Falling in love in Italy... you see, I had the incredible opportunity to
go to Italy last week. Crazy, huh? Special thanks for making this trip
happen go to my wonderful parents and their gift of a certain Christmas
present, along with my crazy friend Margaret (Whitten) Henslee for choosing an idyllic wedding at a hillside villa in Italy. So I know you're all
wondering, "did she fall in love with an Italian man?" Well... let me
tell you! No. I didn't. Unless by "fall in love", I mean "become obsessed with" and by "Italian man," I mean one of the following: Caravaggio, Rick Steeves (not Italian), Michelangelo, or perhaps gelato.
People have been asking me about my trip, and first of all, it was just awesome. Nothing else to it, but sheer awesomeness. But specifically, I've narrowed it down to three things I absolutely loved about it.
1. Rich Italian Culture & History & Beauty.
I love history. I love different cultures. Note my major: International
Studies. Between the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, church after church
with incredible art, the Vatican, and street after street of one story
after another, I loved it. Since I've been back I haven't been able to
stop learning more about the Roman Empire. When I was there, one morning
I opened my Bible and was just so encouraged to read a book written to
the Christians who lived under Roman rule. It's just a different
perspective. Which leads me to the second thing I loved...
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| Colosseum | |
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in a room painted by Rafael (myself, Paige, Cassidy and Ryan)
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| a normal view in Tuscany |
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| Paige and I on the Spanish Steps |
2. Spirituality.
This may seem backwards to some, as Italy is actually very dark spiritually. But so much of Rome and Italy's culture is highly religious. Watching people pay homage to historical markers or to former Pope's bodies, you see their devotion to the wrong things. I saw this in Jerusalem and in Latin America to a huge extent. You just wonder at what point did things get off to where now the Truth is so hugely distorted. On our tour of the Vatican, our tour guide made blatant comments about doing what the Catholic church says in order to ensure salvation. It makes you wonder how so many people could seemingly blindly follow a tradition, assuming what their told is the Truth.
I think what really hits me hard when seeing all of these things is that I shouldn't assume I am not in the category of being blind to certain things. Not that what I believe isn't Truth, but if I am blindly following what is taught I could easily be led astray. Think of how many times you've seen someone that people trust, speaking false things! Just turn on your television and you'll see this. Christ said, "I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). Christ is the Truth. Christ is the way. Christ is life. Apart of from Him, people find themselves striving for Truth that in the end leads to death.
So spirituality in Rome. Something that makes me think...
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| death and religion |
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| the Sistine Chapel |
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| inside St. Peter's |
The final thing I loved about my trip to Italy.... was....
3. Traveling with some of my dearest and closest friends.
I had the crazy opportunity to travel around Italy with the Buttercream Gang as we called ourselves. This group consisted of:
- Cassidy: my best friend/pretty much sister who was also a Kappa with me. Will laugh at most of my jokes. Cassidy was also our resident nurse. Ryan and I quizzed her on the most dramatic procedure she'd be willing to perform if needed. Let's just say I was good to go if I needed a toe removed but in major trouble if my appendix was to burst.
- Ryan: Cassidy's husband and the resident photographer for the females.
- Paige: aka Princess Paige as we call her. She's always ready to be photographed, good thing Ryan was there. Laughs at everything.
- Me: I brought the iPad and thus solidified my role in the group. I would read about things from books I had or look up restaurants and maps. I guess you could say I was the tour guide.
We went to Italy to celebrate the marriage of Margaret (sorority sister of Cass, Paige and I) to Brian (one of Cassidy and I's dearest guy friends from high school and college). You see Brian and Margaret got reconnected at the wedding of Cassidy and Ryan. It's a really fun story if you ever want to hear it. Below are some of the photos from our travels with some of the aforementioned people.
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Buttercream gang in Tuscany
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| in the Piazza del Popolo |
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| Cass Cass and her hubby RyRy (Ryan) |
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| with the now married couple, the Henslee's! |
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| a view of the Villa |
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Lifelong best friend Cassidy and I
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| Paige and I before the wedding in the yard of the Villa |
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Cassidy, myself, and Paige eating gelato in Rome
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| Last group photo of the Buttercream Gang
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So that is a glimpse into my trip to Italy... I loved it. I adore my friends. I treasure the things I saw. I eagerly look forward to a return one day to such a beautiful country. Until then, I'll be a snob about pasta as you can't get better than the real deal. I'll also sadly eat ice cream, as it isn't gelato.
But I think about something my Dad said the other day, "Kimberly, you only have two more continents left..." So I guess that means I need to start saving for Antarctica 2013 or Australia 2013... here's to hoping!
