BELLA ROMA...FINALE!! :)..... Day #49!

Finally...Part 3!!

My last day in Rome (Monday)...I am not going to lie, at this point it felt like I had been gone for a WHOLE WEEK! Evan and Katie left early that morning to catch their flight, but my flight was not until 3:00 p.m. so I decided to go explore the Roman Forum! It was pretty cool! Walked around and got to look at all the old remnents of what used to be the heart of Rome!! :) It nice to just kind of walk around on my own and take in the whole weekend! I sat down and journaled for a little as well. I was however extrememly tired because over the last two nights I don't think I REALLY WENT TO SLEEP...it was just a bunch of that dozing but you can still hear everything and stuff! So yea I was really tired!! I went to a little cafe and read for a bit before I needed to catch my bus to the airport! I had a salad!:) (healthiest thing I ate all weekend haha)

The Arch of Titus!!

just some ruins!

An old Basillica that they have made into a museum now!

Head of NERO!!! inside the museum!

The Temple of Castor and Pollux

Temple of Saturn

A Stadium!

Claudian Aqueduct!

The Journey home:

I was hoping that my return would be just as smoothly as my arrival...but me having a COMPLETELY SMOOTH travel has yet to happen haha... My flight was delayed 3 hours in Rome and so I was really worried that I was not going to make my train from London to Swansea in time. We landed in London and I keep thinking Oh I can definitely make this...THen Came PASSPORT CONTROL! OH BOY! I had totally forgot that when I arrived in Cardiff in September... they didn't stamp my passport!!!!!! WHy? I have no idea! But for the past month I have technically been "AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT"!!!! The guy at the international office at school told me that it was okay, that next time I leave the country and come back just to make sure they stamp it (aka Rome back to London)! I brought with me documents stating I had arrived In September and Was a student and the whole shabang! Got up to the counter crossed my fingers and really hoped all was going to work out. The lady looked at me and was like, where is your stamp?? I explained the whole thing to her and she had to call the head person! Took a little while but he finally said "those Welsh...you don't look dangerous (wink)" and stamped me! :) So now I am OFFICIALLY LEGAL!! haha! Unfortunately that took quite a while... time was not looking good for me! I was running around trying to get on my train to London Victoria...got it! From I SPRINTED to the Tube (London Underground) to get on the train to London Paddington! MADE IT! TICK TOCK TICK TOCK...I had literally 5 minutes!! I just sat on the train praying... oh help that train to be delayed or something!! I got off the tube and SPRINTED (I was trying to burn off all the calories I consumed from the gelato and pasta ;) ) anyways I arrived at my platform... but there was NO TRAIN!!! Missed it by 7 minutes!!! UGH! I went to the ticket office and had to buy a ticket for the next one....thank goodness there was a next one...this one was actually the last train to Swansea that night!! I finally made it home about 2:30 a.m! My oh My that was a LONG DAY!!

Everyone here tells me that I have the worst luck when it comes to traveling! It really seems like everytime I go anywhere SOMETHING happens..a plane or train being late, me missing something, my passport not getting stamped..my luggage not making it etc.. but I am the most BLESSED UNLUCKY person EVER :) becasue I ALWAYS end up where I am going, not always WHEN I was planning or through the route I had planned but I get there!! And I have learned a little bit more each time. At the train station after I found out I had missed my train and bought my new ticket I ended up misplacing my phone and was freaking out...found it and then went and sat down at a cofee shop and just started crying... why? I have no idea.... Maybe the fact I had barely any sleep, and was having to wait for a total of 6 hours on transportation when I was supposed to be back in my room, and focusing on how much I missed home..basically just feeling sorry for myself!!! I sat down and started journaling...I was complaining that God did not answer my prayer and I missed the train......CAN YOU SAY SELFISH!!! I just spent the last three days full of blessing from God and the first sign something goes wrong...I get unhappy!! Ironically I had just finished reading about Moses and the Hebrews. God displayed his mighty power through plagues which freed them from Pharoh and then while sitting at the edge of the sea when Pharoh chased after them... they immediately started questioning Moses and asking him why God would free them just to bring them out to die! LOVE LOVE LOVE how God conitnues to show me little lessons in life and areas that I am in the wrong through all these "don't go as planned" trips! Who is planning them anyways??  I pray that the Lord continues to open my eyes, and to pick at me, showing me where I am in the wrong!!

In conclusion!!!

God is AMAZING!

Rome was an unforgettable experience :)

Italian food from ITALY is WAYYY better!!

I really want to learn Italian now!!

I cannot even MEasuRe how BLESSED I am, and am SO THANKFUL!!

ARRIVEDERCI!!

(goodbye)