I’ve wrapped up my weekend adventures in Italia and will be spending the next few days packing up my treasures and preparing to make the 20+ hour traveling journey home. I had originally planned on spending another night or two out in Naples to do some final souvenir shopping, but there is apparently a huge gas strike in the area right now. Truckers have blockaded road entry points and protesters flock to street corners in throngs. So, I’m actually quite content to save my money and stay at home instead. I’ve purchased plenty of souvenirs and the only reason I had wanted to step out was to eat another real Neopolitan pizza, drink some more delicious wine and enjoy some amazing gelato. But, I’ve eaten my fair share, so I won’t cry if I don’t get those last tastes of deliciousness.
This weekend I was in Pompeii and Rome. The big thing about traveling around Europe versus the United States is age. Everything is at least 1,500 years old — no lie. From the ruins of Pompeii and the remains of Herculaneum to the Coliseum in Rome, there is so much incredible history that we can see and touch for ourselves. It’s crazy to think that these architectural masterpieces were designed and built looooooooooooooong before there were any computers, machines or technology like we have today. And what’s sad is that we have this amazing technology and capability, but yet the things built today don’t even compare. It’s fascinating to me and it makes me wonder what our world will look like in another 2,000 years!
Probably one of the best things that Italy has going for it, in addition to its amazing history, architecture and artwork, is the food. OH. MY. GOODNESS. From the pizza and pasta to the wine and gelato — I haven’t eaten anything that is remotely terrible. Naples is supposedly the birthplace of pizza and more specifically the Margherita pizza. Can’t say that I’ve had a bad one yet. And the same goes for the wine. When you eat dinner or any meal out, you can usually order the table, or house, wine. Never before has table wine tasted so good and been cheaper than the water! And then, there’s the gelato. Heavens to Betsy, I’ve never tasted something so good! I’m an ice cream queen, but there is just something entirely different about gelato that it makes me want to walk around with a bowl of it all day.
But alas, I can’t walk around eating gelato and drinking wine all day. That probably would ruin our wedding photos ten months down the road. So, I must return to real life, attempting to plan a wedding and finding a real job. But as great as these past three weeks have been, I’m looking forward to what’s coming in the near future!
