Rome Jan 1
We didn’t do tons of research beforehand and decided to let the day unfold how it would. We started at the Colosseum and moved along the Roman Forum. There is so much to see! Ancient columns tell of an ancient city that was impressively prosperous and powerful. The craftmanship of these structures was clear. The forum wasn’t open to walk into so the green lawns were clear of the clutter of people making a beautiful scene to soak in. I loved watching the green parrots swoop between columns and through the soaring archways. Who knew green parrots live in Rome?! After the Forum we were swept into one of the many inviting alleyways alive with festive Christmas decoration and a market spirit. Tyler ended up in a clowns street performance act and performed marvelously. I couldn’t believe it when we turned another corner and an entire carnival opened up to our view. A carousel spun in the center of the square and brightly colored booths stood tucked between the roman fountains so common throughout the city. We had to stop and buy a long piece of stuffed licorice from the invitingly colorful candy stand to munch on as we perused the shops and stands. I basically had to drag Tyelr away from the nativity building booths where you can buy miniature anything to build your own nativity village. It was tempting indeed, but the price would have racked up fast and our bags don’t leave much room for souvenirs. We passed the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain, both of which earn their fame. By the end of the day, we were exhausted from walking all over the streets and tucked into some delicious Turkish kebab before snuggling in for the night.
Rome Jan 2
Vatican City
I LOVED the Sistine chapel! I thought it would be more of an obligatory visit to complete our time in Rome, but that image of God, who was surrounded by people close by, reaching, straining out towards Adam, who was alone and casually lifting a finger towards God. Man, just reach a little harder dude and imagine the resources and support you’d have! It really hit home for me. I’m glad that image comes to mind often now as I go throughout my day. Do I decide to pray before climbing into a warm bed? Do I read a few passages of scripture before the facebook scroll? How can I strain and reach back towards God? I loved standing there, looking up at the painting a hundred feet above me and feeling the impact of the message potrayed.
St Peter’s basilica was impressive in a very different way. I didn’t feel the spirit the same way there though. But it was grand to walk through and admire the sheer magnitude of the world’s biggest church. Tyler got positively lost in the grandeur of the place. I liked it when the priests came out for mass and sang as they walked, filling the huge room with the echoing sound of their praying voices. It really added to the experience. I also loved the use of real candles all lit up along the sides to bring more light and warmth to the room.
We also got to go inside the Colosseum, which was way awesome! It was way easy to visualize big competitions and performances of sorts with thousands of people filling the stands to watch. That place is so amazingly massive—way bigger than modern sports stadiums. We explored as many levels as we could reach and made sure to soak in the view from each angle. It’s truly astounding what ancient engineers knew how to do. I’m fully convinced that they had some technologies that have since been lost and now we just go about things in a different way. The Incan structures at Sacsaywaman in Peru come to mind. After the colosseum, we climbed to the top of a hill and watched the light turn pink in the late evening all over the old columns and archways of the Forum. It was a perfect Roman day.
Walkabout 