Hi there fellow wanderlust! Do you remember the first time you realized the world was bigger than your home? Bigger than your town? I do. I was on a plane on my way to Italy and I was 8.
I knew that I wanted to see the world at a young age. I still remember the excitement I felt getting on that plane. I was about to have my very own, real life adventure! I remembering being amazed at how big the world really was. My 8 year old brain knew that there was so much to see, and then and there, on my first plane ride, I was bit with the bug. I knew in my heart I would be traveling for the rest of my life. I wanted to see as much of the world as I possibly could.
My family was spending an entire month in Italy with extended family. I definitely don’t remember everything that happened on that trip, but there were a few things that really stuck out to me. First of all, I was pretty peeved about being “too young” to go on some of the trips. I felt like I was stuck in Perugia the entire time I was there, while my older brother and parents got to go see Florence and other cool places. To be fair, my brother won the chance to go on that particular trip by eating the biggest pizza I have ever seen. This pizza had a 3 foot diameter! (I’m honestly not sure if that’s exaggerated or not…but it looked three feet to me!). Anyway, he ate the entire thing by himself, so as a reward my uncle told him he could go on the trip. I was so angry the day he got to go. My cousin Josh stayed behind that day and was able to cheer me up. He shared his game boy with me! My brothers NEVER shared their game boys. Josh won the title of coolest cousin ever with that one gesture. If you’re reading this Josh, you’re still pretty cool, and thank you. I don’t know if you even knew how much an impression that one simple act of kindness left on me. I think I even wrote about how you shared your game boy with me and it made me feel better when I went back to school and had to write about summer vacation.
One trip that I did get to go on was a drive to the church in Assisi. We went to see Saint Francis Basilica. I wish I could remember more about the architect of that building. However, the biggest impression I got from it was how high up the mountains we had to go to see it. It was so foggy out that night. We couldn’t really see anything. I remember driving down the mountain and we reached a level where the fog just entirely disappeared in a second. We had dropped back down below the clouds. That church was up so high it sat among the clouds. I couldn’t tell you the actual elevation of where that church sits, but in that moment, I was totally and completely amazed. I cannot wait until the day I get to return there and see the building and the grounds.
I fell in love with architect while I was there as well. When I came back home and had to make something out of clay in art class, I chose to make a house. An Italian house, like the ones I had seen while I was there. I remembered being captured by the fact that there were plants in everyone’s windows. It was so different, the way the houses were built in the old cities. I was fascinated by it. I had never seen anything like it in the United States.
I had so many experiences while I was there. As I got older, I’ve told everyone I wish I was older when I had that opportunity. I wish I could go see all the history I was surrounded by, but missed. I am so excited that I will FINALLY be able to do that! Next year, I will be going on a tour of central and southern Italy! I am beyond excited to finally have this chance to go and re experience Italy, in a way that I will remember this time!
Do you remember where you were? Do you remember what trip it was? What put the wanderlust in your heart? Mine was Italy.
Until next time, happy traveling wanderlust!
The Wanderlust Cookie 