Rome, Italy

Tuesday afternoon we arrived in Rome by train from Spoleto.  We had a hiccup on the Rome side of things when one of our group was separated from her parents.  She is 15 so luckily, she had the wherewithal to go to the police station......and all was good but not before her mother lost about 10 years off her life.

Rome has been very interesting in that we are back to the fast, hectic pace in a large, confusing city.  Truthfully, either we are all wearing down and are just worn out - or the hard, uneven stone that we are walking for miles is taking its toll on our bodies.  Everyone is tired.  

The first night, Randolph and I went to the Spanish steps and the Trevi Fountain.  The restaurants here are great and we've had one yummy meal after another.  Yesterday, we toured the coloseum and walked around a little before resting up.  The children sang the 5:00 mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.  Incredible.  St. Peter's is the largest cathedral in the world and just beautiful.  The service was performed from THE alter that the Pope conducts his service and the priest was kind enough to acknowledge the children during the service....he thanked them and told them they are welcomed back any time.  It was an emotional moment.

Today, the children sang in the Pantheon (...and, just to make my husband cringe, I'll openly admit I keep calling it the 'Parthenon') then we toured the Sistine Chapel.  Although it is beautiful, it is a very long tour and anywhere from 18,000-25,000 people tour it A DAY.  And I tell you, we could tell.  Tons of people....huge amount of information to cover hardly any place that was air conditioned.  We were tired and ready to bolt by the end of it - so we did and went to have our last meal at a little sidewalk cafe.

We fly home tomorrow and both of us are anxious to see our family.  I cannot imagine doing anything different on this trip for Randolph and I have had a blast.....we've had a great time bonding with this concentrated 1-on-1 time and I am so very grateful for that.  We head to the airport very early on so I will sign out from Europe for now.....once I settle in with my family and recover from my jet lag - I am hoping to add video.  (The hotel's wifi didn't provide enough band width) - for now, here are some shots from our typical Italian breakfast, the coloseum, Romulus' She Wolf, St. Peter's Basilica and the choir.  (These guys range from about 10-18 years old.....keep that in mind when I post a video....you won't believe it.)