We are skipping ahead to real time for this post, and we’ll go back to chronological order after this.

We spent Christmas Eve in St. Peter’s Square in Rome with hundreds of other people watching the Pope’s midnight mass celebration, which actually started at 9:15, on the big TVs set up in the square. To get a seat in St. Peter’s Basilica for this night you have to reserve the seats months in advance. But the square was great because the weather was perfect, and it was a really beautiful place to be. Just as memorable as Antarctica last year but in a very different way 🙂

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone! (And Go Vikings!!!!)