July 2022

Ellee and her son fulfilled a lifelong dream for her mom by taking her on a trip to Rome to visit the Vatican and see the Pope. Read about this family's journey below in Ellee's own words.

All my life growing up, my mom has been a very devout, old-school Catholic. I'm talking daily rosaries and masses in Latin. She got married, moved from the Philippines to California, settled down, and raised kids. Her older sister went in a different direction, never married, domestic helper and world traveler. She would tell my mom,“Oh, you have to go to Rome, visit the Vatican, see the Sistine Chapel. It’s so incredible, you’d love it!”

Ever since I can remember, she had this dream of someday traveling, going to the Vatican, and seeing the Pope. But that kind of got lost in being a mom. My mom and dad gave us a great life, it was blue-collar; my dad was a postal worker, my mom was an assembler. They went to work every day, came home, raised us kids, went to Church on Sundays, and prayed every day. And they loved playing with their grandkids. Now that she’s retired, her days are filled decades and decades of saying rosaries, for her kids, her grandkids, and her great-grandkids. She never went anywhere on vacation, except taking us back to the Philippines once when we were kids and road trips to southern California to visit family.

In the middle of COVID, my mom turned 80. Between the ages of 80 and 90, you just never know, and she thought maybe she’d never had a chance to travel and fulfill her dream. So my son, Alexander, is one of her 12 grandkids and 3 great-grandkids. He just adores her, they’re very close. He’d gotten into med school and was about to go on his third year and start clinical rotations. He and I were talking and he said, “Mom, what do you think about doing a lifetime trip for Gramma Elena? She’s 80, grandpa is not interested in traveling. But Gramma is still good and I think the three of us should just do it. It’ll be her lifetime trip, You’ve turned 50, you’ve never gone out of the country, so it’ll be your first international trip as an adult. And I have 2 weeks before I will have no time to travel."

And I said, "you know what? Let’s do it!"

I looked at my computer, tried doing all the research, and bought a Rome book, and I thought to myself, “I don’t even know where to start, I’m totally overwhelmed, I’m working full-time, how do I do this?”

I did some research, I found Amy, read her reviews, she had amazing pictures. I sent her my request, and she called me back. I told her, “We can’t do the tour bus thing, my mom’s 81, my son’s had 2 knee surgeries, and I'm chubby. I’m looking to do Rome and the Vatican, she wants to go to St. Peter’s Basilica and see the Pope. Everything else along the way would just be gravy. I just want to give her an amazing experience.”

Amy got started and before long, we had a blessing in St. Peter’s Square, and tickets to a general Papal Audience. I was telling her what an amazing cook my mom is, and Amy asked if maybe we’d like to do a cooking class. I told her that would be a great idea. Two days later, Amy calls and says, “There’s a small price difference but, I can arrange for a cooking class on the Pope’s organic farm. And, it includes a tour of the Pope’s summer home.” 

You can’t give your parents a lot, especially when they give you everything they can. My parents were rich in culture, and heritage, and values. I wanted her to take in the history, I wanted her to live this dream, I wanted her to see the Vatican. For me to see her face the day she waved at the pope, you have no idea, like the tears are coming to my eyes even now. To see her walk into St. Peter’s and just watch her eyes open wide and hear her gasp at the beauty, it was priceless. 

Her sister Isabel had gone so many years ago, and because of her inspiration, we were in Rome and we did all things ‘Pope.’ My mom said “This whole week I feel like my sister Isabel was with me, I’ve been dreaming about her and she’s so alive, and so happy, and she’s smiling at me.” So she finally got to see everything that her sister told her about.

On our tours, It was just us three and a private guide, and they were all great, made sure my mom was okay, had access to seating, water, snacks. Everyone was so accommodating. On the day of the Papal Audience, it was hot. We found her a front row seat by herself and got her settled. Alexander and I got seats a few rows behind. And we’re waiting and the Pope is slowly coming around. My mom is waiting for him, waving her hand. People are handing the Pope babies! I’m completely amazed, and my mom’s fan-girling, and the pope comes by and he’s waving and there’s a split second where he makes eye contact with her. Her hand is waving madly, and after that, she turns around and mouths to me, "I'm good."  Alexander just said, “Alright gramma! We did it!! Let’s get some lunch and get covid-tested.” My mom says, “Maybe Fatima next!” 

On one of the days, mom was a bit tired, and not as well as she normally is. Alexander and I were a bit worried about her for the tour and cooking class at the Pope’s summer home, so we grabbed a wheelchair. We had a lot of walking to do that day, so we also had a golf cart take us down to the farm. When we got back to the house, they sent our tour guide and me up the stairs, but invited my mom to use the elevator. She was just beyond over-the-top. She’s saying, “Omigosh, is this the Pope’s elevator????!?! It’s a Holy Elevator!” (laughs).

It was a great trip and such an amazing time, there is no way I could have planned a more perfect trip. Amy’s going to plan every trip for my family now. We just never knew where to start. Amy gave us so many pointers on packing, wireless, and personal security. We were so well-prepared, I am hoping my trip has turned me into a traveler. I’ve been giving Amy’s contact details to everyone I know.

For my mom, the ultimate highlight was when she waved at the Pope and he waved back. For Alexander, the coolest thing about the trip was all that history. Every place we vacationed with Alexander before was in the U.S., like New York, New Orleans, Chicago, and Boston. All these places only have 300 to 500 years of history; Rome is beyond centuries, untold layers and layers of history from Roman times to the present, it’s just incredible. For me, it was being with my mom and Alexander, they're two of the most important people in my life. For my son to even say, “I’d like to do this with you and gramma” meant SO much. The food was fabulous, of course. I enjoyed the architecture and the sculptures, my new favorite artist, Bernini, omigod that dude is dope! Just breathtaking art! I have a new respect for artists of the past and their work, paraphrasing Michelangelo, who “just released the art from the marble.” It’s been an amazing experience working with Amy on this; she’s fantastic, I just wish we had discovered this sooner. 

As travel resumes, we are revisiting some of the best images from years past.  Please #planethoppers your Instagram photos so we may follow all your future journeys!