July 24th 2007 - Dinner and a Coloseaum, all in dirty clothes

1:00 am (late Tuesday night) – my trip

So we just got done eating with Grace. Its been an exhausting day. I am about as tired as I have been in as long as I can remember.

We started off the day a little earlier than yesterday, we left the house at 8:45. That put us in Rome about 10am. We walk out of the subway station and BAM! There is the coliseum. Its so big. Its prettier than in all the pictures.

However, the line was ridiculously long so we pulled out our trusty guidebook, which had just cooked us breakfast and washed our clothes all by itself, and it told us to take a right and get tickets up the hill as both tickets cover the same thing.

We did.

We returned.

We skipped the 2 hour line.

YAH! Go Rick Steves for time saving tips! However, the unfortunate part for me was when Bwige said that Rick Steves was her man. Sad day.

When we got inside, we rented these little radios where you can punch in a number and it will tell you about what you are looking at. Well the guidebook said to bring your own 2 pair of headphones and a splitter so you can save money on them. It worked well (after exchanging the first pair). It was fun, because we had to be close because of the range of the wires, so we walked all through the coliseum, arm in arm, smiling our big goofy ‘We’re in love, get over it’ smile. Lots of fun.

OK, the Romans were nuts. Like, ‘I’m rich and I can do whatever crazy thing I want’ nuts. Actually, they were, ‘I have lots of slaves and I can do any crazy thing I want’ nuts.

It took 40,000 slaves to built this monstrosity, which was actually originally called the Falvian Theater, and a solid half of them died in the building. Talk about disposable resources!!! At one point, they wanted to commemorate a whale washing up on the beach, so they built a whale on the inside of the theater. Sometimes they would have naval battles on in the theater. YES!! Full naval battles with big ships. Which meant they had to flood the center after waterproofing the floor. Just wow.

I cant wait for the panoramic to turn out from this place.

Next we went and got very frustrated with the internet. We tried to look up our baggage information on delta’s website and they just didn’t have it in the system. Arg.. We also tried calling a few places and it didn’t seem to work. The Italian phone systems are proving to be very frustrating.

After that didn’t work, We decided to find a hotel to help us to call because none of the phones we were trying were working. We would try and call and it would give us funky Italian messages that were too complex for Bwige’s basic language skills. This wonderful hotel called the Delta office in Rome for us which transferred us to the baggage center in the US. The guy on the phone gave us good news! Our bags were still in New York! On top of that, they didn’t know exactly where in New York they were so he had us describe the contents and what it looked like and stuff… on top of that, and remember we are on an international call on the hotel’s tab, his computer dies and we sit there for over 10 minutes waiting for him to restart it. Finally, we don’t want to overstay our welcome at the hotel so we tell him we need to go. He takes another 10 minutes to find the number for the Rome airport for us. The 2^nd worst custom service I have ever dealt with.

Fantastic, now, after 3 days in Rome, when our bags were supposed to be delivered yesterday, they have lost them. We go outside and I hold Brigette as she breaks down into tears from frustration. Any company/person that makes my wife cry is blacklisted. Delta was not on our good list before, now they have dug themselves deeper.

After calming her down and getting her some yummy coconut gelato, we decided to spend the rest of the day on palatine hill. It was beautiful! Basically, palatine hill is made up of the ruins of the palaces of past emperors. Nice gardens, beautiful houses, one emperors private chariot racing stadium… yah. We got some good picture there.

Next, we went to the forum, which is where the senators used to walk around. I don’t know much more about it, but it was nice. However, all the walking was killing our feet. Between the hiking around all day long and the 20 pound pack, I was having trouble walking. However, that didn’t stop the day from being over.

Still in wearing the same pair of clothes from Saturday, we searched around for shop to buy something new. Unfortunately, things were closing around then, so I ran down about 15 blocks quickly looking for a place to buy some underwear. I found several. Unfortunately, because they were shops in the nice part of town, they wanted about $35+ for a pair. I can go one more day with old undies for that price! Anyways… my feel were about falling off. I was limping all the way back to Bwige, who I had left at a girl clothes shop to buy herself some stuff. The only time my feet have ever hurt that much was when I was in philmont. The last day we were coming back and it was a long hike down the mountain and I ended up with a blister literally 2 inches long on my foot. Unable to make it home, I practically collapsed on the Spanish steps and we sat for about 15 minutes and ate some bread we had bought earlier in the day (enough to hold us till dinner).

When we finally got back to Cesano, our wonderful host Grace had made us dinner! And how tasty it was! The first course was spaghetti with bell peppers in it. YUMMY. Even better was the eggplant parmesan with the next course. Wow, it’s the best I’ve ever had. As for the wine… well… Bwige liked it, but I’m still learning. I drank what was put in front of me and water after that. Grace was such a wonderful host I didn’t want to say anything bad about her expensive wine and offend her. I’ll learn to like wine eventually…

We talked about a lot of different things. It was fun because she speaks pretty good English, but her husband Marco doesn’t. So I can use my elementary knowledge of Spanish to talk to him and since the language is close, eh can understand enough of what I said. Bwige did much better at talking to both of them. We discussed how the big stores were coming in and killing all the mom and pop stores. I didn’t know they had that problem here also.

We also talked about the differences between Catholicism and Protestantism. I was saying how in Catholicism, you are saved by the sacraments as opposed to by faith. I talked about how that we believe that good works don’t save you, but simply show that you are saved. Just as me loving my wife does not make me married to her, but shows that I am married to her. Then, because it was almost midnight, Marco said that we should change the subject because it was too late to be discussing deep things. I laughed and said I was a night owl so my brain was just now waking up. I hope the conversation went well…

Well… time for bed… laterz.

July 23rd, 2007 - Rome 101

11:00 pm - my trip
Today was amazing! We started off by the Spanish Steps. The very first thing we did was to get some gelato and eat it on the Spanish steps. We got a man from LA to take our picture. Haha, in order to avoid my camera being stolen, I have decided that when I want my picture taken to only hand it to people I can run faster than! Anyways, then we went and found some pizza for lunch, it was so good! Mine had oregano, basil, tomatoes and mozzarella slices. Bwiges had a pizza with tomato chunks, basil, and crushed red papper (no cheese). Both were wonderful. WE sat and talked with a guy from Canada who worked on a Canadian cruise line who was sailing through Disney around the Mediterranean.

Then we went into a few churches that were amazing! They are so big and awe inspiring! When I see these incredible works of architecture that are 4 stories tall on the inside and I consider our plain little sanctuaries, it is no wonder to me that Americans have such a lack of awe for God. Our churches reflect it. Anyways, one of the churches had the head of St. John the Baptist… kinda weird.

Next, we saw the Trevi fountain. WOW. Its so big! Its like… .huge… like… half the length of a football field! Yah… wow.. the pictures just don’t do it justice. I think its been my favorite thing so far. I don’t know why, I just really like it.

We also saw the Victor Emannual monument. That was even bigger than the Trevi. Its like the size of the Texas state capitol. Yah… big… and its just a memorial to all the unknown soldiers. Yah… enormous. Those little dots in the picture are people…

Last we saw the Pantheon. Of all the thins I saw today I am initially least impressed. Its just a big dome. The dome is very large but its just a done. Again, the pictures wont give you a good perspective. However, when the age of the building is considered, I am much more impressed. Its ANCIENT… like 2500 years old (I don't remember exactly).

That’s about it… we wandered and saw some other stuff… all in all, amazing. Go Rome!

July 22nd, 2007 - Squished Spanish Spirits & Rejoycing in Rome

11:00 am – my trip
We are now sitting in the airport in Madrid. Our spirits are pretty flat at the moment. We got off the plane just fine but when we went to pick up our luggage it did not come down the belt. After about 30 minutes of waiting, we went to the lost baggage desk and they said that it was still in New York. However, they are supposed to deliver it tomorrow to Grace’s house in Rome. So no huge deal as long as we get it. It just makes the flight to Rome a bit lighter and faster.

We wanted travel into Madrid for lunch, but because of the hour travel time and possible traffic coming back, we decided to walk the streets around the airport and find some food. No luck. It is a maze of highways that are not easily crossable. We we headed back after about 15 minutes of being lost int eh concrete maze. On the way back, I stepped on a loose man-hole cover and it supprised bwige who turned quickly and twisted her ankle. Its not really bad, but it hurts. Although its not swelling so it shold be fine.

So now we sit in the Madrid airport, we are going to sleep a few hours before our flight to Rome. Hopefully things will get better.

9:15 pm – my trip
WE ARE IN ROME!! YAH!!! We are at Grace’s house and about to go to bed. She is the lady we are staying with. We met her on CouchSurfing, a sight that matches people traveling with people who want to host travelers. Its free to stay with someone. Just however many nights you stay with people, you let that many people stay with you. It seems like it should work well. we are staying with a mom, dad, and their son. We are very very tired at this point and would be happy with just a floor to sleep on. We have been traveling for 2 days now. As a side note, don’t do the whole ‘book separate tickets and save money’ thing… it does not work. You spend just as much and it takes more time and it’s a pain in the butt!

Anyways, WOW… we don’t get a floor at Grace’s house, we get our own little apartment! It’s a little efficieny with a kitchenette, table, bed, and bathroom. Oh my gosh its amazing! I cant believe its working out so well. Grace is so nice and I cant wait to get to know her more. On top of that, she fixed us dinner! It was tortalini and salad with tuna and tomatoes. Mmmmm… she asked us if we wanted wine and we said yes and so she set a bottle on the table. Bwige poured herself a little but hadn’t taken a drink when Grace came back outside, she was like NO! HAha, bwige poured herself a nice glass of vinegar… mmmmm. So she poured it out and got some of the real wine. The food was wonderful!! I was so proud of bwige! She ate the salad with tuna on it even though she HATES tuna. She said it wasn’t bad either! J We both think its very important to eat what is put in front of you without complaining. If you are allergic, that’s one thing, but otherwise, eat what you are given. First, you don’t know how they prepare it. You may like it! When Matthew was a kid, he hated lasagna but when forced to eat it at Aunt Becky’s house, he loved it so much he had 3 helpings! Also, you should be flexable enough to go with the flow. It can be very rude to eat only what you want to when you want to. You are a guest in their house and should act accordingly. anyways….

Hmm.. what else…. Well… we are tired and its time to go to bed. So…

OH OH OH!! One more thing. On the flight from Madrid, we met this group of Romans going home from a weekend in Madrid. They were SO nice! They talked to us the whole time about the best places to eat and things to do in Rome. Then they aksed us where we were going next and we said the Gargano peninsula and they were like ‘NO NO NO! You must go to Sicily, its so much better!’ So I think we will see Sicily instead. They were so nice. Texas are famed for being friendly… Romans put us to shame.
OK, no really, its time for bed. Goodnighit.

July 21, 2007 - The Adventure Begins

6:30am – my trip
The adventure has begun…. almost. Bwige and I spent all night packing and getting ready (aka we didn’t go to sleep). We left at 3:45 am for her parents house where her wonderful dad gave us a ride to DFW. Our flight is supposed to leave at 7:20 for New York at noon. Then we catch a flight to Madrid at 7:30 pm. This should give us a few hours to wander the streets of NY and have some roasted nuts and hotdogs. mmmmm… NY street food.

After checking in, going through security, and finding the right gate we sat to at our gate, excitedly waiting for our adventure to begin. My cell phone rang. “Thank you for flying Delta. We have an update for your flight. *pause* Your flight has been canceled. You will now leave at noon and arrive at 4:40. Thank you for flying Delta.” So here we sit in the airport with a 5 hour wait for our flight. The good news is that we should still have enough time to catch our flight to Madrid, the bad news is that we won’t get to have yummy NY street food.

I’m not really worried. We will get there when we get there. Now is time to relax and go with the flow. Its not really worth it to freak out. I’m just glad I went to walmart and got enough food for us for a good part of the day. Although… I nibble when I sit… so it may not last.

So here I sit, in front of our plane which is in the gate, where it will sit for 5 more hours. And the cutest girl in the whole world is sleeping beautifully on the ground waiting for our flight. Wow, a more wonderful princess has never graced the floor of DFW!


2:00 pm – my trip
We are en route to JFK. And we had a surprise in store for us – first class! Man, its nice. You get drinks before you take off, and they come around with a little basket of snacks for you to choose from (chips, oatmeal bar, peanuts) instead of the normal ginger cookies. I’ve never flown first class before… its kinda nice

3:00 pm – my thoughts
So Thursday night I spent all night cleaning the house – like from 11pm till 4:30 am. I could have just given it a once-over and been done with it, but I knew that it would thrill my wife if I cleaned well. So I gave the whole house a good spring cleaning.
I wanted to please Bwige. I could not wait till she woke up… I wanted to see her jaw drop when she saw it.
Well I was thinking later that morning about how that seems to be what God wants from us. He wants us to be so in love with him that we just long to please him. He wants us to go out of our way and lose sleep to show our love to him.
I want my heart to be so in love with Christ and so grateful for the fact that he saved us from eternal death that waking up early for him would be a privilege and a joy instead of a struggle. Isn’t that how we should treat God if we truly love him?

?:00 – my trip
Sitting in the airplane, somewhere over the Atlantic ocean. We are traveling 575 m/h ground speed at 35,000 feet. Outside the plane it is a toasty 1º F. I have no idea what time it is. I just know that I will arrive in Madrid in a few hours and I can’t sleep. But oh well, I can sleep when I get home! I am excited. It is just now beginning to sink in… I am going to be in Europe.

Yes, we are alive

hey guys, we are alive, we just havent had much internet access. basically, weve been running a bit crazy becuase we still dont have our luggage (its somewhere in New York). So weve been trying to take care of that and get clothes (we wore the same thing for 4 days...).

Other than that, we are doing amazing. The food is WOW and the sights are breathtaking. Tonight we are staying in a hostel with net access so you will get up update late tonight (about 5 or 6pm your time)

love yall much!