The mountains of Switzerland

Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. "LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" Psalm 8:9

A "quick" glimpse of Rome with friends

Rome, a city of mystery and romance, thoroughly occupied our time and attention the last week in May. Friends from Holland met us there and we explored the tourist sites, back alleys, and "out of the way" restaurants together. Walking miles each day over cobbled streets using both maps and Hunter's trusty GPS we visited the Roman Colosseum, the Pantheon, Galleria Borghese, St. Peter's Church, the Vatican with the breathe-taking Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter-in-chains basilica (home of Michelango's Moses sculpture).In addition we walked through the Jewish sector of Rome and even attended a Sunday service in English at a Baptist church, soaking in the worship songs while praising Jesus with other believers from around the globe. One can easily fall in love with this town desiring to return again and again to peel away layers of history to discover new and previously "hidden treasures".

Bike riding the "heel of Italy"

Skirting olive groves, in and out of little villages, up and down rain soaked hills peddled 6 friends around the "heel of Italy" for a week in May. Our travels took us through Puglia, a region in southeastern Italy that includes the heel part of Italy’s boot. We began our trip in the town of Matera, where we enjoyed a tour of ancient rock-hewn churches and cave homes. It was here that Gibson's The Passion of Christ was filmed. From here we traveled to Alberobello, where we stayed the night in a trullo, a traditional Apulian dry stone hut with a conical roof. The third day led us to Ostuni with its white buildings, beaches, and olive groves. From Ostuni we rode a train, with our bikes on board, through beautiful countryside ending in Lecce, named the Florence of the South. We navigated down a tree-lined street, through much traffic and out into the countryside on our way to our next destination, which was Gallipoli, on the Ionian Sea. The following day's ride was breathtaking with cliffs and sparkling blue water! That night we spent in Santa Maria di Leuca on the tip of the heel of Italy. As morning broke we climbed on our bikes to travel up the coast of Italy along the Adriatic Sea to Otranto and finally ending out wonderful journey in Lecce. Our good-byes carried with them fond memories of quality time together spent eating delicious food, toasting glasses of robust wine, and bike riding the back countryside roads, as well as a few choice villages of southern Italy.