Last year I was knee deep in volunteering for the High School Band, working on fundraisers and helping my husband with a little museum project he's working on. In a moment of daydreaming I visited a web-site called Home Exchange. My friend Jackie told me about it. She has exchanged homes with families from Canada, Ireland, Denmark, you name it. I browsed through photos of homes in faraway places whose owners were willing to trade their's for another. I was inspired. On a whim, I signed up for a trial membership. Not long after I received an email from a lovely Italian woman named Claudia. Claudia and her husband worked in Rome as part of a program for college students. They had previously worked at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and wanted to return for an extended visit. It seemed crazy at the time, but we decided to go for it!
I bought guide books, poured through web pages about Italy, booked flights and cleaned my house. It was all Italy, all the time. After months of planning, getting passports in order and packing our bags, we left for Rome on Allegra’s 16th birthday. It was a truly amazing trip.
We spent two weeks living in the historic center of Rome. We walked everywhere and experienced so much; the Vatican museums, lunch in Piazza Navona, marveling at the ancient beauty of the Pantheon, taking the high speed train to lovely Florence. Even as I write this the memories of sensory filled moments take over. After Rome, my brave Larry drove us all the way to Venice on the north east coast of Italy, then over to Cinque Terre on the west coast and down to Tuscany on the way back to Rome.
There's a story to tell about every day we were there, but it was all so overwhelming and dreamlike. I wanted to write about it, but the task was daunting. I couldn’t seem to get back to Chrysanthemum Cake.
But, I’m here now with a new outlook and ready to go. I have lots of ideas to share including some stories about our trip to Italy, like the afternoon in the Piazza della Repubblica in Florence, when, as we enjoyed a lemonade in a shaded sidewalk café, a beautifully sweet operatic voice broke out in Puccini’s O Mio Babbino Caro. (You can listen to the aria here - http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/isabel-rey-oh-mio-babbino-caro-gianni-schicchi/6f998e94b3bc194669166f998e94b3bc19466916-569308414649?q=oh%20mio%20babbino%20caro%20translation). A young woman serenaded the piazza from a stone colonnade next to a lovely antique carousel. One of those moments in life that overwhelms and stays with you.
I bought guide books, poured through web pages about Italy, booked flights and cleaned my house. It was all Italy, all the time. After months of planning, getting passports in order and packing our bags, we left for Rome on Allegra’s 16th birthday. It was a truly amazing trip.
We spent two weeks living in the historic center of Rome. We walked everywhere and experienced so much; the Vatican museums, lunch in Piazza Navona, marveling at the ancient beauty of the Pantheon, taking the high speed train to lovely Florence. Even as I write this the memories of sensory filled moments take over. After Rome, my brave Larry drove us all the way to Venice on the north east coast of Italy, then over to Cinque Terre on the west coast and down to Tuscany on the way back to Rome.
There's a story to tell about every day we were there, but it was all so overwhelming and dreamlike. I wanted to write about it, but the task was daunting. I couldn’t seem to get back to Chrysanthemum Cake.
But, I’m here now with a new outlook and ready to go. I have lots of ideas to share including some stories about our trip to Italy, like the afternoon in the Piazza della Repubblica in Florence, when, as we enjoyed a lemonade in a shaded sidewalk café, a beautifully sweet operatic voice broke out in Puccini’s O Mio Babbino Caro. (You can listen to the aria here - http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/isabel-rey-oh-mio-babbino-caro-gianni-schicchi/6f998e94b3bc194669166f998e94b3bc19466916-569308414649?q=oh%20mio%20babbino%20caro%20translation). A young woman serenaded the piazza from a stone colonnade next to a lovely antique carousel. One of those moments in life that overwhelms and stays with you.
More to come.
Ciao!
Ciao!
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Thanks so much for visiting Chrysanthemum Cake.