Wednesday October 10

I was lying in bed waiting for my body and mind to adjust to Mountain Daylight Time, and was thinking about what we had learned.
Cruises:
A wonderful way of touring. We only tasted each place, but with the tours we took, I think we got a good sampling of those areas. Coming back to the ship each night was wonderful. No bags to lug, pack and unpack for the two weeks. It was also our 'safe place' where we could relax and not deal constantly with the cultural differences. This gave us ideas of what we would want to do for more extended periods, such as exploring from Nice to Florence over a couple of weeks. Perhaps having one or two places as a base and taking day trips by train.
The food was great, but having assigned seating has both positive and negative aspects. We became good friends with our table mates and hope to continue our relationships. Open seating would make it more difficult to meet people. Celebrity had times of 6 or 8:30. 6pm is too early for the most part, especially on formal nights, but the late seating meant we didn't leave the dining room until 10:30. Going to sleep on a full stomach wasn't good for us, and yet we often had to be up and ready to go by 7:30, so we were over tired. There were other dining options, but on this ship they were not as satisfying as the main dining room. Buffets, pizza, hamburgers, etc were fine for lunch, but not great for very many suppers.
We paid our cruise well in advance (like May) so that we could book our tours. However, that prevented us from taking advantage of possible drops in pricing which others were able to do. Also, most tours were not even booked up on that day. We would have missed some that we really wanted if we hadn't done it in advance, but maybe we could have left it longer. Also, we booked too many. We could certainly have left 'Rome on Your Own' until the last minute. Others took the train in, explored and then took it back with no problems and were not locked into the bus schedule.
We carefully chose which side of the ship to be on, but it always left port in the evening (except Venice) and arrived before or near dawn. Once in a while we could see lights of cities, but it was not the scenic view we expected.
Conceirge class and a balcony are worthwhile, atleast in an area where the balcony is useable. We sat out every evening having our cheese and crackers, and every morning with our coffee. The extra level of service was much appreciated.
The big picture:
For centuries, and even millenia, man has struggled with the same things. There have always been people who wanted power over others and managed to abuse it. This was true with empires such as the Romans, but also on a smaller scale, like with the Venetian Doges or the Medici family in Florence.
Sexual lust has always been there, as represented through art and the houses of prostition right inside the city gates in Ephesus and the well marked place in Pompeii. Sex was used in pagan worship extensively. Our societies struggles are not anything new. Even in Barcelona where topless sunbathing is common, sex is used to sell products. Man's attempts at greatness tend to be for his own glory. We see how cathedrals and basilicas were built but generally not for God, but for man. In Venice, it was to honor St Mark, in Rome St Peter and then each pope. Westminster Abbey and St Pauls are centered around the men buried there.
Some shining exceptions:
Michelangelo summed in up with his unfinished prisoner series, sculpted in marble. We are captive, held by our own sin and unable to free ourselves. Yet, he shows David, strong and tall, trusting in His God. With that, David achieves greatness and yet it is not for his glory. Michelanglo also shows it with his grasp of scripture in the Sisteen Chapel and concept of what God has tried to achieve through and in man.
I was struck as well when standing on the Acropolis looking down at Mars Hill. 2000 years ago, when Paul was traveling in the area, the Parthenon was a sight to behold. Huge, beautiful and set up high on the hill. Paul was troubled in his spirit by what he saw and reached out in love, not judgement. "I see you are very religious..." he says in Acts, and then shares the truth with them. In Ephesus he also reached out to them and a riot ensued. We walked the streets he walked and wondered at the crowds yelling for his blood. We saw the prison where he was held. We were in Myletus where Paul met with the elders from Ephesus because he couldn't bear to say goodbye to the Ephesians again. We saw the markings that people made outside their home to proclaim their faith in Christ. Then we saw the island where John was held captive while he wrote Revelation, and heard how he fulfilled his promise to Jesus by bringing Mary to Ephesus and caring for her. Some people chose a better way and sought to glorify God rather than themselves and impacted their world.
Conclusions:
The stadium at Myletus has a Greek foundation with Roman arches and additions on top which are in turn covered by the poorer quality Byzantine building. Each society builds on the past one, but we need to make sure our foundation is the right one. God has been faithful throughout the millennia. He has not changed.