Bésame Mucho – Italian honeymoon, part 3
After a great night’s sleep in our Ostia, Italy apartment, David and I were determined to restart our honeymoon on a rested and re-energized note on our second day in Rome. Before leaving for our day’s adventure, we enjoyed a leisurely brunch on the garden patio and thanked God for His outstanding provision. Although we left at 1:30 pm, we knew we had a more manageable schedule that day, so we weren’t worried about the time. Our goal was to travel into the ancient city to visit the Roman Colosseum and Forum, so we took our time walking back to the train station.
An hour and a half later, we exited our second train at the base of the ruins – and gaped at the sight of this massive marvel. After basking in its glory and taking lots of pictures, we learned that our purposely unhurried romp had, unfortunately, prevented us from any possible entry into the landmark. Tickets, we soon learned, were sold out for the day. I should have known better, but we had been too tired to check such things the day before.
While pondering our options, a gentleman we believed to be a tourist information worker advised us that we could still join a group traveling into the landmark at 5:30 pm. Even better, he agreed to show us where the group was meeting – promising that he had nothing to gain and only wanted to help. Unfortunately, we learned that wasn’t quite the truth.
Tickets to join this tour came at the steep price of 60 euros/person – a triple increase in the general admission cost. Neither David nor I were willing to pay such exorbitant fares, so we declined the offer and continued our journey – promising each other that we’d come back one day to see inside.
Undeterred by this setback to our day’s adventure, David and I passed the Constantine Arch and then moved over to the entrance of the Roman Forum – only to learn that tickets for the same must be purchased at the Colosseum – and that the Forum would be closing in 10 minutes.
Laughing off what could have been a massive disappointment, David and I decided to walk to the Circus Maximus and then around to the back of the Forum ourselves instead. We were in love, standing in the heart of Rome, and nothing could dampen our spirits. Even when the Circus turned out to be a small pile of ruins that one obviously couldn’t enter without paying to see, we didn’t mind.
With the Forum to our right, we continued along Roman streets until we eventually ascended to an area where we could look back on the Forum. In God’s perfect timing, the skies were now filled with a kaleidoscope of colors – turning the ruins into a brilliant masterpiece of man-made and God-ordained splendor. The spectacle was so unexpectedly grand that we felt privileged to see it this way rather than how we had initially planned.
David and I were blessed to see the Roman Forum at twilight from an unexpected walk that took us behind and above the ruins rather than amongst them.
After photographing the sights with their background of heavenly colors, we thanked God for bringing us to that place at just that moment. We couldn’t have designed it any better had we tried.
Passing the St. Peter-in-Chains church on the side of the Forum (which was also closed, of course), we next found ourselves back along the busy streets of Rome at precisely the moment when evening lights were turning on, and street performers were beginning their free evening concerts.
As the strains of “Bésame Mucho” wafted across the busy thoroughfare, I was filled with joy and excitement from our day. Grabbing David’s hands, we began dancing together on the sidewalk – as if we were the only two people in the world.
“What’s this song?” David asked as we danced. “I don’t know it.”
“Bésame Mucho,” I replied. “It means ‘Kiss me a lot,'” I explained, nestling into David’s shoulder as I savored the timeless moment.
Walking hand-in-hand back to the train station, we stopped often, listening to nighttime tour guides discuss the now-closed Forum from the street. As we languidly returned to the train station, both of us agreed that despite the obstacles that altered our plans over the past few days, we had a much better experience on our own – taking our time, stopping as often as we wanted to, viewing things that we hadn’t expected – making our own unique memories along the way.
Neither of us would change a thing about our expedition – both on our honeymoon and in our daily journey. It’s our committed practice to consistently praise God for His care, grace, and provision at every turn. Every difficulty we overcome brings us closer to each other – not just on this venture, but every day we’re together. We perpetually see our Creator’s hand on our lives and are so grateful for His omnipotent blessings.
