when in rome - prendere due (that's "take two" just in case you don't speak italian or use google translate)

started today off with a little pauline epistle to the romans. thought it was fitting. my fav part of it is right at the beginning of chapter one he says: "to all in rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (romans 1:7) i am in rome and God loves me! this letter is for me. 

after a breakfast consisting of a croissant, yogurt and coffee, christina and i headed out for our day of tourism. really i think the saying should be "when in rome do as the tourists do" b/c there are more tourists in rome than romans. just sayin'.

we stopped at a really cool church on the way to the colosseum. there are churches on every corner and all of them are so amazingly beautiful. there were two priests in the church waiting to take confession - one of them was asleep. ha! we meandered our way through the streets toward the looming colosseum. what a sight. seriously - being here feels so crazy most of the time. all these things you see on tv and in movies or read about - its all right here in front of me. we were told the line into the colosseum would b really long and we would wait a few hours. we walked right in. my theory is that the pope was giving a papal audience at the vatican this morning - so everyone was there. 

outside the colosseum

it was amazing to stand inside this brilliant structure that was the place where so many died. for their faith and for no reason - or for pure evil pleasure. the colosseum was able to hold between 50-70 thousand people. and they would come to watch people be killed. unreal. i understand that other things happened there as well - not all death. but a whole lot of it. such a beautiful place full of so much not beautiful history.

inside

one of my favorite parts of the day was standing inside of the colosseum for a long time talking with christina. she is from germany and is catholic. she is studying theology and has a desire to serve the catholic church. we spent a long time talking about Jesus, what He did for us and how that affects the lives we lead. in a place that held so much death and evil, to have a life giving conversation about truth and God's love for us seemed redeeming.

loved this cross at the entrance

after we left the colosseum we walked through the roman forum. the ruins are pretty amazing. i can't imagine how spectacular it looked when it was all in tact. the columns on the buildings - huge! can you imagine what they must weigh? yikes! there were some cool arches too. we were hungry at this point so we went and found a little hole in the wall pizza place. we got pizza and sodas, sat out on the piazza, watched people and listened to this precious older italian man play the guitar. perfect lunch in italy. 

when only in rome for a day one should probably at least try to see the vatican. it was another 20 minute walk from where we were - so we went for it. we were tired of all the people, traffic and noise - so we walked down the steps to the path along the river. it was peaceful and a nice stroll. both christina and i said many times today how thankful we are that God sent us here at the same time to see rome together. we both feel the same way about being a tourist. we don't feel like we have to see everything. we just want to be present and enjoy what we can. it has been a real blessing to me to get to share this time with her. and to think - yesterday we didn't even know each other. i love that!

this is just the view from the outside. we didn't go in. it was around 2:45 and the line just to get in was about 3 hours long. b/c the pope spoke this morning, everything was closed. so everyone was there this afternoon. so i didn't get to see the sistine chapel - but that's ok. i'll see it another time. :)

seriously - there is so much in this city to see. i'm thankful to have seen what i did. tonight i'm having dinner at the little restaurant right outside my hostel. its outside on the sidewalk - will have some italian food and a glass of wine. perfect dinner in italy!  oh - and just in case you were worried - i had gelato again today. its my goal to eat gelato every day while i'm in italy. i don't foresee this goal being one i am unable to meet.

tomorrow i leave early for my trek to positano. fino a domani!! ("until tomorrow" - google translate is so fun!