12:13am

Sometimes you get those moments that you know will stay with you forever. We had one of those tonight at Navona, Rome's most beautiful Baroque piazza. The cobblestoned pedestrian area follows the shape of Domitian's Stadium, some of the original arches still visible below the church of Sant' Agnese. At the center of the plaza is the magnificent fountain, Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, a stunning design of Bernini's.

So there we are, it's dark and the piazza is nicely lit, with musicians playing here and there. In one corner a guitarist and accordian player, in another a classical guitarist, and then a magician going on the way to Houdini's straight-jacket trick.

We sit at an outdoor restaurant and enjoy Roman pasta like only they can make it in Italy (not quite as much sauce as we normally use, but equisite nonetheless). And it's there, in that moment, that we all seem to take a mental snapshot that will stay with us forever. It's a good time for a toast and we do it the Romanian way, eye contact while clinking glasses.

The day didn't start for us till after lunch. Really feeling the long day yesterday, we slept in and then sort of lounged around till noon before heading off to meander again. Our friend Bill recommended a place call San Clemente's Church for a real "Christian" experience. Sounded interesting, so off we went. After taking about five buses, and watching the GPS to see if we were heading in the right direction (one bus we got on and then immediately got off because it went the wrong way!), we arrive at a little church, completely unadorned on the outside...and only a few tourists - our kind of joint.

You gotta hear the story on this one. Turns out a group of monks from Ireland were given this church in the 17th Century. They felt like it was a special place, so began exploring UNDERNEATH the church. Sure enough, they discovered a church that had been built in the 4th century. WOW! And you can walk down a steep stairwell into this completely excavated church, ancient murals on the walls, crypts. Very cool. But it gets better. They later discovered that the 4th Century church was built on the foundations of a 1st Century "home" church, possibly one of the one's that Paul was addressing in his book of Romans. So down anothe flight of stairs into a fully excavated Roman house, street, and pagan temple.

You have littled descended into New Testament history. Reading outloud from the Romans 12 seemed like the right thing to do, and cloistered inside one of the dank, dark rooms of the ancient house church, we do just that! It was a surreal moment. And the whole thing was completely unlooked for. Thanks Bill! Got to love it when locals give you the inside scoop!

Next it's on to an area of Rome called the " ". It contains many ancient sights. We visited two: 1) The original seat of the pope, fantastic church filled with art and antiquity beyond imagination...literally. And then the Stalt Sanco, what legend says are the actual steps that Jesus ascended when he went before Pontious Pilate. You can only ascend the 28 steps on your knees. Hmmmm. I thought of that Scripture which says we come boldly before the Throne, but thought it might be inapprpriate to jog of the steps ;-). Luke was game for it though. At the top of the staircase was a portrait of Jesus' face, said to be painted by Luke with the help of the Holy Spirit.

As with most of these things, it takes a little faith to actually believe any of the legends. But there is a reality to our faith in Jesus which is solid as the ground we walk on. Luke made an interesting remark while deep in the foundations of the early church, "these guys had a real relationship with Jesus, kind of like we do, eh Dad?" I heartily agree.

After dark, it's the Piazza Navona, then home on Bus 87. *sigh* I love this place, but I'm ready for home!