I have a tendency to let my imagination run wild. Especially when it comes to some of my desires. Not necessaritly me true heart desires but those fleshy desires of a typically human. In many cases, if I ever get the chance to fulfill my desire, the experience is some what of a let down because I had such high expectations. For example, donuts seem to be a common staplewhere I work. Prior to starting my Keto diet back in March of this year, it was difficult to pass by a box of these deep-fried, glazed pastries. And when I did give in to my desire, I would immediately regret my decision and wonder why I gave in to a less-than noteworthy guilty pleasure. I mean, we’re not talking about homemade french pastries here. Just your average, local donut chain. But in my mind it was everything I wanted at the moment. For this reason, part of me was skeptical about traveling to Italy. I have wanted to travel to Italy for as long as I can remember. I had several images in my mind and high expectations of what Italy would be like. Most of my expectations were built off the images of movies, songs, books, or the experiences of others. But getting mixed reviews from several people who had traveled there began to cloud my desire as our departure grew closer. I am happy to say, Italy (at least Rome) has not disappointed. I ADORE THIS CITY!

For anyone who has never been on an airplane for more than two or three hours at a time, let me just tell you that the thirteen hours it took us to get here were EXHAUSTING! I am the type of person who can sleep anywhere at any given time so I wasn’t too worried about getting rest on the plane. My husband, Tim, on the other hand is the type of person who never naps and has a hard time sleeping in unfamiliar places. Though I slept about eight or nine of the thirteen hours we traveled, it was only in about thirty or forty minute increments. Our longest stretch of travel was eight and a half hours from Atlanta to Amsterdam. Awful! The flight was smooth, the flight attendants were pleasant and the food was actually decent but those main cabin seats are for the birds. Next time I will spend the extra money on first-class. Even with the help of ZzzQuil, an eye mask, and sleep music, Tim slept a total of about 2 hours. Lucky for him Delta had a great selection of movies. Once we were checked in our room we had every intention on setting out to explore the city but we crashed and burned. You truly don’t know jet lag until you’ve experienced it.

Recharged and cleaned-up we were ready to refuel. We found the closest restaurant and had our first taste of authentic Italian pizza and cold cuts. Tim said it was the best meal he has ever had and he could possibly eat it ever day we are in Italy.  I on the other hand was disappointed, especially with the pizza. I love pizza! Even my new-found favorite, keto-friendly cauliflower pizza or almond crust pizza. Italian pizza is very different from American pizza. I will try pizza here again, but so far it’s just not my cup of tea.

We spent our first day just getting the lay of land and resting up for our big day yesterday. We hit the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Colosseum, and the Roman Forum all before 6pm. Our favorite part of the tour was the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. The history and magnitude are unreal! We had great tour groups. One thing we love most about travelling is running into people who live in our general area. We met several people from Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama. Of course, this is always an opportunity for Tim to talk college football. We even met a couple in our tour group who lived in Augusta and when we told them we lived in Jefferson, northeast of Atlanta, they responded that they didn’t know the town but wondered if we knew where Winder was because they have friends who live there. Go figure! It’s a small world after all.

I was eager to visit the Sistine Chapel as a holy experience but the crowd was so intense it made it feel as just another museum tour. It is supposed to be a place of silence but it’s near impossible when people are shoulder to shoulder from wall to wall. The guards were yelling “silenzio!” over a loud-speaker the entire time and ordering everyone to keep moving along the outside perimeter of the crowd, “andiamo!, continua a muoverti!”. Pictures are not allowed to be taken in the Sistine Chapel so there were guards all around us yelling and threatening to take cameras and phones if they saw people attempting to sneak a picture. The Vatican was molto bello! It was absolutely astonishing to see the meticulous detail in every piece of art structure from floor to ceiling, inside and out. Structures and art that were created thousands of years ago. I’m not much of a history buff but it was fascinating to learn about the rise and fall of the Roman empire, the persecution of Christians, the legalization of Christianity, and the Roman rituals that are still practiced today. Rome is rich with history and tradition.

It was around 3pm yesterday and when Tim and I were standing in the Colosseum I remembered  that it was the day our 10-year wedding anniversary. I guess that’s to be expected considering how busy we were all morning.  Of course our anniversary was one of the main reasons we booked this trip but in the hustle and bustle it just slipped our minds. We celebrated each other with on the most romantic night’s I have ever had.

We had a romantic candlelit dinner at a rooftop restaurant with a view of the Roman city. We ate tons of pasta, drank local wine, and listened to some cheesy jazz music. We laughed at all the smokey, jazzy lounge music renditions of songs they were playing like Prince’s Purple Rain, Gwen Stefani’s Don’t Speak, and R.E.M’s Losing My Religion. It was entertainment at its finest. Later in the evening we sat outside a Caffè laughing and chatting with the staff about life in Rome and enjoying one of our favorite pass-times, people watching. I thoroughly enjoyed and cherised celebrating our past 10 years of being joined as husband and wife. Marriage is something that means more to me than just a shared last name, vows, and someone you come home to everynight. Marriage for us is not just a human convention or agreement between two parties. Marriage to us is a covenant we made before God to love, respect, and cherish each other all the days of our lives. The bible compares Christ’s love for us to marriage several times. Exodus 5:25 says, “For husbands, this means love your wife just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her.” Tim makes marriage very easy. We don’t always get it right but I couldn’t have been blessed with a better parnter. I’m so glad that God sent me a man who is strong, faithful, loyal, hard-working, devoted, and fun-loving. He is an exceptional husband and an even better father to our two children. He teaches me so much, builds me up, and encourages me to be the best version of myself. We have made so many memories together and I am excited to see what memories we will make tomorrow. Ciao for now!