ROME
John and I landed in the Rome airport around 10am.
The anticipation of what the next 2 weeks would hold was almost unbearable :-)
An employee of Peace Corps Gambia had graciously put us in
contact with her brother who lives in Rome.
We had no clue what we were walking in to, but he had offered us free
lodging, so we were game. Confused for
awhile about how we were going to get to his place, we walked outside to find
Omar Njie with a huge smile and welcoming hugs, waiting for us with his new
Toyota Land Cruiser. We drove to the
outskirts of the city, listening to Omar’s stories about living in America, the
South Pacific, and working for the UN, noticing that the scenery was growing more
and more beautiful and posh.
We finally stopped at his home—a 3 story Italian villa. Our home for the next week! Couldn’t believe that on a whim, we got this! Blessing #3567392
One thing I love about African families is
that no matter where you are from in the world; they will invite you in as a
member of the family. No questions
asked.
Their children immediately became permanent fixtures of my heart :-) Three girls; each with unique characteristics that their parents took the time to nurture and applaud. Listening to Omar’s narrative of his struggle from a poor Gambian child to a where he is now, was so inspiring. I was so grateful to see a glimpse of the life I want.
Persistence, drive, and faith will get you anywhere :-)
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| Me and my girls modeling :-) |
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| Take note; this girl will own you all one day . So smart. |
What I loved most about Rome was how antiquity laid adjacent to modernity at every turn. Ruins were scattered like useless litter next to art deco apartment buildings. I found it bizarre, yet inevitable, that the objects of history were in such abundance that they had become worthless.
For me, however, I felt it a rare treasure. I loved being engulfed by history, walking roads that had once been traveled by Christ, Paul, Napoleon, Anthony the Great, and countless other leaders during the time of the Roman Empire. I truly felt like I was touching the history I studied in the $175, 30lbs “Art through the Ages” text book I was forced to buy for a pre-requisite at Emory, strolling past artistic relics from the renaissance period when Michelangelo and Da Vinci directed teams of 100’s of apprentices and commanded large sums for years spent on intricate ceilings and elaborately detailed sculptures of human likenesses. I’m not usually an art museum person, but the Vatican museum was truly magnificent.
We got lost a lot :-).
I was armed with my Rick Steves travel book, that I read in its entirety
on my boring voyage to Dakar, and a couple of other Italy resources. And though they came in handy, they couldn’t
fight the forces of fate that ordained for us to lose our course everywhere we
went. I forgot what it’s like to be in a
country where I’m rendered speechless by my lack of language skills and
orientation.
But, it gave us many little adventures—strolling down
streets in Trastavere, Rome at sunset, standing in the cold in Ostia, learning
how to hail a cab at midnight in Rome, eating terrible food, eating amazing
food, finding how to exchange money, catch subways, and lose debit cards.
I’m smiling thinking of our improvisation :-) hahaha, it was
fun.
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| The inside of the Pantheon. The circle of light in the top is an ancient sun dial. This is the largest dome structure after St. Peters Cathedral |
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| This guy just had to have his McDonald's....in Italy! SMH |
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| At the bottom of the infamous Spanish Steps. I made friends!! Lol. |
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| Trevi Fountain. Tourists to Rome must throw in a coin in hopes that they return. I needed to conserve my Euro, so I didn't, but I know I'm coming back :-) |
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| Sunset at the romantic Spanish steps :-) |
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| Beautiful sunny day outside of the Collesium |
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| We happened upon a random Venezuelan cultural parade ouside of the Collesieum! Merengue in the streets! |
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| Campo di Fiore open air market! So many amazing smells and sights. I bought strawberries and grapes and snacked all day. I also met Guineans and spoke a little Fulani :-) |
VENICE
We caught a train first thing in the morning to Venice. Of course the tickets we bought the night
before were the wrong tickets, and we didn’t have any more Euros.
Again, improvisation :-)
After about an hour of frantically running around the
station, we found our own private car on an 8 hour train ride to Venice; my first time on a long distance train!
As we gained altitude, a smattering of white topped houses
turned into a white blasted, snow scape.
The blizzard that hit the East coast of the US hit Venice with vengeance. For the first time in 20 years, it had snowed in Venice. When we landed, Venice was a snow covered, winter
wonderland.
Stunningly, breathtakingly beautiful….Speechless.
We stayed at the cutest little bed and breakfast with the
best service. If you are ever in Venice
check out The Albergo Marin. You won’t be
disappointed. They directed us to an
amazing restaurant….I don’t even remember what I ate, but I remember that it
changed.my. life.
Venice felt like I was floating through the pictures of a
story book. It was just as picturesque as
everything I’d ever heard of the city on water.
And CARNIVAL! We just happened to
catch the last day of carnival in Venice.
Celebration of Mardi Gras in Venice is more regal than wild. It’s a masked masquerade dating back to the
times when Venice was at the height of its reign. For 1 week everyone wore masks and costumes
so that there was no distinction between nobility and the commoners. It was a time of blatant debauchery and lewd
sexual acts, but now, a beautiful public display of palaces, gentlemen, lords,
and ladies of Venice. Brave Venetians
took full advantage of the holiday and showed off costumes which seemed to have been
painstakingly prepared over months.
I bought a mask the minute I reached the streets, and spent
the day prancing around the square, drinking coffee, imagining what it would
have been like to be a rich duchess in the Venetian high court :-)
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| Dodge's Palace |
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| Gimme yo cake! |
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| The Bridge of Sighs. Leaving Dodge's Palace, prisoners would pass this last sight of Venice and sigh on their way to execution. |
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| Dodge's Palace.... pure opulence |
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| The Grand Canal at Night |
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| OMG....no other words. |
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| On our Vaparetto (water taxi) to the St. Marks Square |
NAPLES
I was sad to leave Venice, my favorite city on the trip, but
we made our way south to the home of John’s ancestors, Naples!
Naples is far seedier than Rome or Venice. It isn’t a tourist’s city; it’s a city of
real Italian neighborhoods. We stumbled
upon old men playing cards in the street, great hole in the wall pizza places,
and saw normal Neapolitan life. The
coast of Naples was absolutely gorgeous and from the hotel you could see Mount
Vesuvius, the volcano that covered Pompeii centuries ago. There was great shopping too :-)
AMALFII COAST AND SORENTO
The last day in Naples, we spent traveling along the southern tip of Italy along the Almafii Coast and Sorrento. We met a great couple who joined us for the trip. Usually in movies when there is any shot of the coast of Italy, it is the Almafii Coast. It truly speaks for itself.
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| Sorrento :-) |
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| This is the official "Mama Mia!!" pose My fashionable friend I met on the trip down :-) |
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| Last Roman dinner :-) |
2 weeks had come to an end, and we made our way back up to Rome where we had to say goodbye to our beautiful new friends and their children. Bittersweet :-)
PORTUGAL
Our flight back to Dakar included a 24 hour layover in
Lisbon, Portugal. Unfortunately, it rained
the entire day in Lisbon :-( I’m sure
there was something gorgeous there, but the food was less than spectacular and
the normally gorgeous coastline was gray.
And then just around the time we needed to get back to the airport, the
sun came out. Yay Portugal?!
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| Yay...Portugal *in my un-amused voice* |
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| Sausage and french fries? Chicken stir fry and oranges? Ok. |
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| Seriously Lisbon? Chocolate and Vanilla scented babies?! No. |
DAKAR
We planned to go back to Dakar just in time to meet a huge
group of volunteers in the city for a West African wide All-Vol
conference. Though we missed the
conference, but we hoped to spend our last 3 days hanging out with the Guinean
and Gambian delegations. However, before
we landed, we had no idea where they were in Dakar, and all I had was a phone
number from an off brand, obscure travel website of the hotel that maybe,
possibly was hosting the other volunteers.
And we landed after midnight. Tired.
Hungry. In a foreign
country. In West Africa.
Adventure?
Through some finagling, and a con artist who led us to an
overpriced taxi, we made it to a hotel.
Not the one with the volunteers, but as we would find out in the
morning, within walking distance.
We had air conditioning, beds, hot water, and food. Good enough, no questions asked.
After living in Guinea, admittedly boasting one of the most dilapidated West
African capital cities, to see Dakar was incredible. It was comfortably African, so it felt like
home, but also hosted examples of African modernity….monuments, public transportation,
electricity, running water, air conditioning, and food from every part of the
globe. The last 3 days of our trip were
a relaxing stroll through Dakar streets and beaches, seeing good friends, and
saying goodbye to 2 weeks of chill. The people were pushier than Guineans,
probably due to the large amounts of tourists the city accommodates each year,
but the food made up for it :-).
My favorite moment in Dakar was spending all day eating
fresh grilled seafood, exploring the artsy Ngor Island, and saying goodbye to some dear friends who were returning home. Relaxing doesn't begin to describe.
Only to know that several hours away lay the same 2 day road
trip back to Guinea and the end of the fairytale trip that further confirmed
that dreams do come true :-)
I was back in Labé on a Thursday night and back into work
mode first thing Friday morning with a 2 day meeting for the Dare to Innovate conference;
still reeling from what had just ended a 2 month refuge from the work I love
so. But oh how necessary it was to take
a step back in order to continue to move forward :-)
When I started planning this trip; I didn’t think I had enough
money, I didn’t think I could spend that amount of time away from my projects,
and I had no clue how it was going to work out.
But I put my faith out there that the desires of my heart would be
fulfilled.
And all my fears were answered :-)
And I’m so grateful to my parents, John, and the friends who
pushed me to take a risk who all helped make this a reality.
Thank you :-)
And I hope you all choose, against the crazy schedule of
your lives and constant needs that pull at your every place of energy, to plan
your own fairytales. I am gradually
learning that we were created with time for rest and play in mind. Rest is a pre-requisite for productivity and
joy.
Decide this year to play more and make your joy a priority
:-)
Why?
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