The Duomo is a big but unremarkable Gothic church that was built in the Middle Ages by architects who left it unfinished - with a big hole in the roof. In the 1400s, Brunelleschi built a tall self-supporting dome as grand as the ancient Pantheon. In the Renaissance, it was a great architectural and engineering feat. The Bapistry is Florence's oldest building and was built between the 5th and the 10th centuries. Inside there is an excellent example of pre-Renaissance mosaic art, "The Last Judgement". The scenes from the ceiling look like something right out of the "Inferno" by Dante who was baptized here. The gilded bronze doors facing the Duomo are Ghiberti's masterpiece, "The Gates of Paradise". Ghiberti made a breakthrough in perspective by using mathematical laws to create the illusion of 3-dimensions on a 2-dimensional surface.

Finally, we visited both the Uffizi Gallery and the Bargello. At the Uffizi we saw many paintings of Florentine artists from medieval to Renaissance times including Giotto, Fra Filippo Lippi, Botticelli, Leonardo and Michelangelo. My favorite paintings were Uccello, "The Battle of San Romano", Leonardo, "Adoration of the Magi" (because it was unfinished), and Michelangelo, "Holy Family" (because I got to study it without entertaining Erika). In the Bargello we saw more sculpture by Renaissance artists including many examples of Donatello. The most striking example of Donatello's sculpture was "Niccolo de Uzzano". It is a painted sculpture of de Uzzano with very lifelike features. Erika was a real trooper during all our visits to museums. She meet many people who entertained her including a man sitting next to her at the Bargello, who enjoying winking and chatting with her. We also meet a group of students touring the Science Museum, so we enjoyed experiencing some of the interactive demonstrations of historical equipment.

Also, on our way to Rome, we stopped in Pisa to see one of the most visited tourist attractions of Italy, the leading tower of Pisa. It was on our "must-see" list of tourist spots.

After these various stops, we had to find a campground. It was late when we finally checked into the campground. So, for dinner we found a Pizzeria within walking distance of the campground. The menu was, obviously, in Italian but there were German translations for each menu item. Considering our increasing understanding of German, we were able to order the meal in German.

The next day, we visited the Vatican Museum. We saw Egyptian art and mummies, the ancient Roman sculptures including the Belvedere Torso, the Map Gallery, the Raphael rooms including "The School of Athens", and, of course, the Sistine Chapel. We also went to find the Pantheon. It is not an easy building to find. In the process, we discovered the Piazza Navona with the Fountain of the Four Rivers.

On our last day, we visited Tyler School of Art in Rome and gave Erika an interactive demo of how printing presses work. We also saw some Caravaggio paintings including "The Conversion of St. Paul". We not only walked around the outside of the Colosseum but we walked around inside and climbed the steps to the second floor. Finally, we visited some Italian toy stores. I think that Erika enjoyed visiting the toy stores the best.

Finally, it was time to drive south to visit Naples and Pompeii. After getting the van ready, Erika and I visited the petting zoo at the campground for the last time. We feed the deer and the goats.

It is a story about learning that God's promises are true. God's promise - that He will always be with us - is true even in the middle of a nightmare. While we were in Rome, our van was stolen. After our van was stolen, we had only the clothes that we were wearing - in effect we became "street people" for a day. But God was with us and helped us to find a safe place to eat and to sleep - and even sympathetic ears - nearly everyone we meet - the people in the American Consulate, the Italian hotel clerk and salespeople. We hugged and cried with each other on the Piazza della Repubblica in Rome as we realized that we had nothing - no Elmo (Erika's muppet puppet) or Pooh Bear or even a place to sleep.

The van was stolen from a crowded security patrolled parking lot at 1 o'clock in the afternoon. We were only gone for about 30 minutes to buy food for camping. Everything was in the van - all our passports, Pat's credit cards and driver's license, our jackets, our clothes, our camera with recent travel photos, our souvenirs, Erika's home schooling books and of course, toys and stuffed animals.

We started praying immediately and constantly. God provided a way for us to get into the central of Rome. The police drove us to the Central Police Station and it was within walking distance to the American Embassy and Consulate. The Italian police helped us to call the credit card companies to report the stolen credit cards and gave us directions to the American Embassy. We got lost - of course (we have a habit of getting lost in new cities). But I remembered how to say "where" in Italian, so a kind Italian woman helped us to find the American Embassy and Consulate. The Consulate helped us by getting our passports within 24 hours, by giving us information about hotels in the area, by helping us to find the American Express office (for tickets back to Germany), by calling the Italian police department for information about the van theft, and by letting us cry on their shoulder. One of the Consulate staff even gave Erika something to eat - a banana. We did not have lunch with all the confusion and she needed to eat soft food because her front tooth was almost ready to come out. We were blessed to find people so willing to help us.

After finding a map of Rome, we had dinner at McDonald's - an American haven for us in a scary and foreign situation. (McDonald's also had a good salad bar). After barely eating but frantically looking at the map, we tried to find a hotel. As we walked, we cried. And God helped us to find a place to stay. The Italian hotel clerk heard our story and was also sympathetic. He gave us a room with a double bed and a small single bed with a bathroom for only 90,000 lire. It should have cost 210,000 lire. (90,000 lire equals about $70 US dollars). The hotel was very close to the American Consulate, so it was convenient. After a sleepless night, we had breakfast at the hotel (breakfast was also included).

It was God's providence that we slept in the hotel because we found a store nearby to buy shampoo, toothpaste, and toothbrushes. Also, nearby we found some reasonably priced stores for jackets and a backpack. It was much colder and rainy in Germany than Rome, so for the way back, we needed to buy new jackets for everyone. Also, the next day was a rainy day in Rome, so we needed some warmth and protection from the rain. I was wearing only a short sleeve T-shirt but at least Chris and Erika had warm shirts. Before we got our jackets but while we were at the American Consulate, it rained - it actually poured. So, again this was a blessing from God - that we were in a building during the downpour. After we got our passports, it stopped raining, so we were able to stay dry while we walked to the store to find new jackets. So many blessings from God!

For the art only, I would like to return to Rome or Florence. I would really like to see the Sistine Chapel again but I don't know if that will be possible....