Day 1 - Our flight from Dallas to Rome
It was a long plane ride over!!! We left Dallas at 4:10 p.m. and flew up over Montreal, Canada, to get to Frankfurt, Germany (we arrived in Frankfurt around 1:30 a.m. Dallas time! Not much sleep!) We had a very hard time in the Frankfurt airport trying to find our connecting gate - good thing we had a two hour layover there! :) But, we were now on the last leg of our trip to Rome! It was very exciting to see the Swiss Alps from the plane window when we flew high above them!!! I loved that special surprise! Then, in the Rome airport we got kinda' "lost" -- we got in a "secured area" and we could not get OUT!!! We couldn't figure out how to get to the baggage claim area -- long story, but it was a mess and we couldn't find anyone to help us! Finally, we got to baggage claim and our luggage was there!!! Good news! Then, we were worried about trying to find the driver who was going to be at the airport to meet us and take us to our VRBO (apartment), but not only was there one driver there holding our name up . . . there were TWO!!! So, we had to spend about 30 minutes listening to them argue about who was going to take us!!! :( Lots of confusion for the day -- especially when you are so tired!!!) But, we were excited to see our friends waiting for us here in Rome (friends from our RV park in California):  

 Dinner with Kay, Joe, Ted, and Karen!!! Ravioli with spinach, bread, wine, and the best tiramisu ever!!!

 These are the Spanish Steps. So many people gather here - a very busy location, and only a short distance from our apartment.


Day 2 Tour of the Colosseum, Palatino, and Roman Forum


After a good night's sleep, we were excited about our first day of touring Rome! So much to see, but SO many miles to walk as well! We rode the Metro (subway) over to the Colosseum, Rome's most iconic monument! The Colosseum, built over 2,000 years ago, is a massive arena which was used for violent entertainment. Many gladiators and animals were killed here during that time. It was amazing how many people were there touring, it draws thousands of visitors to it each day.

Titus (reigned 79-81 AD) inaugurated the complex with games that lasted 100 days and nights during which some 5,000 animals were slaughtered! :(

50,000 seat arena

May 18,2014

Joe, Ted, and Bob

Gladiators

Day 3 St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel

We arrived at 8:15 to meet our tour guide, Giorgia. The sky was cloudy, but the crowds had not yet arrived at St. Peter's Basilica.

 One of the side entrances with a Swiss guard standing watch at the door.

The Sistine Chapel cannot be seen much except from this view. No picture taking is allowed inside and no talking, but it was PACKED with people when we were in there!!!

 Atop the roof of the basilica with Joe and Kay, Ted and Karen, and Bob and me.

 The famous sculpture, Pieta, by Michelangelo. It sits behind bullet-proof glass. It's the only work he ever signed and sculpted when he was a little-known 25 year old!

 The piazza is crowded with so many people waiting in line to go through security before entering the church.

One of the halls inside the Vatican Museum.

Our Traveling Companions!

It was wonderful we were able to share this adventure with friends from our RV park in Indio, California! We had a great time together! We met up with our friends in Johannesburg for three days and then traveled on to Zulu Nyala for our 6 day photo safari.

Ted and Karen from Greenwood Village, Colorado

Verdi and Hal - full time in their motorhome now (but Fort Worth was their home for awhile!!!)

Pat and Denis from northern California

The guys: Ted, Denis, Hal, and Bob

The girls: Verdi, Pat, Karen, and me

Loaded up in the safari vehicle with Cindy and Shane (from Denver, Colorado) (If you can't see Bob, he is up in the front passenger seat!)

Chris, our ranger, and the girls. Chris was younger than my sons, so we all laughed that this was CHRIS WITH HIS COUGARS!!!

After a fun day on the safari drive, we share lunch and marvel at all we have been blessed to experience (with a beautiful view of the 3,000 acres of Zulu Nyala in the background)!!!

• Our last evening together, we had cocktails at dusk out on the safari drive!!!

What a Difference a Week Makes!

Wow! Last Sunday Bob and I were in Cape Town visiting missionary friends, Mike and Kalyn. Today, a week later, we are back in Dallas worshipping at our home congregation. Last week we saw how many people live in poverty in the townships of South Africa, today we are in the comforts of our own home with so many conveniences and luxuries. It is hard to believe we are bless with so much here in the United States - something we . . . I, take for granted! Until you see what life is like in other parts of the world, you . . . ME, forget how great we have it. Mike and Kalyn were kind enough to pick Bob and me up at our hotel and then drive us out to where they live and work. They drove us through the township where they minister to the people living there. It was a little intimidating being the only four white people among the 40,000 people that live in that small area - we kinda' stuck out like a sore thumb! Mike and Kalyn have made a huge impact on the lives of some of the people they have been able to form relationships with. They are showing some of these people who Jesus is and it is making a difference in their lives. I hope to be more thankful for how blessed we are in this nation, and to be willing to share the love of Jesus more openly with others!

 Bob and me with our friends, Kalyn and Mike.

The township of Masiphumelele - 40,000 people live in this very small area in homes made of sheet metal, cardboard, and other scrap materials.

Tough living conditions - trash piled in the street.

I really hated to take too many pictures in this area, I just took some from inside the car as we drove through the township. It is quite a rough life and existence here, but Mike and Kalyn are serving this area with a heart for Jesus. They are doing a remarkable work here!

The South African people are very musically minded and gifted. Kalyn is teaching music and working with some children's choirs as she works to share the Lord with them

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Bob and I along the shoreline near Mike and Kalyn's home. A beautiful area!!!

Some of the Smaller Creatures!

Everyone wants to see the "big five", but there are so many other interesting critters out there! Our rangers were excellent in showing us all the little things that we would have missed on our own.

One thing I found intriguing was the Dung Beetle!!! One day our ranger, Chris, picked up something and turned to me and said hold out your hand! I held out my hands and he put this black beetle on me!!! Yuckie!!!! I immediately dropped it and Chris picked it back up and made me hold it again! He explained that the male dung beetle rolls some animal poop up in a ball, then the female lays her eggs in the dung and the larvae feeds on the dung while it is growing. It seemed like a very unusual method of reproducing to me, but the funny thing is they are very protective of this little critter! There were road signs around that we found that read: CAUTION: Dung Beetles Have Right of Way. I thought this was almost a joke, but it is not; if you see a dung beetle in the road, you are suppose to avoid running over it!

I am smiling, but I am really freaking out with this dung beetle on me!!! What I won't do for a picture!!! (And yes, I did wash my hands REALLY good when we got back!!!)

The dung beetle starting to roll up some "poop"!!! These balls can get to be as large as a grapefruit!

Thought this was a joke, but it is not!

Look at this beautiful guy!!! Blue-headed Agama Lizard. I saw him running across the parking lot at the lodge. No one else was around, but I had to CREEP up on him slowly to get near him, I felt pretty fortunate to actually see him!

God shows how creative he is in all of nature! Hard to believe there is a lizard that is so blue and yellow!

Dwarf Mongoose. These were the cutest little guys poking their heads up and down out of their holes.

Liam (our ranger at Sabi Sands) finds a chameleon in a tree.

Birds

Our rangers not only knew EVERYTHING about the big animals, they also knew a lot about birds, so whenever they spotted something, they would point them out to us! Bob was not that interested in the birds, but I thought it was quite fascinating! Maybe I should think about bird watching as a new hobby!!!

Vulture - huge wing span - that's why they are usually seen in trees like in the picture below. They need plenty of room to open their wings to get airborne quickly .

Two Fish Eagles

I love my camera!!! Thought this was a great shot of the eagle in flight.

Oops! I can't remember the name of this bird, but it has a yellow (orange ?) eye and the most beautiful iridescent blue feathers! How amazing is that???

Horn bill (?) We had stopped for a morning coffee break and this bird was sitting in a tree and interested in the snacks we were having. Our spotter, Mamps, took a piece of bread up to the tree and offered it to the bird. The bird got the bread, but Mamps tried to touch him, and the bird bit him with his big bill! Mamps jumped and was shocked at the bird's aggression - we all got a big kick out of it!

 

   

Lions and Leopards!!!

The "Big Five" consists of elephants, rhinos, cape buffalo, lions, and leopards! We did not get to see lions and leopards at Zulu Nyala, so we went to a second game preserve near Kruger National Park up by the Mozambique border. We stayed at Simbambili Game Lodge in Sabi Sands for three days. We were able to find lions during our first evening drive. We came upon four female lions (probably all sisters). Our "spotter" had to use his high powered spot light to shine on them, so I did not get the pictures I was wanting, but in some ways, they were a little more interesting this way! Hard to believe we were right out there in the dark WITH LIONS!!!

These lions were on the prowl for dinner -- I was just hoping I was NOT it when this female lion passed right beside our vehicle!!!

This is not a good sign: lion showing its FANGS as it passes by!!!

These two "sisters" were so cute! We saw one of the lions crouch down in the grass like she was hiding, while her sister was walking towards her. The lion walking did not see the one in the grass, even from about 5 feet away. All of a sudden the lion hiding jumped out of the grass and scared the other one! You could just imagine the surprised lion saying "don't ever do that again - you scared me to death"!!! They snuggled and jumped all over each other and it was such a sweet moment and one we were fortunate to witness! I just LOVED this!

We did not dare make a sound, move a toe, or bat an eyelash while we were this close to the lions - we were pretty much frozen in fear for a few minutes!!! What an experience!!!

The Leopard - What a Beautiful Animal!

This mother leopard was a lot of fun to watch! She was teaching her young cub and being very protective of her.

And this baby leopard looked as cute and sweet as a little baby kitty!

This is a video - click on the arrow on the left to play (or in the center of picture). Very cute interaction between the momma leopard and her cub!!! So amazing to see!

Nursery Time in the Wilds of Africa

We were in South Africa at their spring time. A lot of animals give birth year round, but seemed like we  saw so many newborns. It was quite amazing and the sweetest thing to see them with their mommas!

Our female cheetah with her three little cubs again! One of her cub had been killed (probably eaten). We watched this momma hunting for food the whole week we were in Zulu Nyala. We kind of "bonded" with her and we were pulling for her to make a kill, so her little ones would not starve to death.

A very young giraffe (maybe 6 weeks old). Loved seeing this little one laying in the grass.

I really wanted to see a hyena, unfortunately the only one we ever saw was asleep with her baby suckling by her side. The baby hyena is on the right and is the darker color.

My VERY FAVORITE was this newborn elephant. He was so tiny (well . . . comparatively!!!) It was probably just a day or two old and already walking and following the herd. 

This young rhino with its mother hardly qualifies as a newborn, but it was bashful and always stayed on the far side of us under the protection of its humongous mother!!!

This was another awesome sight! A mother leopard and her young cub!!! They were both so beautiful! The young cub would do everything the mother did! She was teaching him well!