Coloseo, Roma

Rome had been a dream. It was a place I fantasized about as a young woman watching Roman Holiday over and over. I was Audrey Hepburn having her hair cut and styled from an admiring hairdresser, then buying hand-made sandals from a street vendor while licking un gelato cioccolato. It would be wonderful and worldly and I’d wear large dark sunglasses while taking an espresso in a charming sidewalk cafe. The people would walk by, hands speaking, the robust Italian language lingering in the air. Semplicemente favoloso!

To understand the beginning of my love affair with Italy we have to go back even further. Before I discovered Audrey Hepburn and Roman Holiday in my late teens, I was enchanted by the TV show Bewitched. I am a product of the generation brought up on daily doses of Gilligan’s Island, Brady Bunch, and Bewitched. Connections in my life today can be found in particular episodes of these shows. Books, music, and TV all crafted my sense of style. I do not regret this (even the <insert any 80s attire here>). Therefore, to understand my fascination with Italy, I have to take you back to an episode of Bewitched – you know the one where Darren has to learn Italian to impress a potential client but Endora can’t resist and puts a spell on her not-so-beloved son-in-law. What’s-his-name soon finds that he can only speak and understand Italian. In that moment, this little girl can’t imagine speaking anything but that bewitchingly animated language. Ever. I put accents on every word (not in a clichéd stereotype kind of way) and made up words so that I could pretend I only spoke Italian. Che bella lingua! I was hooked and the passion never died.

Many years of Italian classes, Italian films, and Italian literature passed, and even though I never lost my passion for Italy, I could never make it to the actual country. I went to Paris, London and Madrid but Rome usually got put aside. It always seemed like a good reason at the time – not enough money, there’s an art exhibition in London, free ticket to Madrid. Rome was so illusive and became such a fantasy that in some way I put it off for fear the reality would not love up to the Rome I created in my heart.

Then, in the summer of 2007, I finally arrived in the Eternal city. It was fabulous and the sun was bright and real and burned with the fire of the city. It lives on with its history to explore and culture to experience. Its simple existence stays with you when you leave. Walking through every street, every alley, I sought to grasp the structure and foundation of this new reality of Rome. I spoke the language. I ate creamy chocolate gelato.  I bought brightly colored scarves from the street vendors. And, I sat on the Spanish Steps, feeling a little like Audrey Hepburn with my own Gregory Peck at my side. It was my Roman Holiday and Bewitched and the magic was every bit I imagined.