We Leave Tonight for Thessaloniki! Keep Our Pilgrims in Your Prayers, Please!

We are looking forward to our pilgrimage, following in the Footsteps of St. Paul. We are excited to keep you posted on our transformation faith journey. Here is a copy of our itinerary to see where we will be going over the next ten days. Peace!

Date	Itinerary
18 April 2016	Arrival at the Thessaloniki airport. Claim your luggage and at the exit of the arrival Hall meet Perillo Faith Journeys Tour Manager who will hold sign “St. Benedict Group”. You will be transferred to hotel Holiday Inn for dinner and overnight. Dinner at the hotel: Lettuce and arugula salad with Graviera cheese and mustard dressing Chicken fillet with cheese and potatoes au gratin and boiled vegetables with butter Caramel cream Holiday Inn hotel: 8, Monastiriou St., 546 29 Thessaloniki; Ph: +30 2310 563144
19 April 2016	After breakfast, at 8:00 am depart from the hotel on a journey to Ancient Philippi where Paul established the first church in Europe. If weather permits, we will celebrate an outdoor Mass at the site where Paul baptized Lydia. Then, we will continue to Kavala on the site of Ancient Neapolis, where Paul landed on the way to Philippi. Return to Thessaloniki at about 6:00 pm At 7:00 pm depart from the hotel to Ladadika district of Thessaloniki for a dinner in a local restaurant “Rodi & Meli”. Dinner at Rodi & Meli Restaurant: Stuffed vine leaves in lemon sauce Beans in tomato sauce Greek Salad Main course: pork roll stuffed with plums and chestnuts Dessert: drillece
20 April 2016	After breakfast, at 8:00 am depart from hotel for a panoramic tour of Thessaloniki. You will visit the place where St. Paul preached the gospel to Thessalonians, the Saint Demetrios church, the White Tower and the Arch of Gallerius. Continue to Veria (Borea of the New Testament) where Paul visited en route to Athens. Paul and Silas were taken there after the Thessaloniki pagans attacked them.  We will follow with the visit of Vergina, the location of ancient capital of the Macedonians. At about 6:00 pm arrival at hotel Amalia in Kalambaka. Mass at the hotel. Dinner and overnight in the hotel. Amalia Kalambaka: Theopetra; 42200 Kalambaka; Phone: +30 24320 72216
21 April 2016	After breakfast, at 8:00 am depart from hotel to visit the Meteora monasteries perched on pillar-like rocks. The “Meteora” (suspended in the air) is one of the largest and one of the most important complexes of Eastern Orthodox Monasteries in Greece. Arrive to Athens hotel at 6:00/6:30pm. Short rest and Mass at the hotel at 7:00 pm. Dinner at the hotel and overnight. Titania Hotel: 52 Panepistimiou St., 10678 Athens; Phone: +30 2103326000
22 April 2016	After breakfast, at about 8:30 am depart from hotel to the port of Piraeus where we will embark on our 3-day cruise Celestial Olympia to the Greek Islands and Turkey.  The cruise ship departs from Piraeus at 11:30 am. We will celebrate Mass aboard ship. On this day the cruise will dock in Mykonos island (6:00 pm- 11:00 pm) with its whitewashed houses and winding streets.
23 April 2016	In the morning the ship will dock in Kusadasi , Turkey where our excursion takes us to the House of Virgin where we will celebrate Mass and then we will follow to the Ancient Ephesus. Before his crucifixion, Jesus entrusted the safety of the Virgin Mary to St. John the Evangelist. St. John moved Mary to Ephesus for safety. Virgin Mary lived here until the 101st year of her life. In 1957 the Vatican recognized the “House of the Virgin Mary” as the place where the Virgin spent the last years of her life and since then it is an important pilgrimage site for Christians. Next stop is the city of Ancient Ephesus, the Ionian colony, which is one of the largest open-air archaeological museums in the world. In the afternoon the ship will dock in Patmos where we will participate in a shore excursion to St. John monastery and Grotto of Apocalypse.
24 April 2016	Today the ship will dock in Heraklio (Crete) (7:00am-1:30am) where we will participate in the shore excursion to Minoan Palace of Knossos, the first European civilization. The next stop will be at Santorini (4:30pm 9:30pm). Island with the typical inland houses, narrow streets and churches with blue domes. Mass onboard the ship.
25 April 2016	At 7:30am our coach with our English-speaking guide will take us from the cruise ship for a panoramic tour of Athens and for a visit to the Acropolis and to the Mars Hills. Afterwards we will proceed to the Ancient Corinth with a short stop at the Corinth canal. In the Ancient Corinth, where St. Paul worked with Aquila and Priscilla, we will have a Mass on the very site where St. Paul preached (weather permitting). After the tour we will return to Titania hotel. At 7:30pm transfer to the oldest part of Athens - Plaka where we will have a farewell dinner at Stamatopoulos restaurant: Dinner at the restaurant: Variety of appetizers Zucchini balls, eggplant rolls with tomato and goat cheese Seasonal Salad Mix grill (Kebab, chicken fillets, pork chops served with mini pies, French fried potatoes and baked tomato) Seasonal fruits After dinner transfer back to Titania hotel for overnight. Titania Hotel: 52 Panepistimiou St., 10678 Athens; Phone: +30 2103326000
26 April 2016	At 7:00am our coach will take us from Titania hotel and we will be transferred to the Athens airport for our departure flight TK 1846 departing at 10:05 am