Rome

Tuesday, June 20

After a 90-minute super-fast, smooth, quiet, airline-type boxed snack provided train ride from Florence to Rome (we averaged 134 mile per hour) we were met by our driver at the Roma Termini who delivered us to our hotel with Mario Andretti-like race-car-driver skill.

With the experience and confidence we gained during our exploration of Florence, we headed out on our own onto the streets of the "Eternal City" with a walking-tour guide book that provided not only street by street directions but commentary on the history and significance of the piazzas, palazzi, and fountains we encountered. Within walking distance from our hotel, we found the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, numerous fountains and statues by Bernini, awe-inspiring church buildings with dazzling interiors - some housing relics of a saint or the tomb of a Pope. I was overwhelmed by the sense of history surrounding us.

Wednesday, June 21

Following a scrumptious breakfast at the hotel, we took a guided driving tour of the ancient part of Rome: some of the same places we walked to yesterday and places farther than we could walk comfortably. Our guide was engaging and informative. She handled the Mercedes Benz seven-passenger van with ease through the highly congested streets. In our tour group were two middle-aged sisters, one of whom had lived in Scottsdale, AZ until recently and an elderly husband and wife from Monterey, CA along with their just-graduated from high school grandson.

Our guide likened the stratification of the archaeological layers of the various ruins to the layers of a lasagna, which made a lot of sense to me. We stopped occasionally to take pictures or explore the inside of a church building. One church had a Michelangelo sculpture of Jesus on the cross. The church leaders had covered up the private areas with a cloth, feeling it was too provocative, not understanding Michelangelo's view that the beauty of the human form is God's crowning creation. We found a coveted parking place at the top of the so-called "Spanish Steps" and stopped for a breathtaking morning vista of the city with the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the not-too-far distance. Beautiful.

Our tour ended a little after noon. We stopped by our room to clean up and rest a bit. Then headed out again on foot to explore more and look for a few gifts for our granddaughters.

Pizza shop across the street was recommended by our tour guide as the best in Rome. We stopped in for a late lunch and certainly would believe it! The pizza was sold, not by slice, but by weight. We chose zucchini and buffalo mozzarella. So good! Around the corner from our hotel was a gelato shop recommended by our taxi driver. It was a very popular spot. We waited in line for the best gelato ever.

We went back to the room to read, rest, and write. Surprisingly, by 8:00 p.m. our tummies were again a little hungry, so we went to the hotel roof garden for a glass of Chianti and to split a plate of spaghetti in the cooling breezes of sunset. It was lovely.

Thursday, June 22

Our morning schedule was open. We took our time with breakfast, took another short walk, spent some hours talking, writing, reading.

In the early afternoon we were picked up at our hotel for a semi-private guided tour of the Vatican, the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Cathedral. There was a huge crush of people queuing for the Vatican tour. Because we were with in a group tour, we had our own shorter lines but still had to squeeze through a sea of humanity to get through.

The Vatican buildings are filled with great artwork of the Masters given to the various Popes throughout the centuries. We viewed many of these enroute to the Sistine (Sistini) Chapel. Our guide rushed us through, and the rooms were crowded with visitors, but we still were able to gaze in awe at the art and history before us.

The tour's penultimate stop was the Sistine Chapel. To actually stand in the Sistine Chapel and to look up at the amazing art in the fresco of Michelangelo was breathtaking. It was aesthetically moving, but not a deeply spiritual experience, however, due to the crowd packed in shoulder to shoulder. And it was very noisy from the tour guides commenting and individuals speaking to one another. But the beauty of the art was unbelievable. We were allowed to look for about 20 minutes, then herded out to see the final spot, St. Peter's Cathedral. This building is the largest Cathedral in the world. We were allowed to roam through on our own. It is here we saw Michelangelo's Pieta. The depth of emotion in that piece is breathtaking, Mary grieving as she holds the lifeless body of our Lord.

We spent as long as we could in St. Peter's, but at about 5:30 p.m., we made a mad dash back to the museum entrance. We had made plans to meet up with friends from our seminary days who serve with WorldVenture in Ireland who "happened" to be in Rome for meetings the exact same days we were. We ate dinner with them at the Vatican Museum and then started walking back to our hotel. It ended up that we were able to walk together and continue our conversation for quite awhile until we arrived at an intersection that was the center point for us both. We said our final goodbye and headed in opposite directions.

That we were able to see the Poths was certainly a “God-thing.” A week before we left the US for Italy, Christine was reading their periodic missionary email which mentioned that they would be in Rome on dates overlapping our stay. After a series of internet chats, our plan to meet was set. It was wonderful to reconnect, even though it was so brief, and to catch-up on kids and grandkids and ministry doings, blessings, and challenges.

Christine and I stopped for one last gelato at the fabulous place around the corner from our hotel. We made it back to our room by 9 p.m., hot, sticky, a little sore and tired from all the walking, but with hearts and spirits full and inspired.

Friday, June 23

The alarm went off at 6:00 a.m. Breakfast at 7:00, then check out. The driver arrived at 8:00 to give us a ride to the airport for our flight home. We were flying to Phoenix by way of Detroit. At the Rome airport, we were given a bad direction and ended up at the wrong terminal. Fortunately it wasn’t far from the correct terminal and we had plenty of time to get to our gate. Good thing we had lots of time as we went through three security checks, walked and walked and walked until we finally found our gate.

We have discussed many of our impressions, insights, and inspirations, too many to write at this time, so here are just a few.

The new is built upon the old. Thousands of years of human endeavor precede us, as seen in the archaeological levels of our host cities – a reminder that someone has always gone before us.

The ancient architecture and art demonstrate the highly developed human knowledge and understanding that existed well before Industrial Age technology.

The influence of political, economic, and military power tends to corrupt true religion. Our American Founding Fathers were right to provide a separation between governance and religion.