Having my parents here was up there on the highlights of the last four month. In case I did not tell you already Mom and Dad: I cannot even begin to tell you how much it meant to me to have you visit and to see my life here. I am so glad you were able to see my apartment, my market, my school, my friends, and my city! It will make coming home and never forgetting these four months so much easier. Thank you soooo much and I love you.
Ooookay, moving on! After having my parents here I decided quickly into their visit that I am so happy I am not an only child!! Not that I didn’t love the one-on-one time with them, I just missed having my brother and sister around to act stupid with! They did come at a very good time though. I was beginning to feel very homesick and after some tough days all I wanted was to be surrounded by something or someone familiar.
I met them at the airport the day they came in (which was my dad’s birthday!) and after a tearful hello between my mom and I, we headed into the city. I had plans to take them to my apartment, the outdoor market right outside my apartment, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps, but because of the Rome Marathon that was going on that day so we inadvertently ended up walking around almost the entire city. It was great aside from the fact that I had messed up my ankle somehow and could barely walk and my parents were dragging from the jet lag.
The rest of the week was filled with museums, tours of Ancient Rome, and just walking the streets of Rome. I would say one of my favorite nights here with my parents was when they took my friends (Joy, Stephanie and Katie) and me out to dinner. The food was soo good, the wine was great and my parents got to see one reason why I love being here…my friends! On Friday we got on the train and made our way up to Venice for the weekend. Venice was incredible but my favorite part was the island of Murano which is located off of Venice. You can see most of Venice in a day (unless you absolutely love to go shopping…aka Jeanine if you ever go to Venice you should allow for ample shopping time there!! Haha) so the second day we were there we took a boat out to the islands of Murano and Burano. Murano is known for its glass blowing and we actually got to see a “master glass blower” in action! If you have never had a jaw-dropping experience before, then Murano’s glass factory is a MUST SEE for you! In less than 5 minutes this man took what used to be sand and made a vase and a glass horse figurine…it was absolutely incredible. After Murano, we headed over to Burano where hand-crafted lace is made. Apparently there are different types of stitches in lace and each different stitch in one piece of lace is done by a different woman until it is considered done. They said it’s a rarity to find young woman crafted in making lace and more of an old family tradition now. My dad thinks its because we are too lazy now, but then again I don’t see any men making lace now do I dad?! Haha.
After Venice was took the train to Florence where we trekked around in the rain for a day and then went on a tour of the Tuscany country side the next. We did a wine tasting at 1030am and were all feeling pretty good after that! Tuscany was beautiful and our tour guide took us around by car so we were able to get out and walk around whenever we wanted which was great. The tour ended in Siena and I parted ways with my parents to go back to Rome for school while they headed back to Florence for a couple more days.
Their last day in Rome was when I got to show them a little bit of the “off-the-beaten-path” parts of Rome. The weather was perfect so walked everywhere and easily ended up walking at least 10 miles! I took them to see the Mouth of Truth first. The Mouth of Truth has many different stories behind it. Some say it was used as a lie detector during the middle ages; it was said that if you told a lie while your hand was in the Mouth of Truth, your hand would be bitten off. Then there is the story about the woman that tricked the Mouth of Truth, thus why it does not work any more. They say a man brought his wife to Rome because he thought she had been cheating on him with another man. He took her to the Mouth of Truth to see for sure. Just before she put her hand in the Mouth of Truth a crazy man ran up to her and began hugging and kissing her cheeks, so when she put her hand in she turned to her husband and said “I have not been touched by any man other than my husband and that crazy man.” She was telling the truth but little did her husband know that the crazy man had actually been the man she was having an affair with. And lastly, the most uneventful story behind the Mouth of Truth, it is an old man-hole cover. I like the first two but I suppose you can believe whatever you would like!
After the Mouth of Truth we walked up to the top of the Aventine Hill, one of the 7 hills of Ancient Rome, to look through the Aventine Key Hole. This site is not known by many non-locals to Rome but one of the most beautiful and mind boggling things here. Looking through the Key Hole you will see a line of arching symmetrical trees and the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in the distance. This was designed purposefully by an architect who wanted to create an optical effect with one of the most beautiful structures in Rome, the basilica.
Later we headed up to Villa Borghese, one of the only parks in Rome and we fell asleep in the sun (and by we, I mean my dad and I because we can fall asleep almost anywhere!). We ended the day with dinner and walking around the city at night some more. It was perfect.
They left Friday and I headed for Paris the next day!
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