An American Girl's Travels in Europe: When in Rome... Wait.. When in Rome does it rain during the summer?! TODAY!!

We started our morning with a slightly slower pace. We didn't get up until 8:45. To say we were tired apparently was an understatement. We ate breakfast here at the apartment. There's a cute Italian girl (probably in her early 20s) who makes us cappucinos and brings croissants for breakfast each morning. She speaks almost zero English, and we speak about the same Italian, but we've been able to communicate about our breakfast enough. :)

We have tackled everything on our must see list, so today we moved to our "if we have time list". We started our morning off at the Cappuccin Crypt. It is a crypt with Franciscan friar's bones in it. That was all we knew when we went. We walked through the museum and learned all about the Cappuccin friars and their work all over the world and their role in preserving Church History. What I wasn't exactly ready for was the mix of morbidity and creativity we experienced in the crypt. There are over 300 full skeletons in the crypt on display. When I say display, I mean they used different bones to make schenes or symbols on the walls. Some of the friars are still in their habits and their skeletons are in tact (skin and all). It was strange, yet cool, and at the same time kinda creepy. All 3 of us agreed that wasn't what we were expecting at all. Very interesting though. There are no pictures allowed in the crypt or I would've shared it with you.

We then jumped on the metro and a bus to head out to the Appian Way. There is a "neuvo via appia" and the "Via Appia Antica" (old Appian way). At one time the Appian Way went for 430 miles. This was the portion of the road out of Rome that Nero used Christians as human torches on. It also is where the Christians hid out from persecution in the 2nd Century. We headed to the San Sebastiano Catacombs. Like the crypt, because it's a cemetery, there are no photos allowed in the catacombs. There are over 7 miles of underground tunnels with catacombs. Over 80,000 people are believed to have been buried in the tombs. We went on an English tour. I learned so much!

We got to see the symbols of the Ancient Christians, and learn the meanings behind the fish (not the one we see on cars, but the fish we saw was a fish fish lol), anchor and symbol that is the P with the X through it. I love that the anchor was a symbol because it showed how Christ is the solid rock that anchors us. I was thinking about the truth behind that statement as we walked through the catacombs. It is such a vivid image of the truth of the Word. If Christ is our anchor, we will never be moved no matter what comes at us. Ships who anchor have a solid faith in the strength of that one part of the ship. So much so shouldn't we? It's so comforting as the waves of life and hardships that accompany that hit us, we will be secure if we hope in Him. It was a good reminder I needed. I love when God does that. I bought a terra-cotta tile with the anchor and the fish to remind me.

After the tour of the catacombs, our guide took us up into the church built over the catacombs. It houses the last sculpture Bernini created at the age of 82. It's a marble sculpture of Jesus. We left and headed back to Central Rome. We took the bus up to the Circus Maximus and then walked along the banks of the Tiber until we got back to the Campo de Fiori. We ate paninis in this little cafe and it was in the low 90s most of the day. It was like 3:30 by the time we ate. All of a sudden the temperature dropped to the low 80s and huge rain clouds moved in. This is the 2nd time in 3 days. The Romans tell us that this NEVER happens especially during the summer! We watched as the market quickly tore down and the restaurants' temporary rain gutters for outside eating went up just before the downpour began. It poured, let up then poured for about 20 minutes. We were enjoying watching everyone out in the piazza until the rain gutter above me decided to dump water on the seat RIGHT next to me getting me just a little wet with it. Then only Amanda and Anthony were REALLY enjoying watching it! We dashed home during a break in the rain, and I'm sitting in the window sill of our apartment typing with the window open listening to the church bells ring and life happening below me on the street. It's a great perch for people watching because they don't pay any attention to me in my 2nd story window. :)

Tomorrow we're leaving Rome to head to the Cinque Terra on the Italian Riviera. I'm excited for a break from some of the fast paced touring and all the walking and stairs (oh the stairs) we've been doing.