Aloha Everyone,
Days like today, I am truly grateful for my yoga and meditation practice. Living in the moment, letting go of expectations is the perfect attitude to maintain one's happiness and equanimity.
J.J. and I had saved our last full day in Roma to visit the Pantheon. This was going to be one of the highlights of our activities in Roma. According to the weather forecast, today was supposed to be cloudy with a 40% chance of drizzle starting at 4:00 pm.
The two of us left our apartment early and began walking towards the direction of the monument of Vittorio Emanuele (Victor Emmanuel}. Within an hour, it started to rain. We took shelter inside a church then another. We were surprised by the number of "worshippers" at the 2nd church, Santa Maria. It turned out that this is where the famous La Bocca della Verità (the Mouth of Truth) an image carved of a man-like face is located. It is in the portico and a line of eager tourists were there to stick their hand inside the mouth of the sculpture for souvenir photos.
By the time we reached the Capitoline Hill, it was raining hard. After a much deserved break in a bar for hot cappuccino, the two of us agreed to abort our plan to visit the Pantheon.
I told J.J. that this turned out to be a very memorable last day in Italy. It's rather romantic to walk in the rain among the ancient ruins.
We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Italy. Quoting the author of our travel guide book, Rick Steves, "Travel is intensified living -- maximum thrills per minute and one of the great source of legal adventure." Intensified living requires time offs and this afternoon, the two of us are enjoying the sound of Italian rain and relaxing before our journey back home.
Aloha -- Cathi