Typical Terina

Terina didn't know she'd be seeing us on Saturday. How could she when it was her surprise 50th birthday party!  I had been invited at least three times by three different people, and my mother had received an invitation as well from Terina's husband -- they had met on our school trip to Italy.

Terina was set up for even more of a surprise than just the unexpected gathering.  After all, the last time Terina saw my mother -- not counting pictures sent over text -- was when my dad picked us up from the airport.  At that time, my mother's face was extremely swollen from the broken nose she had brought back as an unfortunate souvenir of our Italian adventures.

Seeing Terina's face light up when she walked into her house was priceless.  Her eyes widened and even from across the room you could see she was tearing up.  I've known her long enough to hear it in her voice too -- she was touched.  I think she forgets sometimes just how loved she is because so often all she hears is negativity and complaints as the school librarian.

She circled the room, taking in each guest in turn and offering hugs to nearly everyone present.  She stopped when she saw my mother. Terina's hands reached out to cup her face, "Oh my gosh you look so beautiful."  She pulled her into a hug, pulled away, and then cupped her face again as she marveled over the healing that had occurred in just 2 months time.  

While others were confused, I was just amused: typical Terina.  Of course, she was more concerned for others when this was supposed to be HER day.  But that's what I love about our librarian.

"I want a hug too!" I chimed in and Terina happily obliged.

9 Moments to Remember and 1 Moment to Forget (SOLSC 30/31)

 

Here is a highlight reel of moments from Italy.  Nine moments I want to cement into my brain.  One moment I want to erase from happening.

1. Playing Uno on a patio with our Italian tour guide as the sun slowly drops over the Mediterranean in the distance.
2. Walking out onto a pitch black pier over the Adriatic and watching as a group of teenage boys plunged into the chilly spring waters.
3. Taking a bite of seafood risotto under the fairy lights of a restaurant tucked away in Venice.
4. Tilting my head up to look at ceiling after ceiling with paintings of heaven and briefly remembering what it was like to be in awe of the divine.
5. Sitting outside, sipping wine, and watching a horse drawn carriage move towards a grand basilica.
6. Watching so many people try different ways to support the Pisa tower as it leans precariously—never to fall.
7. Strutting down an alley straight out of a post card and feeling like a model as I get my picture taken.
8. Discovering that there is, in fact, gelato on every corner in many parts of Italy and going for the shorter line.
9. Feeling the chronological dissonance of ancient buildings right next to technology and realizing anything built after the 1600s is “new.”
10. Remembering lines of Shakespeare’s tragedies (of all things) as I wipe the blood from my mother’s hands.  I wish I could wipe the accident that brought forth the blood just as easily.

Never Go to Naples (SOLSC 27/31)

 

A poem for my final day in Italy that might go down as one of THE worst days ever.  I don’t have time or the emotional capacity for details so don’t ask right now.

Graffiti all around

and no gelato to be found.

Suddenly my mother hits the ground, 

blood on the pavement abounds!

Swelling up, knot like a small mound.

The ambulance is inbound, 

Italian and English, mixing sounds,

This is a nightmare most profound.

I am now grateful we are tomorrow home bound.

A Religious View (SOLSC 26/31)

 

I am not religious, but I can appreciate religious art.

We stand together beneath a ceiling, bodies pressed together.  All our eyes are wide — trying to take in as much as possible.  No cameras, no video, just you staring up at a ceiling meant to represent our very creation.  The tilt of our heads is probably a slight revenge from Michelangelo who had to paint this ceiling in the most agonizing positions. 

A voice bellows from above.  It is not God, but it booms all the same: Silence.  Respect the silence.

The voices drop once more, but never for long.  Voices whispering in a hundred languages.  I look up in awe and feel myself tear up.

I am not religious, but I can appreciate religious art, especially when it comes to the Sistine chapel.

When in Rome (SOLSC 25/31)

 

As much as I love postcards, they really don’t do anything the justice of what it looks like in person.  I think that has been most true in Rome.

Everything is so much bigger and brighter in person; everything is SO much more crowded.

I have to squeeze through and it is so easy to lose sight of people.  Luckily, despite my own “short” comings we do have some tall people in our group.

The worst spot yesterday was the Trevi Fountain.  I knew we needed to toss some coins in per the myth, but I almost didn’t because of the small mob of people surrounding it.

But my mom plunged in and I knew to follow.  Before I knew it we were directly in front of Neptune and I was digging some coins out of my purse.

One to return.  Two to find love.  I noticed no one threw in the third for marriage.

After we emerged from the crowd, I muttered: “If I return to Rome, it will be through the airport on my way back to Venice!”

Photo Op (SOLSC 24/31)

 

We are constantly stopping for pictures, on the hunt for that next great shot.  I think my favorites are the ones along stairs and in alleys that we come across — they look straight out of a professional shoot.

Yesterday, was one such stop.  We were making our way slowly towards the St. Francis basilica at the top of a hill.  The slow pace was a combination of pictures, shopping and of course gelato.

Groups merged and parted as they passed and eventually my walk with my mom grew into a sizable group of others from our traveling party.  When we stopped for one to take a picture, I suggested that we add a new person into the picture with each taking.  And with each new picture we tried a new pose — these little moments are what make trips like this so fun.

Good Food Day (SOLSC 23/31)

 

I had the best meal of my life yesterday.  

We were wandering down one of the many small side streets of Venice.  Our group had a destination in mind: Librairie Acqua Alta, a book store famous for being below the water line, a set of stairs made of books, and a gondola inside the store also filled with books.  However we were also hungry and on the look out for somewhere to eat on our way.

We turned a corner and as if by magic there was a man dressed in a pressed white shirt and slacks holding a menu.  He stood in front of a passageway lit by fairy lights that led to a court way with set tables.

This was Ristorante da Toto.

We were quickly seated and looking at the menu I knew immediately I wanted sea food while in Venice.  My mom and I each ordered a different dish: risotto and linguine each with a variation of sea food.  Of course, being in Venice, we also got a bottle of wine to share (a local variety of Pinot Grigio).

The risotto was creamy and had large pieces of prawn in the dish — including a large prawn positioned on top as if guarding the plate.

The linguine had strings of zucchini mixed with the pasta, a sprig of mint, and of course the sea food.  All of it coated in a light oily sauce that dripped from each noodle.

Each bite had the perfect balance of pasta and fresh sea food. And while I was worried I would not be able to eat the whole plate at first, it quickly became clear that I would devour every bite.  Mom and I passed the plates back and forth, though I eventually ended up with the risotto more as it was my favorite.

I was completely stuffed by the time we left.

It’s the Climb (SOLSC 22/31)

 

I sent a message to my CrossFit coach from the top of the Verona arena:

“Box step ups coming in clutch yo.”

I climbed each one of them.  It was made my easier by my work with CrossFit for two years.  My efforts were rewarded at the top by a beautiful view of the Verona streets below and a grand view of this ancient structure. It was not graceful like the stairs I had climbed just an hour earlier in the Palazzo della Ragione, but I was certainly much more proud of myself.  

 I snapped a photo and sent it to my coach.  She replied shortly before I began my descent:

Left: beauty stairs, Right: beast stairs

 

Power (SOLSC 21/31)

“Do you know what I love about these artists?”

My voice is a whisper.  We are standing in a cathedral that is considered new by Italian standards, but to me feels ancient.  A reminder of grander times where power wasn’t in how big you could build towards the heavens, but in how much you could paint in rich colors in textures on ceilings to  depict the heavens.

“What’s that,” my fellow tourist whispers back.

“Notice how the lines of the art and even the half column draw your attention up and up and up.  It’s making you look to heaven.  The artists of that time knew what they were doing.  The church wanted you to draw your eyes towards heaven and so everything in this painting and placement of sculptures forces your gaze upwards.”

They nod and both of our eyes once again scan upwards.

 

Several Hours Later: A Travel Log from LR to Rome (SOLSC 20/31)

I thought this was the perfect format to track my trip from LR to Rome on March 18 & 19.  I think most of my slices for this trip will be “delayed” between time differences and just finding time to write!

The “And before that” format/ story structure I originally saw on Fran’s blog.

The plane descends from the clouds and it dawns on me that I am touching down in a part of the world with such ancient history that it borders on the mythical. Even though there is a strong smell of cigarettes as I step outside, I am grateful to be off of planes for a week.

And before that I am weaving through an airport line to go through security (again).  I have not slept much or at least to call it sleep would be generous.  I am nervous because I don’t technically have an official boarding pass.  Travel with a big group is stressful!

And before that I happen to pull up the map and see we are flying over St. John’s and I think about how I am still so close to Karen and yet so far.  I go to sleep, dreaming of the places I am going and have yet to seen.

And several hours before that I am writing this from the seat of a plane that will take me to Paris!  We made our connection!  I will not be staying in Paris, but it’s neat that I get to pass through.  I am seated alone — without my group.  We are scattered about the plane, but I have a pretty good seat above the wing and only have to share with one person instead of center aisle.

And before that I am breathing through my nausea as the plane takes off from Atlanta.  I don’t know what changed in the past few years that flying causes me to feel ill.  Luckily, I am able to sit next to my mom and we play a quick game as we pass the quick time in the air.  We’ll have to take off running to make our connection.

And before that I am standing at the kiosk.  I am trying not to panic as I stare at a ticket to only Atlanta.  A mistake?  They assure me it is not.  I will just lean in and trust the process.

And before that I am sliding out of the car and gathering my luggage.  “Check your purse,” mom says.  A helpful reminder because sure enough I spy my passport holder on the seat!  I grab it and off we go.

A Packing Party (SOLSC 19/31)

 

If you read this, know that I am currently in Italy.

However, because I am not sure when I will be sitting down to write, I decided to type this early and write about the packing I am currently doing with my mom.

Did I mention I am taking this trip with my mom?

We have traveled together before and I am excited to have this experience with her again.  We have already had some laughs as we packed together the night before.  Mostly she was teasing me for all the stuff I packed: mainly my extra underwear and swimsuit.  I told her the swimsuit was in case of hot tubs, but she wasn’t impressed.

She still let me pack it, though she made me leave the underwear.  My friend suggested I buy some Italian underwear with Roman columns though — so we’ll see!