From Coast to Coast!

A few weeks ago Nunzia, my roommate Elizabeth, and I went on a Giro d' Italia (Tour of Italy)! The purpose of this trip was for Nunzia to be encouraged by other Italian believers, and for her to see what the Lord is doing throughout Italy!

We left Salerno and got to Rome around lunch and headed to the Rome STINT girls' apartment. After dropping our stuff off, we then headed out for lunch to this fun little restaurant that was around the corner from their apartment.

Nunzia and I on the train to Rome! 

Lunch in Roma!

 After that we went to get coffee with one of the STINT girls in Rome and her friend Virgina. It was so fun to talk to them and hear their stories! I can say that it was so encouraging for me to see their love for the Lord!

The Trevi Fountain

The Pantheon

 After that we went to see the Fontana di Trevi (trevi fountain) and the Pantheon and of course gelato from Gioliti! For those of you that I haven't told, Gioliti serves the greatest gelato on the planet.....literally.  If you ever find yourself in Rome, please go there.  

We made it an early night, because we got up early the next morning and took the train to Florence.  Once there, we all went to an Evangelical church that a lot of the Agape (Italian Crusade) staff that lives in Florence attends. It was so much fun to hear songs that we knew in English translated into Italian and seeing so many Italians worshiping the Lord together! I didn't understand much of the sermon (still working on the language after 9 months!!!), but Nunzia, who is a believer, said it was great! We loved it and it was so fun to get to experience that with her! After church, Nunzia and I went and grabbed lunch at this little cafe, then headed back to the National Office to hang out with  another Staff member of Agape. We listened to her story of how she came to know the Lord, and how the Lord is using her in Florence. Again, it was nothing but encouragement to us to see what the Lord is doing throughout all of Italy! After our visit with her, we spent some time touring Florence! We went to see the Ponte Vecchio and the Duomo, which is THE church in Florence! 

In front of the Duomo in Florence

We walked around the world famous leather market and even stopped in a few stores (don't tell Rob!!!)! I even tried on a wedding dress! It was so fun! 

Elizabeth, Nunzia, and Me in Florence

My Wedding Dress! Haha!

We grabbed some food to make for dinner at the National Office and headed back to take it easy. The next morning we headed up to Bologna! We got to Bologna just in time to make it to staff meeting with the team there! It was fun to see what other staff teams are doing and what all the Lord is teaching them. After the meeting, we went to lunch with their team and some of their Italian friends and then went to campus! We split up and went to share with some of the students there using this tool called Solarium. It is a set of pictures that you either lay out or let someone look through and ask them questions about how they relate to the pictures.  The pictures may be of a sunset, some glasses, melting snow man, etc.  I know, I know, sounds funny at first but all of the pictures are designed to allow for some great follow up questions about their faith and relationship with the Lord. After campus we went to the Marcos' home (our wonderful hosts) and just hung out with them for a while.  

Bologna! (one of my new favorite cities in Italy)

The next morning we got up early and spent a little time in Venice.  I have to say it is a really cool city and Elizabeth and Nunzia had never been! We were sad though because it was raining, but we were determined to make the best of it! 

Trying to decide if we wanted to buy a sweatshirt because it was so cold! We went with the scarf instead! 

On top of a bell tower that overlooked the entire city! It was so pretty, but WINDY!! 

 We got to Venice and hopped on their metro (which are boats) that take you around the city! We were going to St. Marco's Square, which is a big piazza that you must see if you are ever there! Right as we were docking, the sun came out! It was windy and cold, but turned out to be a beautiful day! We had the best time walking around the city and just spending time together! 

We wanted to ride a Gondola, but went with just taking a picture with the the rower instead!

Tired after a long fun day!!

We made our way back to the train station and headed home to a delicious meal cooked by the Stint girls! Nunzia was really encouraged and was confirmed through the trip in her conviction to follow the Lord's call into ministry! We had the best time on our trip, and it really was so great to see what the Lord is doing all over Italy!