The Temple of Vesta

One of my favorite Roman traditions is the tradition of the sacred fire of The Temple of Vesta. Vesta is the Goddess of the Hearth and her role in Ancient Rome was to protect the city as the vestal virgins kept the fire of the hearth burning bright. This tale of Rome made me think about how important woman are in the home. Their work, though at times tireless and mundane, may be the very thing that protects their home and their city from calamity and ruin.

*It was very difficult to tell what was what in The Forum. There were no signs describing the ruins. When I took this picture I thought it was The Temple of Vesta but when I checked on Wikipedia it showed the temple as this. I think the temple is in the top, left-hand corner of the photo--above the bunch of trees*

Ancient Rome

The Colosseum 70-72 A.D.What I found most interesting about the Colosseum is that it had running water and toilets. My great-grandma didn't have a toilet until the 1970's! The Colosseum's complicated design and enormity immortalize the Roman Empire. Palatine Hill (the birthplace of Rome) 1000 B.C.After visiting The Colosseum we wandered around the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. Palatine Hill, with it's olive orchards and ruins of Ancient Roman palaces and temples was the quintessence of romance (no pun intended). The Trajan Column (113 A.D.)I loved our day visiting Ancient Rome. I found the order, the splendor, the traditions of this ancient civilization absolutely intriguing. One part of the day that I remember fondly is walking through a little grocery store outside The Colosseum. Jim picked out a few European cheeses that we'd never tasted and bought a baguette of bread. I chose some grapes. The food was so delicious. We wandered around Ancient Rome sharing our sack lunch.

Villa Borghese

Villa Borghese- a lovely park on the northern bench of Rome. This large public park has playgrounds, a lake, a zoo and miles of beautiful roads for bicycling or segwaying; not to mention the picturesque views of the city. We rode around the park for a while and then strolled back down to the city (via the Spanish Steps) to enjoy round three of gelatto. We just couldn't get enough gelatto (notice the mint chocolate chip is gone. Bummer.)

Michealangelo and the Vatican City

The Piata
Hundreds of years after his death, the creative energy and the ingenious spirit of Michelangelo can be felt throughout the Vatican City . His tireless quest for perfection and his assertion of new ideas that empowered the human spirit left me in awe.
During my humanities class in college I learned about Michelangelo's Piata. As a college student, I was impressed with the beauty and insight of the work. Looking at the sculpture in St. Peter's Basillica left me in tears. I am amazed that a young man could have the heart and tenderness to sculp this scene. It is Christmas and Easter in one. It is about the salvation of mankind and the nobility of womanhood. Michelangelo captures the Mother's heart and the Son's sacrifice in a way that brought me to tears. The Piata is one of my favorite works of art.
The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
I was most impressed that in spite of the conflict and contention that were a part of Catholism during his day, Michelangelo was able to find and understand God in a way that had never been expressed before. In The Creation of Adam, Michelango has captured God's strength and willing, sincere desire to help his children. He has also captured Adam's weak but faithful effort to reach out to God for his influence. Having felt weak and desperate for God's help, I can relate to Michelangelo's interpretation of the creation.
The dome of St. Peter's Basilica, the work of Michelanglo. Favorite Photos of The Vatican City:
Paul, the Patron Saint of Rome.
Rome, from the top of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica
The School of Athens by RaphaelThe Swiss Guard

Istanbul, Turkey

This fall I traveled to Rome with Jim. On the way there we had a 10 hour lay over in Istanbul. We arrived at 5 a.m. Istanbul time, which was 11 a.m. Seoul time. Wide awake and ready for lunch we wandered the predawn streets of Istanbul. When the city finally woke up, we toured the Topkapi Palace where the Kasikci Diamond is on dispay. This diamond is 86 karats and has a fascinating history. In the year 1669, a very deprived man found a beautiful stone in the waste pile of Egrikapi in Istanbul. He bargained it to a spoonmaker for 3 wooden spoons. The spoonmaker sold the diamond to a jeweller for 10 silver coins. The diamond came to be known as the spoonmaker's diamond. This palace also houses the the enormous solid gold and diamond candlesticks, each weighing 48kg.

I knew very little of the Ottoman empire before my trip (I still know very little) but we enjoyed wandering through this palace of delicate opulance.

My Istanbul favorites: the fresh juice, the beautiful Strait of Bosphorus, the Turkish carpets, the honest and friendly people, and being with Jim all day.

Happy 9th Birthday, Anna!

O, Anna! Anna sparkles. She really does. She smiles often and laughs easily. She is an artist at heart and loves color, music, and origami. She plays the piano beautifully, as though she and the piano are one. She does many things well and makes many things look easy. Things seem to naturally go her way. We like to say that she is "charmed"--with one exception, she loses anything and everything. Nevertheless, she is not often distressed and with patience and time the lost item will usually find Anna, again.
Anna is not shy, but polite and demure. She is photogenic and loves to be on film or on stage. Although it is her nature to be gentle and modest, she can and will wrestle with James. This usually starts out with laughter and ends in tears. Anna, has fight in her. It just isn't very often that she feels a desire to use it.
One of Anna's favorite pastimes is playing school with Margaret. She loves to read to her younger siblings. She has also recently acquired a love for reading alone. It began with her discovery of the Percy Jackson series. Late at night, after bedtime, I will hear Anna and Gracie reading together. Their latest book is Goose Girl.
This year we discovered that Anna is a natural basket ball player! This came as a surprise to me. She was also one of the fastest runners in her class.
I love Anna!
Anna is like an apple, simply good for the heart and soul.

27 pieces of luggage, 6 kids, 6,000 miles, 24 hours of travel

and she's smiling!