2017-Travels of Paul - Our trip to Athens, the Greek Islands, Ephesus and Rome
4 May Thursday (Starting off)
We booked another tour with Jim Gee Discovery Tours. It included cruising on the Windstar Treasures of the Greek Isles cruise.
The morning was very calm and uneventful. We finished our packing. Lynn had purchased some pizza pans for Renee Koths wedding. I stopped by Pizza hut and they kindly gave me a pizza box. We slipped in a copy of our pizza dough recipe. Lynn gift wrapped it and we dropped it at Sister Koths. When the time finally arrived, we left to pick up the Jensen's. We had a nice ride into the airport, during which Lynn shared the stories of Georgios, her foster brother, a Greek boy who was sponsored by her parents through the Foster Parents Plan when he was 8 years old.
Bank of the West, the executor of Mother's trust had been trying to find him as he is a beneficiary in her trust. They just recently found him, and Lynn was able to contact Georgios three days before the trip.
We were met at the airport by the Krzyminskis, and right after the Harwards and Wallis'. Lynn forgot her back support, so Mark had to make a trip back to the car. Mark had dropped Lynn and the Jensen's off at the terminal before taking the car to long term parking, so it was a bit of a trip. Sister Krzyminski recognized the effort.
Our seats on the plane are the very last ones in the back. If they were any further back, we'd be on the tail. But it was fine enough to be on the plane. Lynn lost one of her earrings during the night. Fortunately another passenger found it for her on the floor outside the restroom.
5 May Friday (Athens)
We were the last off the plane, but got routed to the shortest line thru passport control. We made it to the gates with plenty of time, especially since we were on the later flight from Paris to Athens. The others barely cleared in time and came hustling up at the very last minute. They did make it on their flight, so all was well. We waited for a couple hours for the next flight.
The last leg of the trip was 3 hours and was uneventful. Arriving in Athens, we retrieved our luggage and found our guide. We had to wait a bit for the other flights to arrive, but it was kind of fun waving the Gee Group sign. On the way to the hotel, our guide told us about the city. There are about 10 million people in Greece, and half of them live in Athens. They have a real problem with illegal immigrants.
The guide told us that Greece has more than 4000 islands. Some are private. Some are just rocks or just for goats. She said that Mykonos is very cosmopolitan and Patmos is peaceful. She said the people in Greece eat only the foods that are in season. She noted that olives cannot be eaten off of the trees. They must first be soaked.
We settled in the Royal Olympic Hotel in Athens. This hotel is located across the street from the Temple of Zeus and Hadrian's Arch. Our friends who arrived on an earlier flight had already started out for a walk, fortunately, we caught up with them.
We walked with the group along the pedestrian pathway to Mars Hill, where Paul talked to the men of Athens about the Unknown God. There were lots of people there, including teen-agers, who apparently come to either see the sunset or to make out.
We joined Dirk and Jody VanValkenburg for dinner (20€). Mark had a Greek salad which was tomatoes, cucumbers and feta cheese. Lynn had a pork gyro. We also had a great conversation.
Lynn was impressed with all of the patio and rooftop gardens in the city. Before we turned in for the night we went up to the roof top restaurant in our hotel. The view was spectacular, particularly of the Acropolis above and the Temple of Zeus below.
6 May Saturday (Touring Athens)
In the morning we had a bus tour around the ancient Greek capital. First we had a quick language lesson.
Thank you is ευχαριστώ /Efcharistó/ Feu meaning good thing and christo meaning grace
Please is παρακαλώ /parakaló/
Good morning Καλημέρα /Kaliméra/
The first modern Olympic games were held in Greece in 1896. They did not return to Greece until 2004. We visited the Panathenaic Stadium which holds 69,0000 spectators. In 2004 it was used for archery and the end of the marathon. Athens built a metro system to handle all of the additional anticipated traffic for the 2004 Olympics. The guide indicated that the five circles on the Olympic flag represent the five continents. Also that the color of the rings is to represent the colors from the flags of the participating nations.
We visited the Acropolis of Athens. We viewed the Parthenon which is the centerpiece of the Acropolis and is often regarded as the masterpiece of the Doric order of architecture. Its name refers to Athena Parthenos, or "Athena the Virgin." We learned that acid rain is the worst enemy of the ruins.
At the temple of Athena all of the original statues are in museums. The ones we see so majestically lite up at night are actually reproductions. These statues were carved without wings to show that she would not leave the city.
We also saw the Erechtheion temple with the six female statues. Four are visible, the other two are closer to the wall. During our bus tour we could see the Chapel of St George on Lycabettus Hill, the highest place in Athens, from many places. The view of chapel was also good from the Acropolis. From the bus we saw the National University of Athens, the National Library and the Temple of Dionysius. Dionysius was the first convert of the Apostle Paul in Athens and is now the patron saint of Athens.
Additional facts shared with us by our guide...
The service in the Greek military is mandatory for all men. Formerly they served 2 years now only 12-15 months. Nafplio (where we go next) was the 2nd capital of Greece. It is 30% agricultural, 70% mountainous. 90% of the economy is from tourism. For 400 years this area was controlled by the Turks. People were not allowed to speak Greek during this time period outside of their churches. Thus it is through the multitude of tiny churches that the Greek people preserved their language and culture.
From the Acropolis, the bus took us directly to the harbor. We arrived a little early and had to wait. We again had to go thru a passport control, but it was much easier. Boarding the Windstar was nice. We were welcomed with nice damp washcloths to refresh ourselves. We went through a registration process to get our ship identification card. After that, it was on to our stateroom to relax.
Except we hadn't had lunch yet. They had a really nice lunch setup which we enjoyed with the Kryzminskis. We then walked the ship to see what was available. We ended up on the front deck in lawn recliner-type chairs, relaxing in the sun.
Our stateroom is small since we are on a boat and there is so little space. However, the space is very well organized. There was a tiny bathroom, a closet, chest of drawers, queen size bed (our suitcases fit under the bed) and 2 port hole windows which could not be opened.
Before we could set sail, they had to do an evacuation drill, where we get our life jackets and gather at our lifeboat assembly area. Easily done. Then our tour group had an introduction meeting. After each couple introduced themselves, others added the interesting parts. It was almost better if someone else introduced you; they'd tell the better story!
At 7PM we gathered for dinner so we could all sit together. Our table had good food and great conversation and an enthusiastic server named Yusef.
7 May Sunday (Nafplio and Corinth)
We sailed during the night, so in the morning we arrived at Nafplio in the Peloponnese region of southern Greece.
Breakfast was delicious. We sat with Barry and Eva. We finished arriving into the harbour during breakfast. It was lovely seeing the shore, the fortresses, and the other boats. The area is known for the local wine, as well as the grapes and raisins.
We boarded the bus and rode to Corinth. Along the way we saw pretty red poppies growing wild. We also saw poles with propellers atop. Some thought they were for power generation or water, but it turns out they are for air movement to keep the trees from freezing. Aneamomictis: air movement.
Corinth had some 'healers', and it was a tradition that if you were healed, you would have a statue of the afflicted area created and then offered as a thanks offering.
It was also apparently the practice that when a new important person came to power, rather than creating an entire new sculpture, they would just sculpt the head and replace it on some existing body sculpture.
Old-school photoshopping!
At Corinth, we learned how the water as well as the strategic geographic location of the city determined its importance in the past. Paul visited Corinth multiple times. He has great success and loved the people, as shown by the large amount he wrote to them. We saw a stone carved with part of the word for 'Synagogue', which is where he would have preached. We also visited the Step, where he was judged not guilty of the false claims against him. We walked the Lechaion Road, which is the entrance to the ancient city, and where Paul's two companions would have had their tent making shop.
In a lovely shaded area we held a devotional wherein Michael and Nancy shared their thoughts of Paul in Corinth. It was very singular to hear Nancy reading the words of Paul about women keeping quiet!
Then, back to the ship for lunch with the VanValkenburgs. Food onboard is delicious! And plentiful. We're definitely going to have a weight problem after our trip.
We went for a walk after lunch. There is a fortress on top of the hill (Fortress Of Palamidi); the path up has 999 steps. We only went up about 100 before finding a nice sitting place. Lynn is still on the recovery side of her knee operation and it would be wrong to damage it at the beginning of the trip.
You could see the Windstar in the harbor, as well as the city below. We walked back down, taking pictures of Greek firetrucks for Neil. Most of the shops were closed, and it took a while to remember it was Sunday.
After another fabulous dinner, we went to the lounge and listened to Duality, a couple that plays entertainment on the ship. She sang and he played the tenor sax. One song was a swing, so Lynn and I danced. We were a bit challenged as we were in open sea and the ship was rocking side to side, so our dancing was somewhat animated. About 10 PM we hung it up.
8 May Monday (Mykonos)
Today we visited Mykonos, an island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea.
In Greek mythology, Mykonos was named after its first ruler, Mykons, the son or grandson of the god Apollo and a local hero. The island is also said to have been the location of a great battle between Zeus and Titans and where Hercules killed the invincible giants having lured them from the protection of Mount Olympus. It is even said that the large rocks all over the island are the petrified testicles (or, in bowdlerized versions of the myth, the entire corpses) of the giants; this portion of the myth is the source of the slang term "stones" attested in most major European languages. [Wikipedia]
The harbor at Mykonos isn't deep enough for our yacht so we had to anchor off shore and take the shuttle boat [tender] in. Once on shore we met our guide who took us on a walking tour of the old city. We walked thru narrow alleys barely wide enough for motorcycles. Cars are not allowed, and little three wheeled vehicles were only allowed to make deliveries. The alleys twisted and turned, and there were no street signs. Our guide said this was to protect the city from pirates.
Every house was painted white, by law, and the path was also painted white, except for oblong circles that seemed to accent the underlying stones. Most of the doors and shutters were painted blue, but several were red or other colors. The houses are painted once a year, so the whole place has a clean, uniform look. We soon came upon a monument to Manto Mavrogenous, who sold her two properties to purchase two battleships to use for the freedom of Mykonos against pirates and the Ottoman Turks. Greece became an independent state in 1830.
Manto Mavrogenous (1796 – July 1848) was a Greek heroine of the Greek War of Independence. A rich woman, she spent all her fortune for the Hellenic cause. Under her encouragement, her European friends contributed money and guns to the revolution. [Wikipedia] .
Houses are very expensive, 80,000€ per square meter. The houses must be white, built in a cubic style with windows and doors made of wood. Most of the houses are 30 to 40 years old and 50-60 square meters in size.
We walked up the hill to a chapel. There are many in the island, and most are private chapels owned by a family. When someone dies, they are buried for three years. They are then exhumed and the eldest woman in the family washes the bones, which are then placed in a box and buried under the private chapel. Pictures and stories of the deceased are placed on the box.
We continued up the hill to a now non working windmill. In the old days, wheat was raised on the island and brought to the Mills. Now the land is too expensive and the weather too poor to raise wheat or most crops.
We walked down the hill to the five windmills of Mykonos. One is owned privately and we were able to walk up inside it. It's very similar to the windmills of Holland, except for the wind blades.
Around the corner we came to a frequently photographed building: Panagia Paraportiani (Our Lady of the Side Gate); a Greek Orthodox Church with four churches around it. It was clear that it has been painted and repainted many times as the paint covers the building like melted icing.
We'd walked for a long time and fortunately it was time for the bus tour portion. We had to walk from the old city port to the new city port to board the bus. We was glad to finally be able to sit.
We drove past a beach on the North side of the island used by windsurfers. We saw a convent where one nun is the caretaker. She rejected any assistance and has kept it up by herself for many years. We passed a hotel, painted white of course, with the doors and shutters painted every color. It was called Hotel Sun, as in every color under the sun. We saw many young folks riding rented 4-wheel ATVs.
Our first stop was a monastery in Ano Mera village, a town at the center of the island: The Monastery of Panagia Tourliani Source. Then on to Elia, which has a family beach. Mark put his finger into the Aegean Sea. Finally we stopped at a view area that overlooks the old and new city for pictures.
Back to the ship for lunch. We sat by ourselves, but Amanda's daughter, Patty, visited and we talked about music and marriage and children. Then, back to the island for more walking/shopping.
We didn't find anything we really wanted and in fact realize we'll need to simplify as we consider moving to a condominium. We did look at some paintings and dresses, but nothing spoke to us so we returned to the ship empty handed.
The crew doesn't know what to do with our group, since we don't do alcohol. They didn't understand how they could entertain us and how we could have any fun! We let them know we were great with juices and sodas, and they held a cocktail party for us with hors-d'oeuvres and no cocktails. We set sail at 6PM as we were traveling this night from Europe to Asia.
Among the dinner entrees were lobster and tenderloin, or nasi goreng! Mark's choice was obvious, having grown very fond of Indonesian food during his time as a missionary in Holland. He got some sambal (Indonesian salsa), and the dish came with krupuk (fried shrimp that resembles styrofoam and is delicious like potato chips).
We had hoped to do more dancing, but the entertainers started late and played a Name That Song game, so we retired to our stateroom.
9 May Tuesday (Kusadasi and Ephesus)
The ship arrived at Kusadasi in the morning, so when we woke we were dockside in Turkey. It was easy getting off the ship since we didn't have to tender in. We boarded our bus and drove to Ephesus. Before going to the ancient city, 5 of the women in the group had asked that we visit a location nearby that the Catholics consider the last home of Mary, who was taken to Ephesus by John. It had a typical Ceremonial kind of ambiance.
We then drove to the old city of Ephesus. The archeologists continue to excavate wonderful discoveries. The most recent excavation was some terraced apartments that were under dirt not 20 years ago. There were 6 houses with beautiful marble and mosaic walls. In some rooms, the broken wall murals were set out on large tables like giant jig saw puzzles and the archeologists work to figure out which fragment belongs where.
They have also reconstructed the Celsius library. Our guide described some of the history of Ephesus which was the 4th largest city in the Roman empire. Also how it was a port city in its day, but is now 4 miles from the sea. The low area silted in, which caused the city to lose its importance.
Richard and Judith then led a devotional on Paul and Ephesus.
We finished the tour at the auditorium, which can hold 250,000 people. The auditorium has been used in modern times even by pop stars, but they found the vibrations were causing damage to the Roman arches, so they stopped using it. Although recently they started doing classical concerts.
Leaving Ephesus, we went to a Turkish carpet store for a demonstration on how carpets are made. They also showed how they extract silk from cocoons, demonstrated the weaving and ending in a presentation of different carpet styles. They also tried to sell them to us.
We were late in getting back to the ship, and so had to order room service. We all gathered on the veranda. Room service was slow because "so many orders have come in all at once!"
We went back into town to visit the bazaar. That was a mistake. Apparently most of the cruise ships have cancelled because of the liability, so the town was hurting for tourists. There were supposed to be 4 cruise ships in port today, but ours was the only one. That meant that every shop owner was out trying to get anyone that even stepped foot on the lane into their shop. Lynn looked at some painted eggs and the shopped keeper picked up the basket so she could see them better and then backed into the store as he told us about them, drawing us deeper into his establishment.
While the things they had were much more interesting than the items at Mykonos, we still didn't find anything that we just had to have.
The Windstar arranged a special event for the ship guests. Working with the Turkish government, they reserved Ephesus for a dinner concert just for the 150 passengers of our cruise. We all took buses back to Celsius library. Most folks dressed up a bit. They arranged for a white table dinner with four courses. The library was lit beautifully. The weather as lovely and we took some great photographs. A stringed trio performed throughout the dinner.
At dinner we learned that Br. Krzyminski was released from the Stake Presidency and was called into the Mission Presidency. Br. Daun was called as a new Stake Presidency counsellor. And Br. Meaders was called to the Stake High Council. All this happened at the Stake conference this week.
Back at the ship, we went up on deck and watched them release the ship and back out. It was dark, but we had a full moon and all the city lights. They were playing music below in the bar area where folks were trying to have fun with alcohol. We danced by ourselves on the upper deck. It was a wonderful night.
10 May Wednesday (Patmos)
Patmos is a volcanic island covered with pine, palm and cypress trees. Hora is the capital. There is no dock, so we anchored off shore. Mark chose Spanish Benedict for breakfast.
We had to take the Tender in to shore, and the Windstar group went just before us so we had a bit of a wait. Once ashore, we boarded our bus for the Cave of the Apocalypse. This is the traditional place where John the Revelator received the Book of Revelations. It's a quiet place but not supported by Scripture.
After that, we went to the St. John the Beloved Monastery. This is also not scriptural.
In the museum they have a couple pages of the Purpureus Codex, a copy of the Gospel of Mark from the 6th century.
We took the bus back to town, but stayed in town for a bit to shop before going back to the ship.
On the ship we had lunch before going swimming in the Aegean Sea. It's cold but not freezing. After you get in it's OK. The Krzyminskis and Br. VanValkenburg swam with us. It was our group's turn for the Candlelight dinner out on the veranda. We had tenderloin and chocolate creme brulee. We watched the sun go down.
The crew hosted a Windstar's Got Talent show. It was fun and they had some real talent.
11 May Thursday (Santorini)
After breakfast with Barry and Eva, we took the tender to the port of Fira. Santorini is one of the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea.
Then to the cable car up the cliff to the city proper. We walked out to the bus area with our guide, Nickolas, boarded the bus, and took a small road to Oia, (pronounced E ya) the picture-postcard city on the island. And it was beautiful. Around each corner we viewed another picturesque scene.
But as we walked, it seemed to Mark that if you came to the island and rented a house for a week, after the second day, what would you do? It would get pretty boring.
We shopped some and even found a beautiful ship made from reclaimed beachwood. The only problem was it cost 600€!
We settled for a Magnum ice cream cone for 2.50€.
Making our way back to the bus, we rode back to Fira. We elected, as did many, to stay in town and have lunch in Fira, rather than taking the cable car down to the port, the tender out to the ship, having lunch there, and then coming back on the tender, and paying an additional 12€ per person to ride the cable car back up to the city.
Our lunch was just fair. We shopped for a nautical picture to hang over the bed in the basement. We even found some that were nice enough but eventually decided we would soon be downsizing, so we bought nothing. Well except for some peach plus chocolate brownie ice cream for Mark and some raspberry plus chocolate forest ice cream for Lynn.
We stood in a 40 minute line for the cable car. It moved fast enough, but I wouldn't want to stand in it every day.
There are 4 cruise ships in the harbor including the Windstar, and the lines for the tenders were also long. But there was no line for the Windstar tender! We had to find the crew member, since there was no obvious area. But he greeted us gladly and our wait was just ten minutes. It's been great being on a smaller cruise ship.
The kitchen crew provided a BBQ dinner on deck. The artistry in the food layout was amazing. We could choose from the following main courses: prime rib, chicken, pork, crab, saffron rice and mussels, or some of each.
Even the floral arrangements (which were crafted from food!) were amazing.
This meal was followed by line dancing with the crew.
12 May Friday (Monemvasia)
Because we are on a smaller ship, we can get to islands that the big cruise ships can't. Thus we were able to visit Monemvasia. The tender brought us to shore. Three folks couldn't get on the tender, so we had to wait. A sea turtle was swimming near the shore which was fun to see. The water was so clear.
The local guide got us on the local shuttle. Originally this little island was connected to the main island by a causeway, but the Agean Sea rose so much that it was underwater. So they built a bridge. This is apparently a very traditional Byzantine city with a fortified castle on the top and a walled lower city. The weather was getting warmer, although we had enjoyed great weather on our vacation this far. We did not climb the steps to the castle at the top.
A number of Greek people tendered out to the ship with us. We soon learned that they were going to do a Greek dancing exhibition for us. During the demonstration, we were invited to join in and had a lot of fun. This was followed by the captain's farewell, then dinner.
13 May Saturday (Athens to Rome)
We sailed into the port about 7AM. The flight from Athens to Rome was uneventful. We had to wait for the agents to open the baggage checking, we got here so early. We were met at the Rome airport by our tour bus and rode to the Vatican City, so we could visit the Basilica of St Peter.
The bus dropped us off just outside the Vatican City wall. It seems to be made of bricks and angles up to 40-50 feet in height. There was some security, and once inside we were given our radio headphone sets so we could hear our guide. We were led to a large area where we could see the Sistine chapel in the distance, then to the Cortile del Belvedere, the Belvedere Courtyard, where we saw the Fontana della Pigna or simply Pigna ("The Pine cone") a Roman fountain. Also on display were Egyptian statues.
Our guide gave us a description of the paintings in the Sistine Chapel. We then entered a long hall with many statues of previous church leaders. Then into many more rooms with tapestries and paintings. Finally, down a nondescript set of stairs, we entered the Sistine Chapel.
Apparently the paintings had become dim and hard to see, so they had recently (in the past decade) undergone a cleaning. They were now clear and beautiful. There were many people in the room, but they did allow us to linger for ten minutes. You could easily spend much more time there. We found out you can rent the Sistine chapel for 65,000€ a night. What a deal!
After leaving the Chapel, we were invited to enter St. Peter's Basilica. Directly above the entrance is the Pope's Balcony, where he makes public presentations.
Just inside the front door on the right is Michelangelo's Pietà. It's a gorgeous sculpture. We also saw the baldacchino, "a pavilion-like structure 30 metres (98 ft) tall and claimed to be the largest piece of bronze in the world, which stands beneath the dome and above the altar." [Wikipedia]. Everywhere you turned there was another fabulous sculpture or painting or chapel.
We left just in time to see the changing of the guards.
The bus ride to the President Hotel was like a ride in Disneyland. At one point we were fearful that our bus was going to collide with another bus.
Most of us went out for dinner and had Italian food, although some rude accordion player played loudly around the table, hoping for tips. On the way back, we stopped at a supermarket for some bottled water. Apparently we got in the wrong group, because the Kryzminskis' group went out for Gelato ice cream!
14 May Sunday (Rome)
The breakfast at the hotel, while nice enough, reminded us that we were no longer on the Windstar.
Very close to our hotel is the St John church, which is the mother church for all the other churches in the world. Down the street is Santa church of Bethlehem, wherein is supposedly the actual cross and nails of the crucifixion. We drove by the main cemetery of Rome. Since it is Sunday the roads are mostly just lightly busy. Everywhere we go we see tons of graffiti.
The LDS temple in Rome is under construction, and has been having trouble with quality. Apparently construction here depends on contributions to the supervisor (bribes) which the Church doesn't do, so they've had to take some of the work apart to redo so it meets the high standards of the Church.
One of the in-laws of Amanda's family serves on a board with the artist who is commissioned to paint the mural behind the Christus statue in the visitor center. They are here in Rome at the time and met us at the construction site. We arrived at a turnaround construction entrance place surrounded by construction walls. There was one little barred window where we could look thru the wall and see the scaffold and temple.
Amanda's relative arrived with Joseph Brickey, the artist. There on the side of the road blocked by the construction walls, he described his involvement with the Denmark temple mural, and how he had a relation with the head of the church in Denmark where the Christus statue lives. A replicate stands in the Denmark temple, and the Church wants a Christus and all the apostles statues in the temple in Rome.
Joseph shared how he was very intimidated at the idea of a forever marriage, but finally proposed to his wife in front of the Christus in the Denmark church, and how that space has such a special meaning to him. He knew the architect of the Rome temple but it turned out that architect wasn't the one that would be determining the mural painter. But in the end he was selected.
He talked about what he envisioned in the mural and how he would use sacred geometry and visual themes of olive trees and sheep and light in the mural. As he described it, Mark imagined a scene in Jerusalem!
When we left, even though we had been standing in the gravel next to high construction barrier walls, it was a very moving experience. You can have the spirit in almost any place.
We left that Holy space for a much more mundane one: Trevi Fountain.
Trevi Fountain was the start of our walking tour.
But first, we had an hour of free-time for wandering or lunch. We found a restaurant on a side street and had some Cheese/spinach focaccia bread and Lasagna. While walking, we saw some street artists creating pictures of the Colosseum using spray paint!
We walked to the Spanish Square, with steps that lead up to the French Piazza Trinità dei Monti and the Trinità dei Monti church at the top. The Spanish Square is designed in a butterfly pattern. The steps are actually French Steps. They are called the Steps in the Spanish Square, which American folks shorten to Spanish Steps.
Then to the Roman Forum. There were 64,000 slaves worked on the Roman Forum. Apparently this area was only recently excavated. Before that, it was covered, and was also where water or sewage would gather. Another security check got us in. The Arch of Titus was one of our first views. The Arch of Titus stands at the entrance to the Roman Forum on the highest point of the Sacra Via. The Arch of Titus was built shortly after the death of Titus by Domitian. It commemorates the sacking of Jerusalem in 70 AD, thus effectively ending the Jewish Wars [Wikipedia]. On one of the panels you can see a candelabra.
We continued our walk, past many temples to professions. There were Saints for the various professions, and temples in the Roman Forum for those Saints. We visited a little shrine that is where Julius Caesar was cremated. At one point, one of the many pigeons decided to target practice on Mark. We were fortunately near a WC, so he could clean up.
Next, a busride to the Colosseum. The Colosseum was constructed using Jewish slaves.
Next, we walked to St Peter in Chains church. Inside is Michelangelo's Moses, and the Saints and Angels statue, which is quite macabre.
15 May Monday (Rome)
We drove along the Appian Way. It starts from Circus Maximus and goes to Naples.
Civilian police are under the Minister of the Interior. The Military Police are soldiers under the minister of Defence. You can see both sets of police in the cities.
Some of the intersections had a picture/icon of Mary, to keep evil out.
The Pantheon columns were all made of a single stone from the Quarries of Alexandria in Egypt. They were shipped by barge from Egypt using lentils like bubble wrap. After the columns were delivered, they gave the lentils to the poor.
The Pantheon has an opening at the top. The Romans would visit by boat when it flooded. The original was built in 27 BC and demolished in 15AD. The current was built in 127 AD by Hadrian.
We visited Piazza Navona, "the ancient stadium of the Emperor Domitian and the site of the Pamphilj family palace." The Fountain of the Four Rivers is there:
The Fountain of the Four Rivers depicts Gods of the four great rivers in the four continents as then recognized by the Renaissance geographers: the Nile in Africa, the Ganges in Asia, the Danube in Europe and the Río de la Plata in America.
Each location is further enhanced by animals and plants of that country. The Ganges carries a long oar, representing the river's navigability. The Nile's head is draped with a loose piece of cloth, meaning that no one at that time knew exactly where the Nile's source was. The Danube touches the Papal coat of arms, since it is the largest river closest to Rome. And the Río de la Plata is sitting on a pile of coins, a symbol of the riches America might offer to Europe (the word plata means silver in Spanish). [www.rome.info]
We were extremely blessed that our visit included a tour under the St Peter Basilica. The tickets are apparently very difficult to get. Our local guide had only been able to visit three times in his life.
The tour was essentially a visit to the mausoleums excavated directly under the alter. This is where St Peter was buried. The mausoleums orient to the south. They found examples from 2nd century BC, and one Christian mausoleum from the 3rd century AD. Generally, people were cremated until the 1st century BC, after which they entombed the bodies. They found the remains of 250 persons. During this period the average age was 42-57 and the infant mortality rate was high.
When we came to the area directly under the altar, they showed us the second alter, with indications of a tomb. The guide said that this is definitively the area, but that the Catholic Church is more circumspect about whether this is actually tomb of Peter.
When we finally exited, we passed thru a quaint little chapel: the Clementine Chapel.
Most of the vehicles are smaller. There are lots of SmartCars, and we frequently saw them parked perpendicular to the rest of the cars. They are so small, they fit in sideways.
16 May Tuesday (Going Home)
We had our last meal in Rome and transferred to the airport in two groups. Fortunately we were in the second group. Unfortunately we met some of the people from the first group at the airport. Their driver had taken them to the wrong terminal.
Check in went swiftly. There were so many stores in the airport and several duty free stores. To our surprise just past this was a long line for passport control. Beyond passport control there were more duty free stores. We visited with our Cincinnati friends as we rested on some comfortable cushions just shy of our gate area.
Judith was doing some stretching exercises and inspired Jody and Lynn to do some as well. We were assigned seats in the back of the plane again. Lynn went to the desk and expressed concern that on arrival in Detroit we would have to clear customs and make a connection. We were moved from row 42 up to row 23.
Clearing customs was relatively easy and we made it to our gate for the flight home. We sat as a group and talked about our trip. From time to time, groups of us would take walks through the terminal. Mark and Lynn were the only ones without seating assignments when we arrived but fortunately we did get seats in the emergency aisle. Yeah, legroom for the first time for our 45 minute flight to Cincinnati.
When we landed Mark hurried ahead to retrieve the car. The Jensens and Lynn retrieved our luggage and Mark drove us home. We came home to a freshly mowed lawn courtesy of our neighbor, Christopher, across the street. We have good neighbors.