Buon Giorno!

Shots of our recent Italian holiday...

St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

Some famous people we "met" along the way....(Jem, please correct me if I got any of the facts wrong!) By the way, all the pictures were taken by Jem.

Moses by Michelangelo. Met him at Piazza della Vincoli in a church which also contained the chains which held Peter captive before an angel came to free him.

Jem was lucky to meet Francis as he was making his way to San Damiano Church on the outskirts of Assisi. It was at San Damiano Church that Francis heard the Lord's call to rebuild His church.

Padre Pio at San Giovanni Rotondo. Man of few but impactful words. Enough said.

Peter outside the Basilica named in honour of him while he lived and died in honour of his Lord Jesus who loved him and called him and gave him the keys of His Kingdom.

Paul, the great missionary. And we who aspire to be true to our calling. Pray for us, St Paul!

What a privilege we possess, to call these great men our friends and our family. We are truly surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. Of men, women, children. Down through the ages. We share the same faith as they did, in the Lord Jesus. Let us then not lose sight of what we possess and what we have been promised but always look to Jesus, the Leader and Perfector of our faith. "He is faithful!" is the resounding testimony of these witnesses.

OK...back to the rest of our photo-itinerary:

St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

Inside the peacful cloister of St Paul Outside The Walls. We highly recommend a visit to this beautiful Basilica!

The bell tower of the new St Pio's Church in San Giovanni Rotondo.

One of the numerous fountains of Villa D'Este in Tivoli, Rome.

The day Chris had 4 Yazzees in one game! Ju's face says it all!

On the Ponte Vacio of Florence. We visited the Uffizi Museum just before this and it was worth the almost 2 hour wait. So many beautiful art pieces in there. A true showcase of God's gift of creativity and imagination to man.How can we not showcase one of Ju's classic poses? ;-)

Basilica of St Francis, Assisi

Florence

St Pio's Church, San Giovanni Rotondo

The spacious piazza outside St Pio's Church.

Love the space and the beautiful olive trees in the background.

Never imagined such a shot in my life!