Italy - I Have Arrived!

I arrived in Italy on Thursday, June 22. I got a cab from the airport to the Hotel Tiber (pronounced Tee-bur in Italian!) in Fiumicino, a small suburb of Rome. I got settled in my room and waited to hear from Jodi.

Jodi Strom...Richard had given me her name when I told him that I was going to Italy a day early because of a possible storm making landfall near us on my original travel date. I was excited to meet her. We had already made contact and decided to "brave it" and make our way to Rome to see SOMETHING, anything!

Within a couple of hours, I arrived at Jodi's hotel, met her, and we had lunch - our first lunch in Italy! Capreze (large slices of tomatoes topped with mozarella and basil and drizzled with olive oil and balsamic) and prosecco (a light Italian sparkling wine). We talked and talked, then decided that if we were going to see Rome, we better get on our way, so we got a cab and off we went.

ROME! Can you believe it? We're here! I'M HERE! We had a great cab driver. When he found out that we only had this one afternoon, maybe 3 hours, he whizzed us off to great destinations, parked, and commanded, "Two minutes, photos!" Because of him we saw more of Rome than we expected. So much beauty. Such an ancient city. I felt the age of the stones, and I was so moved: the Colossium

and the Roman Forum

then he dropped us off near Trevi Fountain and off we went on our own. The Fountain,

(Proof I was there!)

the Spanish Steps,

Fontana della Barcaccia, or “Fountain of the Old Boat"

in front of the Steps

the Pantheon

- so much to see and so little time!

that first bite of gelato for her and 

some wonderful lemon slushy thing for me

But truth be told, the heaat, jet lag and sore feet caught up with us quicker than "no time" did. We just about cratered as we tried to figure our way back to where our cab was supposed to meet us.

Our driver dropped Jodi off as we promised "tomorrow!" and then dropped me off. A quiet dinner at my hotel, then to bed.

And I did manage to write a couple of little "poems" that first day, or maybe the next early morning before leaving to meet the group back at the airport.

I immediately fell in love with all things Italy, especially the language! OMG, for the first time in my life, I'd love to learn this wonderful language.

The Language of Italy

Grazie!

Grazie Tante!

Prego

Per favore

Mi scusi

Non capriso

Si! Si!

Ciao!

Language lilts

Sings, floats and twirls

Hands flit and fingers gesture

With the rhythm of the language

Eyes sparkle like champagne

Kisses exchanged

Life expressed and fully emoted

Benvenuti in Italia!

My view from my room was wonderful, and I distinctly remember writing this early in the morning before my day started. I was looking out at the warf, the boats, the houses. It was all so darned charming!

  

The Splash of Color that is Italy

Terra cotta tile rooftops

Cerulean blue skies

Ultramarine waters of the sea

Soft yellow ochre buildings

Bright red boats

White sails, masts and lamp post fill the sky like slashes on a page

Verdant green cypress and red cedars

All the vivid contrasts

That are this ancient place

Made brand new

By a fresh pair of eyes.

So, maybe I'll share some more of my trip tomorrow. Who knows!