Vacation is awesome! You get to speak English, see different countries, try new foods and take LOADS of pictures. We have two weeks of vacation, which we're in the middle of right now. Cheryl, Sara and I spent this past week in Italy - first going to Rome and then to Venice. Starting today, the Cheryls are heading out to Dublin and then to London.
Italy wasn't quite what I was expecting, maybe just cuz we didn't have the sun that I was hoping for everyday. The first night of Rome we went to the Trevi Fountain. It was super crowded, but we fought our way to the edge of the water and each took out two coins. You know the tradition - throw two coins into the Trevi Fountain and you'll return to Rome and a wish will come true. Who knows if either one of those will actually happen, but I love traditions like that. We ate real Italian pizza that night and to be honest, it didn't taste as amazingly superior to Canadian pizza as I was expecting. I guess after working at a pizza place you become a pizza snob. But it was still delicious!
The next day was full of touring all the old ruins. First stop was the Colosseum. We waited in the mob of people (they really didn't have much of a line there) for about an hour or so and then walked out into the ancient arena. Our first thought: where's the floor? We had expected to see a floor covered in sand and whatnot as they always show in the movies. Instead we saw walls of stone that gave the impression of a maze. The brief moment of wondering if we were in the right place or if they had to fight amongst the mazes of stones was later turned to a face palm moment when we took the tour. The Colosseum was built after Nero died, so the thing is ancient and has been through so much (obviously) so the wooden floor that used to be there is no longer there and all that remains in the centre of the arena is the cells that were under the arena floor that caged the animals and prisoners. It was incredible to see and learn of how much of the Colosseum is actually not there anymore. You would never guess by looking at it that it was once covered in marble and had stores around the exterior and seating to fit 60 000 people. Guess that's what happens to ancient ruins. Also, we learned that there is no real record that the Christians were ever executed there. So now I don't know what to think about it..
Next we climbed up the hill to Palatino, where Rome began. It was really cool to see palm trees next to evergreens and normal trees, to see the old, stone walls, to try and imagine what it looked like in the powerful, ancient world, and to try and figure out what all the rooms were used for in Augustus' house. We passed by the Roman Forum too (where all the government and justice courts and all that important stuff took place) and snapped some more pictures.
We spent the rest of the day people-watching at the Pantheon (which we went in a couple days after). This became almost a daily routine for us. We had been told of a store that sold 150 flavours of gelato not far from the Pantheon. It was like walking into ice cream heaven! So many choices! Who knew that you could make gelato out of Kit Kat, or Lindor, or meringues?! We would each get two different flavours in a bowl and sit by the water fountain in front of the Pantheon, slowly enjoying the cold goodness with a little spoon that looks like a shovel. Also, I had never eaten gelato until Italy. You can find it in Paris too, but I figured that I'd wait to enjoy it in the place that's famous for it.
So that was Rome. We went to Venice next. We stayed in a hotel (cuz it was cheaper than a hostel!) and that was wonderful and translated into dance parties, 20 questions and eating Nutella in the most comfort I've been in while in Europe. We spent a full day wandering around Venice, seeing the gondolas, wondering at the point of all the crazy mask stores, climbing bridges over tons of canals, and sitting on a dock overlooking the Mediterranean and tanning. None of us really knew what all there was to do in Venice, so we just enjoyed it and got lost and ate some more gelato. That's the life! We spent almost 2 hours sitting under a bridge the next day singing worship songs. I think that was one of my favourite parts of the Italy trip. I had prayed that morning that I would see God and hear Him in all things that day, and boy did He show up! In ways that I wasn't expecting even (which is typically how He likes to work, I think). It was a calming, powerful time to sing song after song in praise to our God. Words can't really describe it. I was glad that we could take that time. It started raining by around noon, and since we had already seen all of Venice the day before, we decided just to spend a relaxing day in our hotel room. It won't be a day that will be soon forgotten.
And that was Venice. I'm looking forward to traveling to Ireland and the UK this week. So much to see, so little time! Arrivederci!
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