My dear friend Lucy gets credit for the following two fabulous events.....

Late yesterday afternoon, I sat down to see if there was anything I had not seen in Rome that I was REALLY dying to see...of course you could spend a lifetime seeing all that Rome has to offer, but I found an article Lucy sent me....so off I went in search of the Galleria Doria Pamphilj....and guess what.....it's about six blocks down from my apartment on via del Corso. And if you are making notes of places to visit in Rome, this is IT!!!! The Doria-Pamphilj's family has opened the "state rooms" of their family palace to the public, and I just thoroughly enjoyed every minute of what I saw. The audio guide is conducted by Prince Jonathan, in a fabulous British accent, and his anecdotal stories of his family are great.....especially about the hedge manicured to spell "Mary" by her dead husband.....now that's true love spelled out in botanical glory! There are also some very famous paintings housed in the family collection, so you can see decorative splendor, as well as art....I have included a picture of the interior courtyard for you to enjoy.

The second amazing thing that happened to me occurred this morning. I attended my final Bible study at Rome Baptist Church, and the pastor's wife, Kathy, announced to the group that I was headed back to Texas, and she prayed for me as we concluded our meeting. Can we ever really have enough moments where a group of Believers is offering up your personal life in prayer....I can't! I need all of those moments I can get.

A precious older lady named Anna, I am guessing between 75 and 80 years old, whose English is so thick with her Italian accent it's almost impossible to understand her, found me after class, embraced me and gave me a kiss on both cheeks in the true Italian style, and told me "come back to Roma." Well....OK! I will!!!!

After lunch, a group of us decided to go to lunch, so I suggested "Gusto" (thank you Lucy), so off we went. For 9 euro, we gorged ourselves at the fan-tab-ulous buffet, sitting outside in the crisp October air, blinding blue skies overhead. And the topic of conversation.....not God's love for us (which is infinite), not prayer requests (which we all have....in spades), but......how do we make our Thanksgiving/Christmas stuffing. And where to get a whole turkey in Rome, and could I send them dried cranberries......

How great is life? I loved that moment so much!!!!

3 days and counting and I am back in Texas!

Ciao!!!!