Rome
Relieved to be safely away from the squeezed quarters of the “jumbo” jet that had been what seemed like our cramped nest for seven hours, we made our way slowly through customs at Rome’s Leonardo daVinci airport. Just outside the exit was waiting the friendly and chatty tour guide who directed us to the luggage collection area. We were told where to meet the group some forty five minutes later for our bus guided tour through the historic sites of Rome with a brief stop at Vatican City. With our body clock still lingering at 3:00am, the 9:00am rendezvous in Rome called for a cup of freshly brewed Italian coffee. Soon we were aboard the bus approaching the ancient city of Rome that we had visited the first time some thirty years before. Whisking by the Baths of Caracalla where we had seen the opera Tosca on a previous visit, then to the road leading to the catacombs and the Apian Way leading to Naples, we were given a glimpse of the Coliseum. With a ninety minute stop at the Vatican, we were thankful for an opportunity to grab a snack and visit a few shops. We had toured the Vatican before and were grateful since the lines on this day’s arrival were showing to deliver a two hour wait for entry. Safely back in the bus after another challenging walk, we were promptly delivered to our embarkation port at Civitavecchia. As we approached our cabin door with key in hand we were grateful that our luggage was waiting there for us to unpack it. Looking out from our balcony as our ship traveled south along the coast of Italy we were filled with awe and gratitude for a safe journey and the opportunity to be visiting places we had never seen before. Sore and throbbing, this possessor of PD was filled with thankfulness for another opportunity at a day filled with challenges accomplished.
It was a charter flight from JFK in New York to Taormina in Sicily, by way of Rome. We had found the cheap flight through a discount travel agency and quickly scooped it up. Our return flight was fifteen days later from Paris, and we had made no hotel arrangements or travel plans within Europe. Passports and backpacks tucked away, we settled into our seats with one carry on stowed securely in the bin above. When we landed in Rome we quickly grabbed our skimpy travel bags and exited to our intended destination, the Eternal City. Until that time I had never been outside of North America and as we stepped onto the street I was mesmerized at the meshing of ancient with the modern. After securing a room in a ragged pensione, we stashed our bags and headed to the Coliseum. The line to enter was short and we quickly made our way to the upper level to observe the vastness of what was once the Roman Empire’s recreational center. As I surveyed the grandeur of the ancient crafted stadium, I thought of my father and how much he would have enjoyed standing where I was, viewing the greatness of this now monument to an empire past. Tears of joy filled my eyes as I whispered; “this is for you, Dad.” The next fourteen days were filled with many more first adventures, each one embraced with a heart of thankfulness for the blessing of experiencing those places and things about which I had only read. There were challenges to getting there and there were challenges in navigating the way through, but perseverance and action toward the goal rendered a cornucopia of memories to last a lifetime. Aches and pains, stiffness and uncontrollable movements present their challenges, but I have learned that perseverance and action toward the goal of healthy living yields a harvest of opportunities far greater than the impediments. Today, thankfulness is the fuel that drives the engine of the vehicle called life!