This has been a wonderful few days. I am so grateful for this journey; for the experience, for a great group of new friends, for beautiful views, for faith and for the love of my life.

Some things are hard to put into words but I will try! This trip has been life changing. Everyday I’ve told Kevin that I can’t believe that we are here!

Those that have known me for a long time, know I have had  a complicated past with religion and the church. Most of my life, I ve spent searching for meaning and belonging. Sometimes I have found it in a church, sometimes in nature, sometimes in the faces of those I love. This trip has reawakened me to the Church in some ways. We’ve spent time in so many churches with so much history over the past week. The beauty, craftsmanship and diligence of architects and artists has left me speechless and sometimes teary.  In every space I’ve felt the inspiration, faith and love that has gone into these structures. It is mind boggling and has made me stop and ponder life’s big questíons. I ve walked by the burial sight of Saints- St. Mark’s tomb was particularily moving to me. We spent time in Assissi and the church dedicated to St Francis. The artwork in these structures was amazing. On many cases these structures have taken hundreds of years to complete. And they are still standing hundreds and sometimes thousands of years later.

I fell in love with Venice this week. It is a city of islands that has such a rich and interesting history.  Because there is so much water, with sunlight refracting on it, the city almost glows. It has a uniqueness and a beauty. We took a gondola ride down water filled streets, while listening to an Italian singer. It was truly special. I could not help but smile! The Doge Palace in Venice is covered in mozaics filled with 25 karot gold tiles. The ceiling almost  glows.
We walked across the Bridge of Sighs. This bridge connects the ancient court with the old Venetian prison. Accused would walk across the bridge and get one last look, through iron bars, of the city beyond. If they were lucky they would someday walk back across the bridge to freedom. The Venetians were so far ahead of other civilizations in their day- they had fairer courts, more humane prison systems, checks and balances in their political system. They had many religions living together in harmony.

We visited Lake Maggiore as well this week. We boated to islands and viewed palaces filled with gold framed artwork. We saw a bed that Napoleon once slept in. The story says that he left it dirty and smelly and they never invited him back! We toured amazing gardens filled with roses and flowers of every colour. There were trees and plants from all over the world. They have survived for hundreds of years! I can’t keep a house plant alive for a week!

Through it all, we’ve travelled with a group of amazing people from different countries around the globe- New Zealand, Australia, US and Canada. We ve had so many laughs and we’ve had a few drinks along the way. I am happy to have met them all and getting to know them has truly been a pleasure!

Tomorrow, we head to Pompei and then to Sorrento for a few days before we leave the bus tour in Rome on Saturday. I will be sad to say goodbye.