My last week in Europe

A view of one of the cities in Cinque Terre

I promised this blog would be lighter... And it is. The week after I left my team in Blegium, I travelled a little extra. Here is a glimpse of my travels:

I went to Cinque Terre, Florence, and Rome in Italy. I travelled with my dear friend Jamie Cheever and a new friend from Jodi, who led our team in Belgium, to Cinque Terre. We were overwhelmed with the beauty and quaint cities. You can hike between 5 small towns that are set along the cliffs of the Ligurian sea.

I spent a day and a half with them and then Jamie and I went toFlorence where we met my parents. We enjoyed seeing the huge statue of David by Michelangelo after waiting in line for almost two hours, but it was more than  worth it. I was overwhelmed by the magnitude and the engineering of this huge statue. After the David statue we were rewarded with a half day tour to a Chianti Vineyard tour. It was beautiful to see the olive and grape trees in the Tuscany region and the wine was awesome. Jamie modeled how to get more than you pay for by enjoying other's leftovers...how dare anyone not drink their wine! Needless to say it was a great time of laughter and awesome company. That evening Jamie headed back to Cinque Terre and I traveled to Rome with my lovely parents.

Jamie enjoying leftovers...

Tuscany

Colosseum

Although it may sound lame to travel with your parents, I absolutely loved it. Fortunately for me, I get along great with my parents and this trip is one that I will remember for a lifetime! In Rome we had an amazing tour of the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and Vatican City with the Sistine chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. We were amazed to see such beauty but especially to learn the history behind everything we saw. Not only that, but to realize that much of what we were seeing was from the beginning of the Christian Church. Everything there seems to scream God's name. Although there has been much history of corruption, hate, and selfishness, the fact that much still remains and that so many people come to see it reminded me that God always triumphs and will make himself know.

My great parents

 My parents left and I had one day on my own. It is super hot in Italy, so I took a train to the Mediterranean for some relief! Despite getting stuck alone on a train by myself and the Italians had to pry the doors open to get me out, the day turned out to be quite an adventure! I would have loved company, but really enjoyed some solitude with God. I swam frantically in the ocean...I have a new respect for triathletes that swim in the ocean, jumped off what I perceived to be a cliff but was more like a rock,  and enjoyed reading on the rocks. I am now preparing to come home and get back to reality. It has been a wonderful trip and opened my eyes to the joy of traveling, but nothing can beat my home where my wonderful family and friends live.

Dad and I in a Roman Plaza