I’m a Travel Advisor—and I’m My Own Most Difficult Client
I have been to Rome several times. I have stood inside the Colosseum, wandered through the Roman Forum, tossed a coin into the Trevi Fountain, climbed the Spanish Steps, and marveled at the Vatican.
I have seen the Rome everyone comes to see—and it is magnificent.
But this time, I wanted something different. Something personal, thoughtful, and exceptional.
Recently, I have been watching programs about what happened to the Apostles after the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus. Where did they go? What did they encounter? How did this small, often-persecuted movement survive—and eventually transform the Roman world?
Those questions led me to Rome.
According to Christian tradition, both Peter and Paul spent their final years there, preaching their faith in the heart of the Roman Empire. Both were ultimately executed in Rome, but their influence endured, carrying Christianity far beyond its beginnings in Judea.
I also became fascinated by Constantine. Many scholars believe that, after Jesus and Paul, no single individual had a more profound effect on the development of Christianity. His conversion, legalization of Christian worship, and support for the construction of churches fundamentally changed the course of Christian history.
I wanted to explore that conclusion—not simply by reading about it, but by standing in the places where that history unfolded.
So, I did what I do for my clients: I created the trip I truly wanted.
Our Mediterranean cruise may end in Rome, but our journey will not. My husband and I will stay for five additional days, with a private driver and guide, for what I think of as a deep dive into our faith.
We’ll begin with Paul’s Rome.
We will visit the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, traditionally believed to stand over Paul’s burial place, and Tre Fontane Abbey, where tradition holds that he was executed.
Another day will take us along the Appian Way, one of the oldest roads of ancient Rome. Paul is believed to have traveled this road as a prisoner entering the city. We will walk part of that same route, visit the little Church of Domine Quo Vadis, and explore the Catacombs of St. Callixtus and St. Sebastian.
We will also explore the Rome shaped by Constantine, including the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Holy Stairs, and the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.
At the Basilica of San Clemente, we’ll descend through layers of history—from the present-day church to an earlier Christian basilica and the remains of Roman structures below. Few places illustrate Rome’s transformation from a pagan empire to the center of Western Christianity so vividly.
Our journey will also include places connected with Peter and Rome’s earliest Christian communities: the Mamertine Prison, San Pietro in Vincoli, Santa Prassede, Santa Pudenziana, and Santa Sabina. We’ll end one day on the Aventine Hill, watching the sun set over Rome and reflecting on everything we have experienced.
This is not a typical sightseeing itinerary. It isn’t designed around checking famous attractions off a list. It is designed around questions that matter to us.
How did the teachings of a man crucified in a distant Roman province reach the heart of the empire? What gave Peter and Paul the courage to continue? How did a persecuted faith eventually gain the support of an emperor? And how can traces of that extraordinary transformation still be found beneath the streets, inside the churches, and along the ancient roads of Rome?
I have planned journeys for other people for more than 20 years, but I remain my own most difficult client. I don’t want a trip to be merely good. I want it to connect with something inside me. I want to return home with new knowledge, deeper understanding, and stories I will continue thinking about long after my suitcase has been unpacked.
That is what meaningful travel can do.
Your dream trip may not involve ancient churches or Christian history. It might be shaped by your family heritage or your love of art, food, music, wildlife, literature, or wine. What matters is that the journey reflects you.
Sometimes the most unforgettable way to experience a familiar destination is to stop asking, “What am I supposed to see?” and begin asking, “What do I truly want to understand?”
That is the Rome I am going to discover this time.
Your Globetrotting Friend,
Joy