After 2 sad days traveling to and arriving in Rome without Dave, it was rain rather then tears that greeted our day.

We started our day with the lovely buffet breakfast at our Hotel Mozart and while there enjoyed visiting with a beautiful young Russian woman.  Afterward Ann had wanted to go to a Museum and so we headed that way even though I had read that it takes sometimes days or  weeks to get a reservation. We started hiking up this very steep Hill with lots of steps and our map wasn't much help. Finally we paid €5 for a young Iranian University student to drive us to the museum and that was only after going around in what seemed like circles for quite a while. We would never have found the place based on the map we had. Oh I forgot to mention that we were doing all this walking in the rain but we both had umbrellas.  What I'd read was true. We couldn't get into the museum. So first we started to walk back but feeling convinced my believing we weren't  going the right way decided to take a taxi to our next destination, the Vatican and St Peter's Basilica.

Once again our plans weren' t realized as a volunteer for the Vatican explained to us that we would probably have to stand in line for 2 hours going through security before we could get in and since we had paid tickets for Monday with a guide she advised we wait until then as we could go right through and bypass all the lines.

So now the fun begins, souvenir shopping for Ann's family.  It started at the Vatican only to be interrupted by coconut mango gelato, mine was pistachio lemonaide.  Yum.   I bought tickets for the Hop on and off bus and our adventures progressed from there.  As we were passing by the castle on our way back across the Tiber River, Ann said, "we are not alone."  It was the second time since we'd arrived in  Rome that Ann noticed the music being played, piped out was, "Let it Be," one of the songs Dave chose for his memorial service. 
 
Then we were greeted by several African's selling or trying to sell their trinckets on the bridge.  Finally when another approached me I said to him in French, " And you're from Senegal too!"  He almost jumped up and down as he asked me in French, are you Spanish, French?" I'm always amazed at how many barriers are boken down when we greet others in their own language.  He was so delighted that he insisted in giving Ann and me a cadeau (French word for gift).  He called me Mother Africa, and Ann went through the day chuckling and repeating, Mother Africa.

After we finished our nourishing lunch we boarded the hop on hop off bus for another adventure. We got off at the first stop but continue to be baffled by their map's directions. We weren't the only ones that were confused at that stop. Several others were trying to read the map and figure out where to go to get to the Spanish Steps, and we journeyed together up the hill. While we are were trying to figure out how to read the map  I headed into this area where there were three caves with a sign above saying miracle. I muttered it really will be a miracle if we can find our way to the Spanish Steps. The young man who was very helpful inside at the information centre who had no idea how to read the map had instructed us to go in the wrong direction but intuitively I headed the opposite way and fortunately one of our hop-on-hop-off bus guides pointed us in the right direction.

There were masses and masses of people converging at and on the Spanish Steps! As we were leaving a Star Wars band with all the Star Wars characters marched in front of the Spanish Steps.  Quite a fun manifestation.

We then headed toward what I thought was the way to the Trevi Fountain and went into a shoe shop where I Began to try to find a pair of comfortable walking shoes. The young woman who was waiting on me complained about the musicians who were playing right outside their door. Though it was beautiful it was very loud and hard to wait on customers.

After a short rest back at our hotel room we went out for a delicious dinner. Ann had beef tail and mixed veggies (all green) and I had calamari, shrimp and fries and a famous Roman dish with artichokes parsley and garlic and a glass of wine.

We went to one of the small food shops that we found still open afterwards and picked up some water and other supplies and then hurried to the concert that we had read about in the morning. A group from British Columbia were singing acapella in a church (Chiesa) dei Santi Nomi di Gesu e Maria that was only 2 blocks from our hotel.

One of the first songs they singing was very touching and he the conductor told us the words before they began to sing. They went something like this, "Even when I cannot see the sun I know it is there, and when I cannot feel your love I trust it is here. And even when he is silent I believe God is there."

The music of these university students filled not only the church but our very beings.  One of the last songs they sang was in memory of a loved one.  It was sung like a dialogue between the one who'd died and the one left behind.  It was called, "And so I go on."  And so our tears flowed and we left filled with song.