We stayed in a family's home that rents out a room and bath to families visiting the temple. It is a 20-minute walk from their apartment to the Temple. They found a creative way to help people avoid becoming lost going to the temple. They painted a stencil of the temple on the sidewalk every few yards. On the way to the temple, we passed by a couple of local restaurants to make it convenient to get breakfast or dinner.
Our first evening we toured the beautiful temple grounds. There are beautiful old Olive trees on the grounds. And there is a series of waterfalls that appear to flow from the temple. We had fun talking with young sister missionaries who serve as guides.
We learned that the Rome temple on Tuesday's opens at 3:30 pm and that a big tour group was scheduled to arrive at the temple at 3 pm and that we needed a reservation. So during the day on Tuesday, we took a tour of the visitor center which was meaningful. Inside the visitor center is a series of stained glass panels in which the main focus is the Savior. We were told that the artist tried to include all of the Savior's parables and teachings in the panels. This makes the experience so interactive. Children and adults love searching for their favorite story of the Savior. Sometimes one person in the panels portrays several different people. Try to find your favorite story.
We had time to talk to several people who had also served missions in Italy as young missionaries. It was really fun for Perry.
Long story short, we were able to attend two temple sessions Tuesday evening because of wonderful temple workers who made every effort to accommodate all who wanted to attend.
