My favorite... Rome

We had a lot of great times in Rome. To be honest with you my favorite moments were just the times hanging out with my friends. It amazed me to be able to just sit in the shadow of ancient temples and to be able to laugh together as we ate.

If I were to pick one (or two) places in Rome that were the most amazing I would have to say #2 would be the catacombs. These ancient burial places for early Christians were chilling. Seeing the simple Christian carvings on the walls and seeing the places where some of them were martyred were awe inspiring. My #1 spot would have to be the Mamertine Prison. This ancient prison was a damp, dark, hole in the shadow of the Roman Forum. It was also the site where (according to tradition) both the Apostle Paul and the Apostle Peter were held before they were executed. It was in this dark room that Paul probably wrote many of his letters. He sat here in chains next to other prisoners, guards, and in filth writing about joy and hope. A bronze plaque hangs on the wall recounting how both of the apostles shared their faith with the guards and how they used the simple well to baptize them. This 'death row' prison was almost always empty, and we were able to spend some personal time there reading Paul's letters and reflecting on how passionately he followed Christ. This little prison - a symbol of obedience and simple faith - stood in drastic contrast to the lavish Vatican. I found it refreshing and challenging to be in such an important spot, but I also felt disappointment and heartbreak for the other tourists who popped in and out of the room unaware of its significance.

Reading Paul's Letters

The spot where Peter & Paul were chained & the well used to baptize their guards

Peter & Paul in the prison

The Vatican...

Well..... Vatican city was not really what I was expecting.... and to be honest with you I was disappointed. Hear me out....


We started our day there in the Vatican museums. The amount of artwork was truly overwhelming. At first I found myself looking intently at every carved stone and painting, but I quickly realized that I was simply walking around hardly looking at the priceless pieces of art all around me. There was no way to see every exhibit (We would have been there for days), and a few of the galleries were closed. There really isn't any way to explain how it felt going through room after room of amazing artwork... And I enjoyed the museums, but I found myself wondering at the incredible amount of wealth contained in the halls. I found myself thinking about the billions of people living in poverty.... suffering with HIV... needing clean drinking water... and I found myself wondering about the good that could be done if some of the artwork was sold and and the money was invested in hurting people. I know... I know... someone out there is going to tell me that is crazy, that there is nothing wrong with a charitable organization (that is what a church is... isn't it?) owning billions of dollars in artwork while the world suffers... But I found myself haunted by these thoughts (sorry to be a downer).

These thoughts didn't leave me as we left the museum. In fact, they only intensified as we went to St. Peter's Basilica. This massive church (the second largest in the world) is the heart of the Vatican and is the seat of the Pope. The size of the place was awe inspiring. It was rebuilt in the 1500's and was one of the sources of major controversy in the Catholic church. Martin Luther, a German monk/priest/teacher, came to Rome in 1510 and came to a crisis of faith. While on pilgrimage up Pilate's stairs (an act of penance and devotion done on the knees while repeating prayers and the rosary), he became frustrated and stopped midway up the staircase. Luther became increasing frustrated with the lavish lifestyles of the church leadership and with the massive amount of money that was being spent on St. Peter's. He returned home but the frustration only grew as he watched people purchase indulgences (an "indulgence" is the remission of punishment because a sin already committed has been forgiven; the indulgence is granted by the church when the sinner confesses and receives absolution. When an indulgence is given, the church is extending merit to a sinner from its Treasure House of Merit, an accumulation of merits it has collected based on the good deeds of the saints. These merits could be bought and sold - (info from Wikipedia)). The sell of indulgences during Luther's day was financing the building of St. Peter's.

I couldn't help but think on these things as we walked around the massive (an understatement) church... and in a way it was because of it's beauty and extravagance that I found myself frustrated and disappointed.

Dee with a Dali Painting

Inside the Vatican Museum

The ceiling of Sistine Chapel
(from the left - The creation, the making of Eve, the temptation)

Us with St. Peter's Basilica in the background

Me - Seeing the light in St. Peter's

The front of St. Peter's Basilica.
I collected water from the fountain

So... you might be wondering... what did I love most about Rome? Stay tuned...

Rome - More Pics

The heart of ancient Rome: The Forum - home of the temples and the Senate

The gang at one of the many ancient arches

An ancient temple to Venus (I think)

A not-so ancient gladiator waiting to pose with tourists

Modern Gladiators in the Colosseum - Me and T

Most of the gang (again). On our last night - hanging out in a square that Michelangelo designed.
(Byro, Rae, Dee, Dena)

Rome

We eventually did make it to Rome... When we left Ireland the temps were in the mid 60's and there was a nice cool breeze... We arrived in Rome at noon and the temperature was already in the mid 90's. To say that it was a shock to our system would be an understatement. We immediately began drinking water bottle after water bottle. (Thankfully there were public drinking fountains all over the city where we could refill!) Although the weather was HOT (Usually over 100 each day) we really enjoyed our time in the city. We got up early each day - took a nap in the afternoon - and then enjoyed the city in the cool of the evening. It all worked out really well.

There are no words to tell you how amazing Rome is. I was shocked at how many ruins were all around us. We stayed in a little apartment just 10 min (walking) from the Colosseum. I never got over seeing it! Historical spots really were around every corner. "oh, look... there are the roman baths... oh, look! there is the ruin of Nero's house... Oh, look... there is the church that Constantine built!"


Here are a few more of our pics.

Lunch in Rome - Colosseum in the background.

Colosseum at night

Inside the Colosseum

Us in Rome!

The Road Trip... The Beginning

As many of you might know.... Dee and I are having a rather big birthday this year. Yes.... we are hitting the big 30! To be honest with you the idea of no longer being in my 20's has really been a hard one to swallow. I don't have any regrets about how I spent the last decade... it is just the idea that it has come and gone so quickly. Enough about that.... I'm sure that I'll write more when my birthday actually gets here. All of that to tell you about our trip. We have been kicking around the idea that we needed to take a good road trip to celebrate this momentous occasion. We have been kinda talking out loud about it for well over a year, but we really didn't start making firm plans until this spring. We along with Dena & T and Rae & Byro decided to go somewhere none of us have ever been. We decided on the 'eternal city'.... Rome.

We flew out of Dublin on Sat afternoon. Well, I should say that we attempted to fly out of Dublin on Sat. afternoon. We ended up sitting in the airport for a couple of hours which made us miss our connecting flight in Paris. So.... (said with a sad sigh... and a smile) we had to spend the night in Paris (at the airline's expense). Being the adventurous people that we are, we jumped in a taxi and headed into the 'city of love'. We had a couple of hours to walk around Notre Dame, the Louvre, and to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle (at midnight). The day happened to be Bastille Day ( a national holiday celebrating the French Revolution) so the city was alive with street performers and spectators. Here are a few pics from our night in Paris.

(as a side note: I did see the Paris' Hilton)

A street performer juggling fire:

The gang in front of Notre Dame:

Fireworks in front of Notre Dame:

The Eiffel Tower at midnight!

Update 1:25am:

We are back... more soon.... right now I am going to bed.

On the road again...

Just a quick note to say that we will be away on our little holiday this next week (starting tomorrow). I'll try and post while we are there.... but I don't know if we will have access to email. Stay tuned and we will be posting pics and stories when we get back.

Visitors!

Good news: Dena and T made it to us! Dee's sister and brother-in-law will be with us for the rest of the week... and then we are going to be off for a quick holiday together. All of us along with another couple of our dear friends are going to celebrate our birthdays together this year by going on the ultimate road trip.... So stay tuned for some more pictures!


Here are a couple of pictures from my walk with T last night.

This picture is of the blooming thistle growing wild beside our house.