Rome Italy

    We had an amazing week in Rome, Italy, attending a humanitarian conference with fellow missionaries from the Central Europe Humanitarian Mission. The conference took place on Tuesday and Wednesday, with missionaries from Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania, Turkey, Italy, Germany, and of course, us from Bosnia.

We arrived in Rome on Monday afternoon, giving us some time to explore the city before the conference began. With Monday evening and all of Tuesday free, we made the most of the opportunity to take in the sights of this incredible place.

  

This place is so amazing. So many Roman Ruins. I always try to imagine people living during this time.

We ended our first day with the first of many pizzas

 

                       

I love these pine trees all over the city, all the beautiful churches and these cute little cars          

The Trevi fountain was just a little crazy crowded.  We were not able to throw a coin in but fortunately theyn have the conference's every 6 months so we will coming back.  

We took a double decker bus tour around the city. It looks like we had the bus to ourselves but it was full of people right after I took this picture. 

Just steps from the Colosseum, we explored the Basilica of San Clemente, three layers of history in one place. A 12th-century church built over a 4th-century basilica and a 1st-century Roman home. Ancient mosaics above. A must see if you ever are in Rome. 

We stayed at a cozy little place called Boma Country House It was quiet, super charming, and a nice break from the busy city. The name was correct, even though it was only about 20 minutes outside of downtown Rome, we were in the country surrounded by beautiful green fields.

The humanitarian training took place in a conference room on the beautiful grounds of the Rome Temple. We have weekly Zoom meetings with the all the missionaries, it was so fun to finally meet everyone in person. 

Charles' gave a presentation on our  greenhouse projects. It’s been such a success that we’re now planning a summit this summer to share it with other countries and explore whether it could work in those countries as well.

And, of course, they spoiled us with endless amounts of delicious food...pasta, pizza, and more pasta and pizza. Who could complain? Maybe my scale. Seriously becoming a problem

 

On Tuesday evening they arranged a tour for us to see thus beautiful church and some catacombs. A young organist was playing in the church while we were there. It was so beautiful.

  

The Rome Temple and visitor center are absolutely stunning. We had the opportunity to attend a session on Wednesday morning, and the inside was even more beautiful. 

The city was packed, not just with tourists, but with nuns from all over the world and crowds of people everywhere. Rome is always busy, but this week felt especially crowded, with Catholics gathering in anticipation of the announcement of the new pope. There were rumors circulating that the next pope might be from the Philippines or Africa, so we were all surprised when the announcement came: the first American pope! 

People kept asking us, “Are you so excited the new pope is from America?” 

When the white smoke appeared, we could hear fireworks going off around the city. 

It was such an exciting and historic time to be in Rome.

After the conference, we stayed an extra day so we could do a bit more sightseeing with our friends the Muellecks. We took a day tour to Hadrian’s Villa and Tivoli Gardens, located in Tivoli. Hadrian;s Villa was built in the 2nd century AD as a retreat for the Roman Emperor Hadrian. It’s a mix of Roman architecture, gardens, and ruins. I had never heard of this place. It was amazing

Our tour guide said the poppies only bloom for about 10 days a year, and we happened to be there at just the right time. They were everywhere! It reminded me of California’s super bloom after a good rainy season. So beautiful!

4o         .       

Charles was getting inspired for his next mosaic tile project. The floors we saw were in guest bedrooms  with plain black-and-white tiles. The more important guests got the colorful mosaics!

             

Spring is everywhere...love it!

After a lunch of more delicious pasta, we spent the 2nd half of the day taking a tour of the Villa d'Estate and gardens. It was built in the 1500"s All the detais were amazing  

I’m usually the one behind the camera, so I rarely end up in any of the photos. I joked with Charles that my blog is starting to look like a documentary of his mission! So I handed him the camera and made him take this picture of me, he actually did a pretty good job!

 

It was great day. The weather was perfect. We went with our friends Annina and Robert Muelleck. We didn't get a photo of the 4 of us. But we did take pictures of each other.

On our last day we did a tour of the water pumps under the Trivi Fountains. We got pictures of everyone this time. Our new friends the Lamb's and the Muellecks. Charles checked on family tree and he is related to these Lambs but it is from the 1600's 8th cousins. It was another great week!