ITALY...il menu..per favore!

Today you are leaving Southern Italy and flying to Rome! What a great day. It is an hour flight and then you take a bus ride for an hour to Hotel Stromboli which is located on Via Marsala.....my mouth is watering! Strombolis, chicken marsala, antipasti, bruschetta, crostinis, gnocchis, insalata, patate frittes, spaghetti, italian cookies and coffee. Italian food has always been our favorite!

There are different words to specify types of restaurants. We say "restaurant" for any type of establishment that serves food, well except when we go to the truck stop! But in Italy the word "ristorante" means the place is "high end." For casual dining, the word is "trattoria" and for a restaurant in a hotel the word is "osteria." If you are going to a restaurant in the country it is called "locanda." Isn't that cool, does it remind you of daddy's sermon with the paper valentine and the different meanings for the word "love!"

Hotel Stromboli is right downtown. Important monuments are within walking distance. This is the first free day you have without a concert at night. This afternoon the schedule says that you are landing, checking in to the hotel, eating lunch and then sightseeing at 4:00. I can't imagine the beauty of the city at night. I wonder what time it gets dark there. I remember being in Belgium during the season that it got dark at 11:00. We were playing volleyball with the team and it was still light at 11:00 at night! Here in Jamaica it gets dark year round by 6:00 at the latest. What a difference. Our evenings are really long here!

I took a virtual tour of Hotel Stromboli and it looks like a lovely place.





You have left the shoe part of the "boot"! You are now just below the knee and I would imagine that the weather has changed and you will see marked differences from where you have been. I am so anxious to see your photos and postcards! What a great tour. You didn't land in one spot and remain there but you have traveled the country! God is so good. He has allowed a remarkable trip for you. I consider it a beautiful gift for your 20th birthday!



Tonight your legs will be tired from walking the city! Rome is the capital and the largest city in Italy. It has 2.7 million residents in the city proper. Rome is located on the Tiber River in the Lazio region. Since second century AD, Rome has been the seat of the papacy. Since 1929 it is also the site of Vatican City, an independent city-state run by the Pope.






I am so proud of you son. I am so proud that you are using your talents for Jesus, the one who gave you these gifts in the first place. I am so proud that your heart is for Him. He called you before you were born. There were prophecies over you at your birth. You have chosen to live for Him and that is the greatest choice one can ever make in a lifetime. May you make music in your heart today since you will not be making music for the crowd. God is listening to your song. I love you so much. I can't wait to hear your voice!