Before we share any pictures of Venice, we wanted to give you a ‘glampse’ (a word G accidentally coined on this trip … kind of a combination of glimpse and glance) of what our travel days looked like. It was a bit of an ordeal to pack up and move out each time, but we got it down to a science eventually. Thankful for the bag that Sarah Roberts recommended to us (see picture below)… it was a life saver!!
Our #1 rule in traveling is typically to only bring carry-on bags, but with this trip, we had to bring bigger luggage, which made everything more difficult, and made us remember why we never want to do that again :).
We have not done the best job of updating our blog regularly, because we’ve been so busy in London! More on this later though… I wanted to post some highlights from our time in Rome. We had a wonderful time… great food, beautiful churches and awesome ruins in Ostia Antica. Since this is our second trip to Rome, we were able to focus on some of the less well-known sights and we really enjoyed them all.
We’ve also done a total of 5 bike tours on this trip, starting with one throughout Rome. This was such a good idea because we got to see so much more of the city than we did last time we came here. Of course after biking 12 miles over 5 hours, we were pretty tired, not to mention a little sore for the next few days. It was worth it though.
We went out to Ostia Antica one day, and this was my favorite day trip. It was amazing to see the ruins of a city that was once a thriving Roman port with 60,000 people. We didn’t even see it all, and we explored for several hours. Interestingly, there were hardly any other tourists here, so it was a nice respite from the crowds in Rome.
On a sentimental note, we also went back to the same park where we got engaged nearly 6 years ago. We couldn’t go to the same exact spot because there was actually another couple there, but we got pretty close.
I can’t write this post without commenting on our amazing B&B, which was a huge part of what made our trip so successful. We stayed in a B&B apartment/flat that was a 5 min walk to the Vatican, and it was wonderful. Comfy beds, huge breakfast (and they even switched to the kind of yogurt I like after the first day), wonderful/service, and a great location. If you’re going to Rome, we highly recommend it! Here’s the link: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g187791-d497255-Reviews-Al_Colonnato_di_San_Pietro_Bed_and_Breakfast-Rome_Lazio.html
Next post – Venice highlights. Ciao!
At the same park where we got engaged in Rome!Awesome bike tour through RomeLooking cool with our helmets… safety first 🙂Mamertinum – where Peter and Paul were imprisonedshopping in TrastevereAmphitheater in Ostia AnticaSeeing the beautiful ruins from the ancient city of Ostia AnticaMore biking through Rome. Unfortunately there are only pictures of Katie biking because she can’t bike and take pictures at the same time like G can.Ostia Antica
Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. 2 Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. 3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, 4 praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, 5 praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
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I (Garrett) was having a hard time getting started working this morning- I just didn’t feel like it. I wasn’t very motivated and just didn’t feel very good for that matter. I’ve had a bad stomach virus and am basically over it but just not feeling like myself yet.
I started praying, asking God to give me strength and motivation to get through my work today and instantly the command “worship me” came into my mind. So I quit praying and picked up my sweet guitar Gibson is letting me borrow this summer (picture below).
Immediately, a worship song came to mind and I started playing it and singing it. I didn’t know all the words and pretty quickly realized I was basically mumbling lots of the words, but I was starting to feel great and then I truly realized for the first time that it wasn’t the words, it wasn’t my singing that was praising God – it was my playing.
I’ve known the Bible says make a joyful noise on the harp and lyre and tambourine and all that – obviously playing instruments can be praise, but I feel like we put the real emphasis on the lyrics and the singing (which obviously are hugely important and also are praise).
The point is I seamlessly went from one song to another to another, not always knowing all the lyrics, but fully praising God and being surrounded by His presence.
I felt much better and inspired to start working after that. I also felt like I should share it. I don’t know if someone needed to hear any of this?
Anyway, it’s awesome that God hears our prayers, answers our prayers, and through something as simple as 3-4 guitar chords can heal us, restore us, and be glorified at the same time!
We just want to be faithful and continue to share what God is revealing to us while we are on this trip.
Hallelujah, Glory to God – we’ve arrived in Foggy Londontown! This journey has been over a year and a half in the making, and we are pinching ourselves (is this real life?) that we’re finally here. We’ve been dreaming for years about one day living abroad, and thanks be to God alone, we are spending this summer in London. We will be posting throughout the journey, so please, follow along as God continues to reveal Himself and His plans to us while we are here.
We’ve spent the last few weeks traveling through Italy and France on our way here, and will post some highlights of our trip!
Millers in London 