Final day in Rome. Before leaving from Rome, a trip to San Giovani (St John Lateran) was the last stop. The Basilica of St John Lateran is the official church of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope. Papal services are typically held at St Perters, but St John Lateran is still technically is the Bishop of Rome's home church. Although San Giovani is not as large as St Peter's and does not have the same recognition, in many ways its design and decor are just as impressive, especially without the throngs of people who pass through St Peters every day. See attached pictures. The next stop on the itinerary was Paris where we met up with my 3rd cousin who was born and raised in Luxembourg, and whom we met for the first time in 2005 when we visited Europe. In 2007 we invited Charles & Marie-Paul Ruppert to visit us in the U.S. and subsequently showed them around Texas before attending a Ruppert reunion in Iowa. Consequently they offered to be our tour guides should we ever make it back to Europe. Hence we met them Paris with the plan to tour France with them since they were intimately familiar with country. Additionally, we had the opportunity to meet one of their two daughters, Anne Marie who happens to be a doctor and research scientist in Paris.
