Where in the world is Mary?: Roma

Toured the Vatican today. I am standing in St. Peter's Square early in the morning before it became packed with people. It really is quite amazing, and the wealth of art is overwhelming. Each painting has a story, I especially found it amusing when we were told that on the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo painted a portrait of a Cardinal with donkey ears....apparently he critized Michelangelo's work. The Cardinal was also portrayed in Hell. When the Cardinal complained to the Pope, the Pope commented that it is not for Him to determine who goes to Heaven and who does not. The work stayed as it was and can be seen today! Don't annoy an artist is the moral of that story.

Me overlooking the Tiber River

The Tiber is one of longest rivers in Italy and is about 250 miles long. The Tiber was originally called Albulula because it was so white, but it was renamed Tiberis after Tiberinus, who was a king of Alba Longa drowned in the river. The Tiber was the natural highway for traffic and provided an early defense against neighbors on the other side of the river.