francis that still retains something of the atmosphere of the early 1200s, the period when St Francis began his ministry. Contained within the huge 13th-century Basilica are many of the saint's possessions and a series of frescoes depicting his life. You may kneel before the crucifix from which Jesus spoke to St Francis, asking him to rebuild His church. It was in St Mary of the Angels Basilica where St Francis spent most of his life. Here we visit the Chapel, Portiuncola, the rose bush, and the cave where the saint retired for prayer. Stroll the medieval streets of the compact little town. After stopping at an outdoor cafe with a view of an ancient Roman temple, we go to the Church of St Clare to see the saint's incorrupt body. The foundress of the Order of Poor Clares followed the teachings of St Francis by living a life of poverty and humility. We will visit these two saints' tombs before returning to Rome for dinner and retiring for the evening.
Day 18 - Today enjoy a day at your leisure for rest, relaxation, exploration or shopping.
Day 19 - Rome - USA Depart for our return flights to the USA. We fondly say, Arrivederci Roma!
For Additional Information & Travel Tips Please Visit: What to Know Before You Go to Spain
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Round-trip air from New York
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