Update ... The Final Toll

Just a short update here -- two items.  

First, about a month or so ago Magnificat Travel announced the "final" meeting* with us pilgrims (I hear John Wayne's voice whenever I think of us that way [LINK]) before our departure.  It will be in the MBIC Parish Hall on Tuesday 9 September at 18:00.  Only a few days before that announcement, I had inquired via email if they could give out any more specific information as to our itinerary, i.e., what order we will be visiting the various destinations, how long we will stay at each, etc.  Anne is really wanting to 'net-scout places for lunch (with the help of Rick Steves' travel guides, of course).  Lunch is the only meal each day that is not part of the package, which means we're on our own.  The answer was that that will be part of the meeting.  Grrr.  As of today, the pilgrimage page at Magnificat [LINK] doesn't have any more specific information either.  Surely they have worked that out by now.  I figure this is probably a standardized, package tour, but maybe I'm wrong.

Second, today we got emails with the final toll for the trip.  As mentioned in my first post [LINK] -- so long ago now, it seems -- even though we paid in full up front last October, at that time there was still a $400-$750 "airline fees and taxes" assessment to be made.  Per person, of course.  Well, as I figured, it ends up being at the high end of that range -- $728.47.  So we owe just shy of another $1500.  

So here's the total pilgrimage cost for us two:

$2799 base price per person

+ 225 insurance

3014

- 150 discount for paying in full by check

2874

x 2 persons

$5748 total paid

+

$728.47 taxes and fees, per person
x 2 persons
$1456.94 to be paid by 15 August

===========
$7204.94 GRAND TOTAL

Still a good deal for two persons, I know ... but ... owww!

It will be worth it, of course.  In truth, what we are getting is priceless.

Ciao!

____________

* I put "final" in quotations because it's only the second meeting.

Magnificat Travels' Webpage for MBIC Pilgrimage

I'm not sure how long this might have been up, perhaps for months, but today I went to Magnificat Travels' web site and found that they have added a page specific to the Basilican pilgrimage [link].  Exploring similar pages for other trips found that some have more detailed day-by-day itineraries, so it may be that as they firm up the specifics for our own they will update the information there.  

Other than that, Anne and I have just been looking forward to the trip, and occasionally reminding each other that "It's only x months now!"  I've been working with Duolingo (previous post [link]), which I continue to be incredibly impressed with.  Anne's sister-in-law has used Rosetta Stone software before, and says that Duolingo is remarkably similar.  Except that it's free!  I'm supposed to be working on losing weight and getting into better shape, too.  That hasn't been going so well, though.

Ciao!

Learning Italian

Meet my new best friend! – the Duolingo owl.

I haven't posted since the opening post [link], and don't expect to post very frequently for some months yet, because frankly not much is happening on our end toward the pilgrimage. I did purchase Rick Steve's Italy 2014 a couple of months ago, and have skimmed in it from time to time, including putting little thumb-tab markers on the sections having to do with our destinations, and Anne has done quite a bit of Internet research on the places we will be going – a lot of Youtube videos posted by other travellers – but beyond that basically at this point we've paid our money and are just in the “process” of THE LONG WAIT. Yes, anticipation is growing, slowly, and I trust that behind the scenes Magnificat is doing all kinds of work toward our trip, but other than that....

Italy 2014

A = Rome - B = Assisi - C = Florence - D = Orvieto

I am setting this blog up specifically to chronicle my wife's and my participation in a Parish Pilgrimage to Assisi, Orvieto, Florence, and Rome between 20 and 29 October 2014, sponsored by the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Natchitoches, Louisiana [link], to be led by the rector Fr. Ryan Humphries and managed by Magnificat Travels of Lafayette, Louisiana [link].  But I also wanted to include other European trips I have taken -- not that there are that many!, but see the pages linked below the header above -- hence the more generic name The Absent-Minded Professor's Travels (see note 1 below).  The reason for that title is really two-fold.  First, my most common nickname on the Internet, including in the title of my main blog, is "Absent-Minded Professor."  Yes, I am a professor (of early European history), and yes, I am "absent-minded."  Just ask my wife, my colleagues, or my students!  Second, the dates of the upcoming pilgrimage are right in the middle of the Fall 2014 semester.  As will be elaborated on below, one way I'm justifying my absence from the University during that period is that I intend to allow my students to accompany me on this trip, in a virtual manner, via the wonders of the Internet and "live-blogging."  Finally, God willing, this will not be the last trip to Europe I will ever make, and thus I intend to keep this blog active chronicling further adventures on at least an occasional basis, if only every few years or so.