Last Days in Rome...

I am back on U.S. soil now and it feels good to be back in my own country. Rome was excellent, and great, but it wasn't home. Atlanta isn't exactly home either, but it's closer to home :).

Before the memories fade, I wanted to write about my last days in Rome. 

4.21.12

We sorted all our display mounts and supplies and got them all ready to pack.

4.22.12

L and M went to an Anglican Church service that was really neat and liturgical. I was going to go, but when Sunday morning came, I just wasn't up for it. I ended up staying in the hotel for the morning and catching up on some much needed rest. I went out mid-morning and did some gift shopping and then sat in a semi-quiet piazza (which is really any kind of public area or park). In the piazza, I wrote in my journal and observed the world around me for over an hour. It was really relaxing, and sweet fellowship with the Lord. Sometimes, I think I just need some solitude. 

children chasing pigeons in the piazza

  4.23.12

Monday morning... we packed up all of our display mounts and supplies, made packing lists for the supply crates and were done by mid-morning. Our work in Rome was officially finished! We had lunch and went back to the hotel and went our separate ways. I did some research to plan my last day in Rome.

4.24.12

L and M went to Florence Italy, and from what I hear they had a great time! I opted to stay in Rome and see what I could see... I think I walked nearly the whole city of Rome! I should find a map and post it...

the views from the top of this hill were amazing!

I started with a hike up a hill to see a statue of Garibaldi, a war hero for Rome, I got lost a little bit on my way down the other side of the hill, but I eventually made it to the Synagogue in the Jewish Ghetto, and then back to Piazza Navonna. Did you know that Piazza Navonna was built over an old Roman race track? It is, and that's how it got its oval shape. *[Please note, just as an aside, I am not an authority on the history of the sites of Rome, what I have absorbed is through skimming online descriptions and my limited understanding of the Italian language. I could quite possibly be incorrect in some of this...]

I went back to the Pantheon. I had gone to the Pantheon my second day in Rome and wasn't really that impressed with it. However, in the course of my research, so many sources were excited about the Pantheon, and I discovered that it is contemporary with the Colosseum, yet still standing intact. Not only that, but this once pagan temple now church building has been in constant use for 2,000 years! It still looks like it did when it was built. That is pretty amazing!

From the Pantheon, I made my way to the Capuchin Crypt. This was a really unique site. I was not allowed to take pictures, but I will try to find some online to share. The Crypt is in a Church where the soil on which the church was built, was imported from Jerusalem making it a coveted burial spot for many monks who were never able to make it to the Holy City in life. There are over 4,000 monks buried in this crypt, but there was not enough room for so many. After a while, the bones of earlier graves were exhumed and used to adorn the 5 chapels of the church. Creepy? I thought it might be, but it was oddly beautiful and very reverently done.  

From the Crypt, I made my way through the Four Fountains to the Republic of Rome. I also went through a church near by where there was a calendar in the floor by Galileo Galilei. There was a gold band on the floor with numbers and symbols, and signs of the zodiac. In the ceiling, there was a hole where light would shine down on certain spots on the calendar. 

I was also excited to see Le Grand Hotel which was nearby. This is my own little delight because it is a place that was mentioned in a fiction series that I really enjoy. Turns out the author didn't make up things, but actually wrote about real places!

I met up with the guys on our team who finished sealing all the set containers. Congrats to them! We met at the Termini train station and made our way to the Mediterranean Sea! The water was COLD!

We came back and walked up Aventine Hill to see the gate to the Knights of Malta (actually the 3rd country in Rome, the others being the Vatican, and of course, Italy). The gate at the Knights of Malta has a keyhole that when you look through it, you can see St. Peter's Basilica! My picture didn't turn out where you can see the Basilica, but I could see it with my own eyes.

We meandered down the hill through beautiful orange groves and even more basilicas. We walked across the Circus Maximus (I think that's what it is called) where they used to hold chariot races.

We ate dinner in the Jewish Ghetto, and walked back to the hotel via Campo di Fiore. 

All in all, it was a pretty amazing day! I was exhausted, but it was so worth it!

4.25.12

Boarded the plane at what would be 1:45am Oklahoma time. It was a good flight, and I actually slept for about 2 hours. It was great since I have never before really been able to sleep on flights. Somehow I woke up on my stomach in the plane seat, not sure how that happened. After clearing Passport control, customs, and security, I finally made my way to the MARTA which is Atlanta’s subway system and took the train to northern Atlanta. The station is within a block or two from the hotel, and after walking around Rome, it wasn't a long walk at all :). L joined me a little later. She had stayed at the airport to make sure our crates cleared customs, and were secured at our work space here in ATL. We walked to the nearby Mall and did some window shopping and had Chick-fil-a and Starbucks (for chai tea), two restaurants we never found in Rome :).

Tomorrow we will work at our exhibit here. I'm about ready for bed, but I wanted to post this before life in the States got busy enough to cause my Roman memories to fade.

I also want to say... God is so good! There was one night I could not sleep... I had been praying and talking with the Lord about some issues. I had a really great Skype conversation with my Mom, and then I began reading my Bible. I didn't mean to, but I ended up in the book of Romans and it was like God was speaking directly to me! He spoke to the specific issue I had been wrestling with. He is so good and so faithful! Even in the "small" things... He cares! 

Songs in my head tonight... "Rejoice" by Allison Speer, "The Potter Knows the Clay" by the Perry's, and "Hallelujah" by Bethany Dillon.