Ever since I was 13, I've kept a pretty concise diary of general happenings in my life, so in opening up my old dusty journal to revisit those days, I expected every minuscule detail from the monuments we visited to how many pillows were on my Italian hotel bed to be intrisically documented. Yet on the first day of my trip, I wrote one sentence describing how small the plane was, that I had to go to the bathroom, and that a classmate was passing around sleeping pills on the flight to Rome.... at least I got the important stuff. (Does sarcasm work on an Internet blog?) The rest of my diary on the events of my trip to Italy really only includes a strongly worded entry about the first sips of alcohol I ever had. (Sorry mom and dad.) Even though we were of legal drinking age while we were there, I was shaking when I went to the counter of a local convenient store and ordered a bottle of authentic Italian white wine for me and my posse. Consequently, I had barely one glass and was up all night with a stomachache. Touche my life, touche. At least then I thought twice about the red wine we drank on a bathroom break driving to Sienna and the daiquiris we had when we went to the discotheque in Florence. ;)
I went to 5 cities in Italy that week: Rome, Sienna, Florence, Bologna and Venice. Each city was gorgeous and perfect and fascinating and inspiring and a myriad of other astounding qualities that I could find big beautiful words in the thesaurus to describe them, but of course I had a favorite: Rome. I nearly dropped dead when I caught my first glimpse of the Colosseum. In Rome, I got to not only see but walk through and touch some of the most historically meaningful objects in the history of humanity: the Roman Forum, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Ara Pacis, the Arch of Constantine, the Trevi Fountain, the Column of Marcus Aurelius, the Spanish steps and Vatican City. Walking through the ruins in the Roman Forum really puts a girl in her place. Also, the first meal I had abroad was a panini and a coke at Caffe Leonardo a block away from the Spanish steps. It remains to this day the best meal I have ever eaten abroad. Of course, this is probably because I was starving, sick of airplane food, and practically high on the adrenaline running through my body, but it was absolutely fantastic. It took us nearly an hour to figure out what each menu item was since NO ONE spoke any Italian, but it was well worth it. If I ever get back to Rome, I'm getting a panini and coke there again, I remember exactly how to get there.
Perhaps the reason I really loved Rome so much is because of Vatican City. I was there during the reign of JP II, which leaves me breathless to this day. We hired a private tour guide and saw the Sistine Chapel, which was magnificent. But the moments I cherish most from this part of the trip is taking a set of stairs down underneath St. Peter's Basilica to the Vatican grottoes. I saw and walked by the tombs of Julius III, Hadrian IV, Urban VI, Nicholas III and Boniface VIII. Aside from my amazing family and friends, I've never been more humbled to be in the presence of such unmatched greatness and power. It really brought meaning to the saying, "what more could a girl ask for?"
The rest is history. Florence was fabulous, glamorous and exciting and introduced me to techno music and dance clubs. Bologna got me to climb the MOST DANGEROUS piece of architecture I have ever seen in my life, only to get the most breathtaking view in the entire world. Sienna taught me how to -or rather how NOT to- haggle with a street vendor who speaks a different language. And Venice... Venice taught me to appreciate real beauty. An added bonus of all these things is that I learned to sleep whenEVER and wherever possible, even if it is on the floor of a charter bus, and that authentic tiramisu and pizza are worth whatever amount you will pay for them.
I'll never forget the first time I laid eyes on this building (the Pantheon). It is the epitome of the connection between history and the present; the climax of knowing that there is something bigger and greater than us in this world.Mostly what I took from this trip is that there really is a big big world out there that doesn't merely exist in my past 15 years of textbooks and school projects. I'm sure that if it wasn't for that first toe-dip into the world outside beyond the Statue of Liberty, neither this writer nor reader would be here. I try to give credit where credit is due, so cheers to you Italy. Your panini's are fantastic.
Unfortunately, no amount of words or amateur photos can describe what took place during this trip, nor what effect it has had on my life. The film "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" had it right when it said:
"But no explanation, no mix of words
or music or memories can touch
that sense of knowing that you were there
and alive
in that corner of time and the world.
Whatever it meant."
We were in Italy in March of 2003, and the United States invaded Iraq on March 20th that year. Protests were held around the world, and in Italy specifically the public services union announced a strike on the war. Not even two years after September 11th, it was heartbreaking to see the amount of hatred and anger directed at the United States and Americans on an international level because of it. While it was sometimes unnerving to be in that hostile atmosphere as a 15-year-old American girl, I consider myself one of the lucky ones because I got to be there.
Love from Lincoln :)
PS - Bo big red.
PPS - I am pretty sure my parents paid for most of that trip, (I think I was supposed to pay half but minimum wage shattered that dream) so cheers to them too. God knows I would be a worthless sack of bones without them.
