Mama Mia! Thoughts on Italy
Posted on November 12, 2012 3 Comments
I’ve never seen my parents happier.
My parents, dancing in the streets of Rome.
That’s the overall impression I’m left with more than three weeks after returning from my first trip to Italy. For all of us, it was a rather exhausting and expensive trip. We took eight people (including a toddler) to seven different cities in two countries on a ten day trip with no guide.
Part of the Italy crew, at dinner in Trieste
Only three of us spoke anything that remotely even resembled Italian (I’m semi-fluent in Spanish and bought Italian for Dummies a few weeks before the trip). Only two on the trip had been to Italy before. It was ambitious, and truth be told, I’m not sure we all understood what we were getting into before getting on the plane.
Navigating in Verona.
We had trouble agreeing on schedules and activities. At times we offended each other. We stepped on toes. We couldn’t find food options that worked for everyone. We were tired. We were cranky. We underestimated our expenses. We spent more time split up in groups than together, it seemed.
Cappuccino in Florence.
In short, we could have planned better.
But despite all the chaos, flaring tempers, and out of touch walkie-talkies, we managed to have an inspiring, exhilarating, and overwhelmingly positive trip.
Tasting slivovitz with two of my brothers in Predjama, Slovenia.
We saw villages where our great grandparents grew up.
View from Perugia, the town where my great-grandfather was born.
We explored castles and caves.
Miramare Castle, Trieste.
We wept in churches and lit candles together.
The Papal Alter, by Bernini, in St. Peter's Basilica.
And somehow, between admiring the Colosseum, fountains, and statues, ordering vino at every meal, cruising through the countryside in our diesel Volvos, and finding our Italian and Slovenian heritage, my parents had the trip of a lifetime, which was always the intended goal.
Colosseum, at night, Rome.
As for me? I loved venturing into smaller towns, shooting photos from dusk to dawn, taking my mom and my aunt for “girls’ nights” on the town, sipping espressos while staring out at the night sea, listening to live street music, talking with local shop owners, and discovering beauty around every corner. I’m not sure I would do the same trip again; there are parts I loved more than others, certain areas I didn’t get to explore, and a whole food culture that we glossed over in favor of convenience. But I don’t think this trip to Italy and Slovenia was my last.
I posted all of my pictures from the trip to Google Plus and made them public. You can get them here:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/102803741296616623807/albums
(The trip starts with Venice and ends with Rome. )
I’ll have a few more thoughts/lessons learned in coming days, such as what to do when you shatter your fancy camera lens in a foreign country (yep). I’ll also discuss the trip’s expenses. For now, please enjoy the pictures and send me your feedback on them.
Buena notte,
Nicole
Category: Life
Tags: Italy , Travel
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3 Responses to “Mama Mia! Thoughts on Italy”
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November 14th, 2012 @ 7:08 am
Welcome back – glad you had a great time. Great pictures and I hope great memories.
Now let’s see the cost? Trip – $XXXX Memories – Priceless!
November 16th, 2012 @ 12:52 pm
My sister was married in Rome 8 years ago. Such an amazing city! I can’t wait to go back next year!!! It was kind of surprising how much more expensive certain things were than I anticipated yet the food was much cheaper than I thought it would be… and more delicious!
Surprisingly lost ten pounds even though it was pizza or pasta and most definitely vino at EVERY meal. LOVED it, glad you had a great trip!
November 17th, 2012 @ 3:33 pm
Loved this update! I am just drooling over the pics as I’ve never been abroad, much less to the fabulous region you were in, sooo pretty!