Meanwhile, in Italy... (this is the summer vacation that keeps on giving! Just one more post after this!!)
Stacie joined me for a couple days in Rome, and we were also able to meet up with a friend from home who is posted in Naples for a few years. It was a fun time exploring this city and learning about all the rich history. Before I get to the rest of the photos, though, I wanted to share about our visit to Mamertine Prison.
I nearly forced Stacie to find this place with me; it's the prison where both Peter and Paul were likely imprisoned, and where, according to tradition, Paul wrote 2 Timothy. Being that Rome is a Catholic stronghold, it's known as St. Peter's prison, and you can see the post where he was chained. Paul has an honorable mention:
(See the mention of Pietro/Peter and Paolo/Paul on the second line of the inscription.)
I knew it was like a dungeon; what I've read about this prison is that it was a tiny underground room, damp, dank and mildewy, with rats and probably corpses as well. It was originally created as a cistern (either 614 or 386 BC; make up your mind, people!), and it was eventually converted into a prison for high profile criminals awaiting execution. There was no door; prisoners were lowered through a hole in the 6.5 foot ceiling (you can see it in the photo below, above the gold altar thing).
(I am looking much too happy in these photos, given my surroundings!)
At this time, Paul's second imprisonment, he was treated as a common criminal, so that many were ashamed of his chains. I read that today in our country he might be viewed as someone who had committed treason against the US. It was this prison most likely that Onesiphorus "searched diligently" for to find Paul, deep under the city of Rome (2 Tim 1:15-17). I also read that a more horrific or terrible prison could not be imagined at this time.
That is an altar to St. Peter and the post where he was chained. The hole in the ground is where traditionally a spring "sprung" up, from which Peter baptized his converts while being held here. (Makes sense because this was built as a cistern for a spring that bubbled below.)
This place was most significant for me in light of the biblical history, of course. Imagine Paul confined here, in the very worst of places, urging Timothy to try and come before winter, and yet still writing words like "for God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self control" (1:7). An aging apostle, awaiting his death, in this cold, lonely place...as I sit and read 2 Timothy with this place in mind, I have a completely new picture of this letter.
(Again, much too happy in this photo!) This ledge to my left is a ledge on which one of my seminary professors liked to imagine that Paul penned his last letter. I still remember the lecture in which he showed his photos of this place, and I have wanted to come ever since.
Finally I am going to be finished posting photos from Italy. Aren't you relieved? Are you sick of seeing them? Or maybe sick of thinking I'm a jerk for posting them?! Well, it was my pleasure to be able to spend time in Italy so that you could enjoy my pictures. :)
At the Colosseum ... I was pretty excited to check it out. It's kind of a maze in there, and it was hot, but fun to be in such a historical site! 
I really enjoyed the Roman Forum...didn't take many pictures, but loved reading the history of all the buildings and ruins. Stacie and I spent one rainy afternoon in our hotel room reading up on all the sites we had seen - a nice way to wait out the rain and not have to carry the book around with us! :)
The Vatican... the museum was HUGE, four miles of walking is it? Finally made it to the Sistine Chapel and loved studying all the paintings in there. The guys yelling "Silence! No photos!" really added to the ambiance. (I really wanted to shout, "Silence! I kill you!" back at them.) We found the secret passageway down into St. Peter's Basilica, the biggest church IN THE WORLD, and came out just in time to get caught in a rain storm. 
Well, I guess we had time to take some photos first. No pope; he was being protested in the UK.
That's us on the Spanish Steps. I really did enjoy reading about such an ancient society and the rise and fall of the empire, and learning where so many historical events took place. Here is a statue:
That is the Trevi Fountain, which is wedged in between lots of buildings and jam packed with people. Did you know that all the fountains in Rome are fed by aqueducts? The main one delivers 8 million liters of water per hour to the city, whose water supply always runs the risk of being cut off by an earthquake. Here is another fountain:
The Cinque Terre gets my favorite place AND the best food award. So grateful for the opportunity to visit Italy - here I've thought I'd have all the time in the world to explore Europe since I live here, but that is all coming to an end. So I'm glad I at least got to see a couple places while I was here! Now that I'm going to be living at the bottom of the earth, 75 million hours from anywhere, I needed to get all the traveling out of my system!! ;) At least it's a really cool place to live, and they have nice red-headed boys there.
Entering the Via dell'amore (Walk of Love), the path between Riomaggiore and Manarola: it is tradition to close a padlock with your love, so there are padlocks lining the whole 20 minute walk...
On the "walk of love" between Riomaggiore and Manarola (so named because it was the first trail blazed between the five villages, allowing for intermarriage!):
There are five little villages along the Italian Riviera called the Cinque Terre (there are more, but these five are famous for some reason). :) After consulting with our friend Rick Steves we elected to stay in Vernazza, the fourth village. We were not disappointed; this and Riomaggiore (#1) were my favorite. During the day the tourists pour into these villages, especially in August, so upon our arrival we found many, many people in our "quiet" little town: 
There was a bit of rain one morning, which kept all the people away!
After about 5pm it quieted down every day, and we really enjoyed our little village. We hiked to a cemetery above it one evening for some great views.
Really, it's just a beautiful setting and such a charming town! It was fun to see the locals and say hello and watch the old people sitting at their windows watching everything going on below.
These guys own a pastry shop & restaurant at the top of Vernazza. They're quite well known, thanks to Rick, and because of their fun service and great pastries and food! The one on the right is a pastry chef. I think we ate here at least once per day: 
