Feeling of Victory: Vrooming on a Vespa
Had I gone pazzo/crazy? I could hear the voices of tourists expressing their less than favorable opinions of Italian drivers as I fastened my helmet. Between my experience and genuine joy of adventure, those flimsy objections quickly vanished. What could be...Capitoline Hill Giro
Sometimes, public transportation can save soles. Sunday morning, initially, that idea was more urgent than the state of my soul, though I was keen to reconnect with my home church community. After studying the public tram, bus, and metro options from Trastevere, I...When You Least Expect It
When You Least Expect It Barefoot. Standing with the hose on, pouring out cool water to make a nice, squishy mud puddle. Our very own clay quarry. I remember laying in the mud in my backyard, making mud pies with my younger brother. The corner was contained by a...Storms, Baccalà, and Nureyev
Two days before Halloween, extremely high winds racked Rome to the point that public schools were closed. I walked briskly through the cobblestone streets of Trastevere, pivoting at the school, then the plumbago and so forth, picking my way through the labyrinth....Booking It in Rome
Awaking came with the bittersweet awareness that this was my last day- this trip – in Italy and in Rome. My beautiful room in the Albergo del Senato surpassed what I’d already come to expect: exceptional. The Pantheon exerts a powerful attraction for me. Divine...Carrying the Cat’s Meow
Sweetness showers on me in unexpected ways. It happened before a trip to Italy, cloaked in a dubious situation: when a friend asked me to do a favor. “Diane, would you do me a favor and take something with you the next time you go to Rome?” In her loving and imploring...An Auspicious Autumn
Swiss cheese itinerary? Opportunities for sporadic adventures? Both? In any case,it felt good to deliberately leave open a sprinkling of dates throughout:It had been a year since my trip to Puglia, and I could barely contain my eagerness. A couple of weeks before my...Liceo a Roma – Part 2: The Forum School (’73-’75)
The Forum School, Rome, Italy My head buzzed eerily as I heard the Headmaster’s words reverberate in my brain. Expelled?I walked out of his office and passed his smirking secretary who seemed to relish the scene. I continued into the open air courtyard. It was early,...Liceo a Roma – Part 1
St. Stephen’s School in Rome (‘72) In moments, I would be… Solo. No parents. No siblings. Glancing around the spartan departure area, I manufactured a yawn with that well-practiced cool look teenagers wear to mask all the excitement inside, feeling triumphant,...
