Venice [sigh]

I saw so much in Italy. I experienced so many things. It was wonderful from start to finish. I'm going to just tell you about my last two days in Italy then I'll move onto the best part of my trip....Israel. We took a train to Venice, arriving late afternoon. Every form of ground transportation ends in the same location. The only forms of travel in Venice is walking or boat. We took a water taxi to San Marco where our hotel was. I was in shock at how unbelievably beautiful Venice is. It truly is like the movies. The buildings are old and some would say in need of a good paint job. But when I looked at the buildings, I could see only history and beauty. The "flaws" add character to the place.

In Italy, they refer to Venice as Venezia. Well, Jessica kept saying, "I can't believe we're in Venezuala!" That's my sister :)

Now the day we arrived was the last day of Carnival, the night before Ash Wednesday. They had a masquerade theme. Everyone dresses in costumes and masks. Traditionally, this was to allow freedom of expression without revealing identity. It was to allow the different classes to intermingle. Apparently, they wanted to be able to do as they please without any repercussions and no one knowing their identity.


The costumes were extravagant and beautiful. Some of them had this Marie-Antoinette-flair...powdered wigs 2 ft high and massive ball gowns. However, after only a few moments in the sea of people I became very uneasy. Alcohol was flowing heavily. The masks dispersed of many inhibitions, but if any inhibitions were left the alcohol finished them off. Add to that, everyone was masked and speaking a foreign language. In my exhausted state, I became stressed, and when one man grabbed a hold of my shoulder and began following me for a good while I began to panic. In typical Tanya fashion, tears of fear were shed intermixed with laughter because I was crying in the middle of Venice over something foolish. The masked man finally backed off at that point, and I slowly began to relax. This is not a picture of the masked man but you can definitely see why I got a little freaked out.

Outside of that moment, it was an interesting experience. The costumes were worth seeing. Plus, they had entertainment at the center of the square. I turned to a friend and said "we're getting to hear opera in Italy!"

The next day was so much better. Every Venetian was hungover, so we had the place to ourself. If you've seen one part of Venice, then you've pretty much seen all of it. It's small walkways in between buildings, random bridges, and lots of water. Many people in my group became bored easily, but I loved it more and more. I wanted to pull out an easel and my paint and sit for days. So beautiful. We went on a gondola at night. I went with Jess and Brandon then another couple, Sarah and Eric. Before you feel bad for me having to be the fifth wheel on a romantic starlit gondola ride in Venice just keep in mind the gondolier was hot! Sarah tried to say something to me during it and I said "ssh...I'm pretending you guys aren't here ha."


The gondolier told us about how Venice used to have only one bridge. Everyone had to use boats for transportation. Within the last twenty years or so, they've built more--somewhere around 400+ bridges. The one original bridge, the Rialto, is said to be a magical bridge. When you cross under it, if you kiss, you will marry the one you kissed. I kissed the gondolier. Just kidding! ha

We left Venice for Israel with a random stop in Latvia, but hey now I can say I've been to Riga, Latvia and seen the frozen Baltic Sea. I can't wait to tell you all about my adventures in Israel..every step I took...from the tops of mountains to the bottoms of the valleys, the Dead Sea to the Galilee and everything in between.

the good fight

Rome is the city of seven hills...one of them being Palatine Hill. This is where Caesar's palace is located. Once we were near the ruins of Caesar's palace we read Luke 2 where it talks about how Caesar sent out an order to tax the provinces. This was the decree that affected Mary and Joseph and had them traveling to Bethlehem.

Of course each new emperor wanted to add on to the previous one's home, so there was more than one palace on this hill. We were able to visit the portions of Caesar Augustus' home and the house that belonged to his wife Livia (she had her own next door). Brandon realized that the Caesar's palace in Vegas wasn't quite authentic. It was so amazing to look and see the frescoes painted on the walls knowing that they date back to the time of Christ. Frescoes is a type of painting or mural. It's painted on wet plaster and just becomes part of the wall. My pictures didn't do them justice.

This is also the place where we read II Timothy 4. This chapter is where Paul is saying his final good-byes. He says, "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith..." (II Tim. 4:6-7) 

We don't know the exact location, but we knew he was sentenced to death on that hill. We walked down the road, the Via Sacra, that he would have traveled to his death. It was sobering.

The bottom of this hill is where the ancient Roman Forum was located. This is where Paul was imprisoned. This is also the location of Julius Caesar's murder and burial place.

At the end of this road is the Arch of Titus. Titus was a military hero. He was the man responsible for the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, which I saw only a few days later. In celebration of the Temple's destruction, this arch was built. A section of the arch portrays men carrying off menorahs and other goods from Temple Mount. 

We also visited Pompeii and Herculaneum, near modern day Naples. These were cities located at the bottom of Mt. Vesuvius, the volcano that erupted in AD 79 and destroyed both cities. Pompeii was buried in volcanic ash. This preserved the entire city. Herculaneum experienced a little more damage because of volcanic rock, but still was preserved well. I loved exploring these cities. They were frozen in time. You could still see the ruts where chariots had worn down the rock in the roads. It was an amazing experience. 

alice.

Some of you know and others are unaware, but a friend of mine, Alice Morse, was killed in a car accident last Thursday night. We celebrated her life and said our final good-byes to her tonight. I've kind of been at a loss for words this week concerning Alice. I just haven't found the right ones to say. We weren't close friends, but we were in close contact for two of the three years I've known her. Alice was a beautiful, beautiful woman. She had the most beautiful smile that just lit up the room. She had this voice that was very gentle and angelic. I remember her singing constantly when she lived across the hall from me. It was mostly this Regina Spector song over and over again. She had just applied at this school in Colorado. As an audition for the school's music program she submitted these three DVDs of her singing. Those DVDs were the special music tonight. I just looked up at the screen and there she was in her favorite black pea-coat singing so beautifully. Every so often she'd look into the camera and flash her huge smile. At the end of the third one, she looked up from the piano and into the camera, smiled then the picture faded. I'll never forget that. That's how I'll always remember Alice.

My heart has been absolutely broken this week thinking about what her mother and her brother and family must be going through. Her mother was the first one I saw walking into the church tonight. She was welcoming and comforting people as they walked in. We were talking about how beautiful Alice was and her mother jokingly complained about how Alice never looked anything like her and we all laughed. Then during the service, Alice's mother got up to speak a little about Alice and I was struck by the similarities in Alice and her mom. They were identical. Maybe not in appearance, but Alice was always the one who put others first. She ignored her own hurt in order to help someone else who was hurting. She was there to encourage others when encouragement was needed. She was so sensitive to the needs of others, rarely thinking of herself. On the way home from the funeral, my friend Aimee and I were talking. Aimee said Alice possessed this quality that was both gentle and powerful. I saw that in her mom tonight. It was such an encouragement to me.

I know if given the opportunity she would not return to this earth. Where she is now is far better than anything we have to offer. Her friend, Erin, said tonight "she was supposed to sleep at my house that night, instead she laid her head at the feet of Jesus." There is so much hope in the knowledge that she is now in the presence of her Savior worshiping at His feet. Oh, I'm envious.

Good-bye, Alice. You'll be greatly missed.

the pope's house

While in Rome, I was able to visit Vatican City. It was just like the movies! As soon as I walked through the large pillars that surround it I was immediately transported into the movie Angels and Demons. I was waiting for Tom Hanks or Ewan McGregor to run past me at any moment. Of course, it didn't happen.

I was standing in the line to enter St. Peter's with Jessica and her boyfriend, Brandon. She kept complaining about having to go to the bathroom so Brandon told her that they only allows Catholics to pee in Vatican City...something to do with “holy water.” Well, I laughed and moved on. About 15 minutes later, Jess started complaining again. “I can't believe they won't let you pee unless your Catholic! That's wrong!” Brandon and I lost it. Couldn't believe she had actually fallen for that one.

Now St. Peter's has the tallest dome in the world and is the highest point in all of Rome. It is illegal for anything else in Rome to be taller. They allow you to go to the top of the dome which was designed and created by Michelangelo. Now, I love art so naturally when given the opportunity for an up close view of his work while seeing the best view in Rome, I took it. It was 500+ steps total. You could walk up all of them or take an elevator part way then walk up 200+ steps. I took the elevator. The elevator lets you off on the roof level just below the dome. You can walk inside of the dome and see the church below you and the breath-taking mosaics on the walls.

It was so beautiful and I would have been content with that and I wish I had stayed there instead of going forward. There was this staircase. It was fine at first, then it started getting more narrow. Then it turned into what felt like an endless spiral staircase followed by an even more narrow staircase. Now at some point I became a little winded which is only natural but I did not notice because this is when the claustrophobia set in. There was no way I could turn around. There were people in front of me and people behind me. I couldn't find any escape. My shoulders literally touched both walls. I thought I was going to die in there. Then the outside wall started slanting inward causing everyone to walk through sideways. FINALLY it opened up a little and I was able to sit down and try and bring my heart rate down. I had no clue how much further it was, but the next stair case was the killer. It was a spiral staircase with no room for a handrail. It was so steep that it was literally a spiral ladder. They had a rope hanging down the middle for people to basically pull themselves up. Then it opened up to the outside. Praise Jesus! I had just experienced the worst case of claustrophobia I had ever had. It didn't help that there was a kid somewhere behind me who was voicing my fears at high decibels. There were so many people on top of the dome. From what I can recall, the view was amazing but once I recovered from the claustrophobia, I was slapped in the face with a fear of heights I was unaware I had. This picture is from the top taken by Ryan Gallo since I was a little incapacitated. Oh, it was a traumatic experience! Of course the exit was a mirror image of the entrance, and the mere thought of returning to those hallways from hell sent me back into hysterics. But I did not scream like the little boy behind me and eventually I made it through. I survived the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. I need a t-shirt now.

We went inside the church next and I was astonished by all the abundance of marble and gold. I have never seen anything more extravagant. We even caught part of a mass. St. Peter's is definitely a beautiful place to visit, but I still had trouble separating it from Angels and Demons. I just kept seeing McGregor's character on the steps near Peter's tomb or running through the massive church or underground where all the pope's tombs are located. It would have added another interesting level to the church if it had actually happened.

That night Jess, Brandon, Jill, and I ate at this wonderful restaurant called Bibo Bar. There was this small older waiter that continually walked through the restaurant singing in Italian. It was exactly like I had always pictured...except I looked into Jill's eyes instead of the eyes of some mysterious man. Not quite the same ha. The food was divine though. We walked back to our hotel and past the enormous Vittorio Emanuele Monument, passed the ancient Roman Forum. The Colosseum lit up in front of us. So magical.

Now at this point, these places really have little Biblical significance, but as I continue to blog about my experiences I will point out the places that do especially when I get to Palatine Hill in Rome.  

when in Rome...

As many of you know, I returned from my trip a week ago. I spent almost a week in Rome, a couple days in Venice then headed to Israel for a week. Over the next few blogs, I'll try to share my experiences in detail.

I've always dreamed of going to Italy...ever since I was a little girl. I was so fascinated by their culture. So when we landed, I actually teared up a little. I was so thankful that God had made this small dream of mine come true. Buon giorno, Italia!

We stayed literally two blocks from the Colosseum. It was so beautiful, especially lit up at night. The first night, a few of us visited Trevi fountain. Jill and I paused to take a picture and turned around and our group was gone. They had crossed a busy intersection without us and we couldn't get across. We watched as our group turned a corner and disappeared. We finally made it through the intersection and just took off in a run to catch up. We couldn't see them. We had no idea where the fountain was or where our group was, but we just kept running. Finally we caught up with them like a mile down the road, but I won't soon forget the fear I felt being lost my first night in Rome with Jill ha. The fountain was beautiful. Now what you are supposed to do at Trevi fountain is throw a coin in. There is a method though. You have your back to the fountain and use your right hand, throwing over your left shoulder. Throwing in one coin will grant you a return trip to Rome. Throwing in two coins promises adventure. Throwing in three coins is a guarantee that you'll find true love. So naturally, I did all three. Then just before I left I threw in three more...just in case.

The next morning we visited the Colosseum. Such an amazing structure. To put it into perspective...today's football stadiums are modeled after the Colosseum. Rows and rows of stadium seating. The more powerful and wealthy you were, the closer you're seat was...outside of women and slaves--they were all seated at the top.

 I know to many of you this may come as a shock, but I really get into the gladiator movies. I think they are fun to watch, but the one thing that few point out is that most of the lives that were lost in the Colosseum were those of Christians. It is horrifying to see the size of the Colosseum and know that it was once filled to capacity with bloodthirsty people shouting and begging to see graphic bloodshed. I heard a rumor that a man witnessed the gore of the games and shouted for it to stop. He yelled in the name of Jesus Christ, make this stop! The crowd turned on him and threw him into the center of the arena. The moment he was killed the crowd went quiet. The rumor is he was the last person to ever die in the Colosseum. The entertainment aspect was gone for them.

Many Christians lost their lives in the center of that arena. However, today, a cross stands at the middle point signifying who won in the end.

I'll share more throughout the next few blogs and try to share a few pictures here and there as well. This trip was amazing. I love history and I love the Bible. This trip made my Bible come to life and I hope to share that with you over the next few weeks.