Come nei Film

Imagining myself living and traveling in Italy brings up images of films that started my fascination with the country. I imagine myself walking the same cobblestone streets as Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. I find myself dreaming of walking through Roman traffic and being swept away by an Italian man such as Marcello in Under the Tuscan Sun. I can see myself being surrounded by silent, narrow walls as I ride down a gondola in Venice. I want to sit outside surrounded by strangers, being a stranger to my surroundings myself, and enjoying un caffè (a cup of coffee) or un bicchiere di vino (a glass of wine) as the Italian life and culture consumes me. To be in the presence of things that have lasted more than several generations of human lifetimes… there’s a quiet, humble beauty to it all.

Through this journey, I do hope to go through a transformation, an inevitable self-discovery.  To live life for each and every moment, every sensation and emotion like Katherine in Under the Tuscan Sun or Liz Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love. Or to be like Frances (Diane Lane), who fell in love with Villa Bramasole, bought it, and found herself, love, and adventure… I want to experience all this Italian romanticism. A romance with the self.

I want to experience all these things. Sure, there may be those that might find my goals as overly-idealistic or romantic, but I think they can really happen for me… We can find love in distant places we may have never dreamed of stepping foot in. We can find our most concrete and beloved selves by keeping an open mind to new opportunities. When my life passes on, I want the next generation of people to think of those that came before them and passionately stepped foot on the very same cobblestone streets they stand on… because I am/will be/was one of them.