Greece Day 11-- Rome!!!

We arrived in Athens this morning at Piraeus port where we started our cruise. We ate breakfast and disembarked for the last time and were transferred to the Athens airport for our flight to Rome. On our way to the hotel from the airport we stopped at the Rome temple!!! It was such a beautiful day and I really enjoyed the Visitor's Center even though Bill and I had just been there 1 1/2 years ago in February 2024. As the missionaries were explaining the 12 Apostle statues I noticed the mural above them that I hadn't noticed before when we came. They explained it and I had such a sweet experience as I pondered the meaning of the mural and how we are all His sheep! Even the little lost sheep on the far right of the mural still stood in the ray of light of His love. He knows where ALL of His sheep are--even the lost ones--and we all feel lost or alone at some point in our lives. The ones in the middle are all resting and lying down symbolizing that they are happy and secure in His love and light! The temple is the only place where I feel the Spirit in Rome-- everything else just feels so dirty, dingy and overwhelming. I really enjoyed the air-conditioning and just being able to feel the Spirit so strongly and enjoy the quiet and peaceful atmosphere that was there! We enjoyed walking the temple grounds but didn't have much time as our bus was leaving for the hotel. As we drove away, I immediately regretted not getting a picture in front of the Christus statue but remembered I have a bunch of those from the last time we were here! We were so hungry and so excited for some amazing Italian food tonight, but the dinner we went to was not very good and not even Italian food! The group was so disappointed! After, we went on a walking tour to the Colosseum which was pretty cool all lit up at night-- I've never seen it at night. We watched a guy doing spray paint art of the Colosseum for quite a while. He was pretty good and had an interesting technique! We walked by Constantine's Arch just behind it and got some photos. We got back to our room sweaty and hot-- even walking at night we got sweaty! I think this was the wrong time of year to come to this part of the world, or it has been unseasonably hot for sure!!