Summer 2014 had just started and sure, I was going into my last year of school, the year that decided whether I'd be going to college and instead of putting time into studying for my exams and getting focused for the year ahead or even getting a job. What I decided to do instead was to travel to Italy to visit and stay with a friend for the majority of the month of June and forget my responsibilities while I still could.
To start with how this trip came about, I became friends with an Italian dude who came to my school to study English for a year, and he happened to be in a majority of my classes. He was a funny guy and integrated with the other foreign students, Irish students and myself quite well so it wasn't particularly hard to become friends with him.
In January 2014, his parents and his brother came to Ireland to visit my friend and during their visit I got the pleasure of going with them to see Bunratty castle in County Clare. And during this trip, we visited a place that is a landmark for Irish history and it gave me a chance to get to know my friends family and friends. During the trip, the offer came about about going to Italy during the summer to stay with them, which I took with a pinch of salt as I've been offered to go many places but never considered going or thought the offer is genuine. My friends mother however, insisted on me going and in an intimidating manner, made me vow to visit over the summer.
Going home that evening, I spoke to my father about the day and how my friends mother had invited me to Italy. Jokingly I asked "Would it be okay if I went?". To my surprise my dad responded "I don't see why not". I had a mini freak attack at that moment. Travelling on my own to Italy. The idea was so cool to think about. I got home and began looking online for the best times to go to Italy and all that jazz. After a month or two of not focusing on school work and thinking about my trip, it was decided that I would fly out to Italy after my summer examinations.
The suspense was literally the worst. And then finally. It came to the 11th of June. As if going away wasn't bad enough, Dad had to drive me to Dublin Airport at 2am, which I'm sure he enjoyed thoroughly. At about 5am I made it to Dublin Airport, super excited and tired but mostly excited to travel Italia! The flight felt like it was taking forever and I got the seat beside a screaming kid which was super fun. So sleep was not visited on my flight but constant phases of zoning out was happening a lot until the bright sun of Rome appeared.
I disembarked the plane and made my way through the airport like a lost puppy. Not knowing where to go as I don't speak Italian. So taking wild guesses at every turn to firstly find my luggage was a fun challenge and then the task of getting my big case and finding the exit was another fun challenge. My life is just a constant challenge. Eventually I managed to make it through immigration and out to the arrivals doors. Looking around, I couldn't see my friend and his father who were meant to be picking me up. "I'm alone in Rome. Just my luck" Was my first thought. "I'll probably die here" was another thought. Thankfully that 30 seconds passed and my friend came in through the airport door, which halted the thoughts of the awful ways I could die in Italy. What my friend failed to mention was that his house was actually 3 hours away from Rome by car on the east coast. Which is exactly as long as it sounds. But I will say, the views of the valleys and towns we past by was absolutely breathtaking. The scenery and views made the trip seem not so long.
The place we were heading to was a town called Fabriano. I'll give more detail on Fabriano later.
We finally made it to the house of my friend after what felt like forever in the car. The area my friend lived was quaint and just outside the town, so you could hear the crickets and stuff. Surrounding his house was the most amazing views of mountainous areas I have seen. The whole place just felt very authentic. The rest of the afternoon/evening that was left consisted of lounging around in the sun to shake off the jetlag and just basking in the Italian air. That was until dinner was served. No word of a lie, four homemade pizzas placed in front of me. I thought my lifelong wish had come true.
Surrounded by Italian company, eating homemade pizza and having real Italian wine, it was kind of a special moment that all tourists should experience sometime.
-
Stay tuned for more!
-
Read, Comment, Share and Enjoy
No comments:
Post a Comment