I am a Promise

I came across this song today. It was written as a children's song, but I think it can apply to anyone. We all have those days when we feel like everyone is given up on us. I know I do. But know that there is so much potential in each of us, God just has to bring it out!

I am a promise
I am a possibility
I am a promise, with a capital "P"
I am a great big bundle of potentiality
And I am learning to hear God's voice
And I am trying to make the right choices
I am a promise to be anything God wants me to be!

Home Sweet Home!

Well, we are finally home! We actually got home around 9 PM on Wednesday. On the flight, Dad and I were not sitting together, so we had very different experiences. He slept most of the way, with his noise-reduction headphones and peaceful neighbors. I, however, sat in front of a pregnant lady with SEVERE morning sickness (more like all day sickness). Across the aisle was a screaming toddler. The flight was turbulent, and towards the end, the place took a few scary dives that made me want to be on the ground more than ever. And, to top it all off, french air traffic controllers were on strike, so we had to fly out of the way to avoid France. Making the flight over and hour longer, but hey, what's another hour when you have already been on a plane for 11! Stupid French! But we made it home, with our luggage. My body is still trying to get adjusted to being in a new time zone. I will get there.

Thanks for following my trip. I had such a great time!

Arivaderchi, Roma!

This is our final day in Rome! Tomorrow we will be flying home to the states. While this trip has been so cool and I have loved being in Europe, I am ready to go home. I can only eat so much delicious pasta and see only so many ancient churches.

Today we went to the Catacombs to Saint Callisto. This is the site where over half a million early Christians were buried. Under Pagan rule in Rome, these Christians were persecuted for their faith. This is the former burial place of quite a few popes, before they were moved to the Vatican for their final burial. The catacombs venture down 4 levels underground, because the land was free. Burials occurred between 150-450 AD. They would have to pay for any above ground land, and the early Christians were fairly poor. The Pagans respected the burial grounds, and the Christians took advantage of this. They would set up altars to worship in the catacombs. There are over 50 catacombs/churches in Rome. Eventually Rome was declared safe for Christians, and they could worship freely. It was amazing to see that so many people would risk their lives just to worship God!

One of the above-ground entrance to the Catacombs

To finish up this trip in Roman style, we had dinner by the Colosseum. I wonder how many others through the years have eaten outside this place, waiting to see a gladiator fight.

Of course, we finished the evening with a gelato! I can't get enough of this stuff! We have eaten gelato everyday, and everyday I have gotten a different flavor!


AND...we have eaten at an outdoor cafe for every meal, except breakfast, since arriving in Europe! Success!

My entire trip can be seen in these three albums!

Well, I guess I will be signing off from Europe. Next post will come from the good ol' US of A!!!

Pompeii-hey-hey-hey!

While Dad was working, I took a bus trip to Pompeii, with a few stops along the way. I went with a guide service here in Rome. My bus picked me up bright and early and we hit the road! It was an English/Spanish tour, and little did I know that only 8 of us going to Pompeii (out of about 35) spoke English...

Our first stop was Naples. From here a group would catch a boat to Capri, and the rest of us would continue to Pompeii. Naples has not been my favorite city, but it was interesting to go on a short tour.

Downtown Naples

Our local tour guide

After lunch, we proceeded to Pompeii. By now, those of us that spoke English had identified each other and formed our own little group. The guide would explain things in Spanish first. He would talk for 3-4 minutes, and the group would laugh and carry on. Then he would say a sentence in English and move on. I think we were a little cheated. Nevertheless, Pompeii was very cool. The city was frozen in time when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. No lava reached Pompeii, but volcanic ash fell on the city and hardened into a concrete. This preserved the city. When it was finally found and excavated, frescoes, homes, and people were encapsulated and preserved. The bodies that were found had skeletons and bones intact. They are still intact today. One day, a volcano erupted and time stopped. Now, history is there for us to see. This was such a neat experience! It is beyond words to walk the streets, touch the houses, and see the people of 79 AD.

Inside a Greek-style home

A body found in the grocery store. Some of the bones are visible and preserved.

The Pompeii Forum, with Mount Vesuvius in the background

I got back to the hotel around 10:30, almost 4 hours after the brochure said we would return. Of course, Dad is pacing the lobby and bothering the concierge about when the tour will return. If you are ever in Rome, I highly recommend taking a tour to Pompeii!

Rome-ing around :)

Today was a relaxed day in Rome. We didn't head out to sight-see until after noon. We started off with a trip to the Baths of Diocletian. These were Roman baths converted into a church. Apparently they had a bad reputation, and Michelangelo was brought in to redecorate. I insisted that this was one of my dad's tricks to get me into another church! He said nothing about the baths being remodeled until we got there. I thought we were going to see ruins. You win once again, Padre!

Outside

Inside

Next, our travels took us outside the city walls to Saint Paul's Basilica. This is a little known place, but beautiful church. Supposedly Paul is buried there, and his chains from the Roman prison are there too.

Saint Paul's Basilica
Paul's chains and tomb

After Saint Paul's, we took the train to Circus Maximus. This area below Palatine Hill, where the emperor lived, housed many races and sporting events. It would hold 250,000 people!

Circus Maximus
Palatine Hill

Near Palatine Hill is the Church of Truth. In this church is the Mouth of Truth. Legend has it, if you put your hand in the mouth, and you tell a lie, your hand will be chopped off. I did not try this.

Last stop of the day way the Vatican. It's Sunday, so where else should we be but church? They were having mass and it was really neat to hear the acoustics in the church while the choir sang. I never saw The Pope, guess he doesn't make appearances very often.

Saint Peter's Basilica

Just as a side note, since being in Europe, we have eaten at an outdoor cafe every meal except breakfast. That's 7 days in a row. We are on a roll now!

Also, I was told it include in my blog: "Man, my dad is in such great shape for being 48! He hikes up and down these streets all day. Even when I take a nap and he doesn't, he still packs the pavement."

See more of this pavement packing...

Home to Rome

Back to Rome! We spent the night in Florence and caught the train the next day back to Rome. We spent the evening seeing the Roman night life. Well, the tourist night life. We didn't hit the clubs or anything...

Here we are having dinner at the Pantheon. Our friend, Partyus Maximus, snapped this photo of us. He was with friends on a 27 day tour of Europe.

We walked up to the Italian President's Mansion. He has a pretty nice place on one of the seven hills of Rome.

The Spanish Steps are THE PLACE to be on a Roman night. Everyone is there chatting. It is also the common meeting place before hitting the clubs. And these women know how to dress!

The Trevi fountain is great to see all lit up. It is very popular also at night. It's hard to get a picture without someone else in it, but it's worth all the elbows to the ribs to get there. Hope that guy who was in my way is alright...

In wedding folklore, the father of the bride puts a coin in her shoe for good luck. This is Dad dipping a euro in the Trevi fountain to put in my shoe at the wedding.
Tossing my Euro into the fountain. I am destined to return to Rome now! Wonder when...

The adventure continues.

Florence... "Hey, there's the Duomo"

After leaving Pisa, we took a train to Florence. This is such a beautiful city with so many things to see. A thing to understand is that the Medici Family used to rule Florence, so everything is made by them, dedicated to them, looks like them. Also, Michelangelo did all the artwork, and if he didn't, who cares. So with that in mind, we struck out to see Florence.

The overwhelming identifying figure of Florence is the Duomo. This was built by the Medici Family without scaffolding. Quite an undertaking.

Next to the Duomo it the Baptistery, monument to John the Baptist.

Like I mentioned before, the Medici were a big deal. Here are some of their buildings.

Cappella Medici (Medici Chapel)

Galleria deli Uffizi (Medici government buildings)

Palazzo Medici-Riccardi (Medici Palace)

The modern government has some buildings also. They are all located in Piazza della Repubblica.

A popular spot in Florence is Pointe Vecchio. This bridge overlooks the Arno River. It used to be lined with fishmongers and butchers, but in the 1500s, the government decided to make these shops move and only jewelers and goldsmiths could occupy the bridge. It smells better now.


And, Michelangelo is the artist of Florence. One of his most famous works, David, is seen in the Academy. This is David contemplating his battle with Goliath. You are not supposed to take pictures, but I used my super secret photo skills to snap some. Be aware, he is naked.
For more Florence, see Facebook!

Samantha Brown has nothing on me!

So we embarked on an adventure to Pisa! It all started by us boarding a train in Rome headed up the coast. We were in first class (wahoo!) and getting settled for the ride. As we were waiting to leave, we got a taste of true Roma Termini (Rome train station). In ENGLISH a man started yelling, "NO! STOP! GET AWAY! PICKPOCKETS!" Termini is known to be a prime location for pickpockets, and this American was targeted. They will typically strike when your hands are full of luggage and there is nothing you can do. Luckily, this man was able to grab the girl, and his wallet, and the police came to get them. So that was our exciting start to the day.


After an uneventful, yet beautiful train ride up the coast, we arrived in Pisa. Now Pisa ia a neighborhood with a small area of tourist attractions. So we made our way across the Arno River to the tourist area.

Arno River

The whole way there, I was becoming one with my inner Samantha Brown from the Travel Channel, and I HAD to get the perfect picture with the Leaning Tower of Pisa! So the entire time we were touring the other buildings, I was trying to figure out the perfect angle, distance, sun rays, everything! I did enjoy the Baptistery (built to honor John the Baptist), Campo dei Miricoli (church), and camposanto (museum), but I had to get to the tower!

Baptistery

Campo dei Miricoli

Camposanto

Finally, it was time for our tour of the Leaning Tower! We climbed the 250+ stairs to the top of the bell tower. The stairwell was narrow, and you could feel the lean of the tower, but the view was amazing. You could see all the way to the mountains surrounding the Tuscan area. I stood there thinking "Holy cow! I'm at the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa!" It was surreal. I highly recommend it!


As for my ideal picture...well...I think Samantha Brown would be proud...


For the rest of the Pisa adventure...

Roman Holiday

When I woke up this morning, I was in Italy! We arrived at the Rome train station a little after 9AM. We couldn't check into the hotel yet, so we went sightseeing! We stopped in quite a few churches, some which my dad has never seen (it seems like he has seen every church in Rome!) They were very nice.

Gesu et Mariae

Basilica dei ss ambrogio carlo

Piazza del Popolo Twin Churches

Of course, lunch was authentic Italian! Delicious! I can't stay in this country too long, I will weigh 3000 pounds!

Yum!

We made a stop at the Pantheon. It was being repaired, so it was hard to see the outside. This inside was as wonderful as ever.

Inside the Pantheon

The Spanish Steps are a monument to the Spanish King. This is a neat hangout for locals and visitors alike.

Whenever I see the Colosseum my mind goes straight to...no, not gladiators...but Arthur. The animated cartoon show from when I was younger. His friend Buster once sang a song about Rome. "Ancient Rome...it's not like home...colosseum...gotta see 'um..."

Arch of Constantine and the Colosseum

The Forum used to be the center of government. Some of the buildings still stand. It's unbelievable that there are buildings dating back to before Jesus' time!

Former Senate buildings

San Giovani is my FAVORITE church! They just don't make them like this in America!

San Giovani, front side

Piazza Navona is a lively place. There are street artists everywhere painting, drawing, creating so many different masterpieces!

Piazza Navona and Fontana dei fuimi

In Rome, the Trevi fountain is a must! It has been said that if you throw a coin in the fountain, you are destined to return. Well, in 2006 I threw a coin in...and here I am! I believe I will be tossing another one!

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