Entry 6: July 2, 2008

People who have preceded you to Europe make an attempt at alluding to the experience to the best of their ability, but until you, too, have become one of the initiates, there are few words to capture the essence and the bounty of the transforming elements that wait. Having waited so long for this opportunity, I felt that I might have had a slight advantage over the younger travelers in this program, but I have discovered that this is not necessarily so. I in contrast, feel perhaps more altered and awed by the alternate circumstances and memories acquired throughout my time abroad, and may even be more profoundly affected by such in my satisfaction with the life I left behind.

I spent my last days of this sojourn in Paris, which proved to be more than I allowed myself to anticipate after recent reports of cooler attitudes toward Americans. I felt no evidence of this inhospitality as I wandered throughout the city, in fact, outside of Venice, Italy, I felt no more at home anywhere else as I diligently tried to maintain an open heart and mind in my explorations. Perhaps my greatest compliment of the entire experience was when I was thought to be French by more than several people until I attempted to speak! In fact, it was in Paris that I allowed myself the most time to explore the essence of being in Europe rather than the pressure of how much could be seen in the amount of time allotted. I feel I was as enriched by the time I spent observing life passing by me as I paused at a one of the many enchanting side-walk cafes as I have been during many of my other more intellectual pursuits. This is not so much an evaluation, but perhaps more of a measure of an appreciation acquired over the accumulative measure of what has been achieved during this grand but fleeting tour of Europe.

Entry 5: June 20, 2008

I knew Italy was going to be a hard act to follow, but Switzerland has been a wonderful compliment to our travels there, now that the weather has turned for the better, that is! It is also interesting to have the contrast between the small towns and major cities that we have experienced throughout our journeys. Coming from the peaceful Alpine valleys of last week into a popular resort town has given us an interesting mix of both worlds. Since we arrived in Lugano to finish up our classes this week, we have found that our final destination together as a group here also has just a twist of the Italian culture mixed in so that we can still practice our "ciao and prego" before we travel on. Despite the impending angst of reaching the finish line for those of us who must return home next week, I am really trying to savor the time that remains.

A wonderful afternoon that lent itself to this goal was an excursion that we took as a group across Lake Lugano on Wednesday to the small village of Morcote, often referred to as “the Pearl of Ceresio.” The trip by ferry took just long enough to relax into the moment and enjoy once again the natural beauty of the landscape. The waterfront villages, the sparking water of the lake and the mountains meeting the shoreline around us was incredible. When we arrived at the former fishing village tucked into one of these hillsides alongside the emerald toned lake, again it seemed that we were suspended in time. Our destination was the Church of Santa Maria del Sasso, which was built to overlook the town from one its tallest peaks. The 16th century frescoes, Baroque interior and elaborate terraced cemetery were well worth our latest climb!

Alas, our last travel break after we conclude classes this weekend awaits all too soon. Although I had originally planned to wrap up my travel abroad session with Germany, after Venice and the spell she cast upon me, I have decided that the only way to proceed forward before my return to the States is PARIS!

Entry 4: June 17, 2008

As with so many things in life, just when you feel that you are becoming acclimated to a new set of circumstances, it is time to move on! Leaving our adopted home in Sansepolcro was difficult, not only emotionally but physically as well since we were breaking “camp” for the first time since we arrived in Europe. Hauling all of our worldly goods on our backs as we headed into the great unknown made us all feel like beasts of burden as we struggled to heave, shove and toss backpacks, luggage and miscellaneous bags on and off trains. I kept remembering the sage advice I received and meant to follow at Study Abroad orientations when we were warned by more seasoned travelers to pack what we thought we needed and then take half of it out. I truly wish that I had better heeded that warning!

After leaving Italy, we had several independent travel dates before we were to reconvene as a group in Stechelberg, Switzerland. Several other history majors and I had decided to head on route to Bern, the capital of Switzerland to explore the connection with New Bern in North Carolina. Bern, or Berne, is a picturesque town that has retained its old world charm while maintaining its status as a thriving city. Because of its innovative medieval street plan that has served as a model for town planning into the modern era, Bern is a wonderful town to take on foot. I really enjoyed strolling the cobblestone streets of Old Town with their often whimisical features like the numerous street fountains and the elaborate medieval clock with moving puppetry, the Zytglogge. Framed by the jewel-toned waters of the River Aare and the majesty of the Alps, it is easy to see why the town has joined such special places as Florence by being designated as a World Heritage Site. If only we had known that Switzerland was hosting the European football (soccer) championships! I can still hear horns honking in my sleep....

Before our classes resumed this week we also had a delightful several days in Stechelberg, a tiny hamlet that I can only describe as breathtaking. Our accommodations at The Alpenhof could not have been more ideal or our hosts more gracious. From every window of this charming Alpine get-away you could witness a waterfall created by the melting snowcaps as they cascaded downward to the nearest river. The mountains that were wrapped so closely around us, seemed like an ancient fortress separating us from any semblance of reality. Over the next several days, we ascended heights that made me feel that I could reach out and touch the sky. As we were hearing reports that from home about wildfires and heat waves, we were witnessing snowflakes and dreaming of our next mug of hot chocolate!

Entry 3: June 6, 2008

One of the more difficult lessons in life is in learning how to savor the moment, especially for Americans, it seems. The essence of travel is truly not about destinations, but rather about your ability to appreciate new influences and the inspiration that should be gathered along the way. My trip to Venice this week was the pinnacle of this philosophy as I discovered her renowned refusal to submit to straight lines and predictability. Everything about Venice defies logic and comparison. Venice knows no rules but her own and offers no explanation or apologies. Hemingway even once remarked that nowhere else in the world was better at not giving a damn, and I am convinced that after my first visit this week that this uncompromising nature is precisely why so many people fall in love with this enchanting city.

From the moment I stepped out of the train station and gazed upon one of the most famous street scenes in the world, I felt the fog that had continued to threaten me throughout this trip as I constantly readjusted to various circumstances, had lifted much as the moment in "The Wizard of Oz" when the picture changed from black and white to technicolor. I immediately felt renewed by all of the sights, sounds and possibilities.

If nothing else had yet convinced me to return to Europe, Venice certainly had the
power. I spent the next three days getting to know her, as well as Murano and San Michele, the cemetery island slightly beyond the mouth of the Grand Canal. The people I met there seemed to be placed within my path and the buildings themselves seemed to know my name.

Entry 2: June 1, 2008

At the conclusion of my second week in Italy, I am still in somewhat of a dream-like state as I end each day a renewed sense of awe. Even as we have settled into a bit of a routine in our adopted home of Sansepolcro, it is still amazing to wander the cobblestone streets where bursts of color from the bounty of blooming plants are dripping from the balconies and windowsills and absorb the timelessness that seems to flourish here.

Not that we have had long to admire the charms of Sansepolcro this week! In the course of just seven days, we have had a whirlwind tour of of the smaller, Etruscan inspired hill towns of Angliari and Arezzo, as well as the fabled cities of Florence and Rome. Some of the other groups added even more towns to their itineraries, but being given the choice, I chose to focus on Rome for our longer three day travel break, knowing full well I would still leave wanting more. Between Florence and Rome, I did get to see most of the sites that I considered important, I was even blessed by the Pope in Vatican City! It is so incredible to stand in the presence of places and the treasures they hold that you have been only reading about since childhood.
It is somewhat like standing in front of the ocean....The essence of such magnificence certainly humbles the human soul... One detour I took as we prepared to leave Rome, was to visit the Shelley-Keats Museum overlooking the Spanish Steps in the house where the English poet John Keats spent his final days. It was a nice respite after admiring so much visual art over the last two weeks, to cleanse my palate with a bit of literary history. Being an ardent admirer of the Romantics, I was delighted to learn more of the Shelley's, Lord Byron, the Browning's, as well as Keats, since they too, all were inspired by their own "world tours!"

I must mention again the beauty of the connecting countryside between our destinations. The green olive groves and lush vineyards with their Leopoldine farmhouses and outbuildings against the backdrop of these gentle hills are straight from the
image of a postcard. No tacky subdivisions, trailer parks or billboards to be found!

Entry 1

As I near the end of my first week abroad, I am still reeling from all the sensory information that has bombarded me since we landed in Rome! Since this is my first trip abroad, I am constantly fluctuating between awe and disbelief that I have finally found my way here! I am so grateful that as a public history major that I finally have the opportunity to explore the deeper roots of the relationship between humans and the exterior world in a place where people know how to live with the past in such intimacy. As we traveled to our temporary home in Sansepolcro, the first images of the Tuscan landscape made me fall in love immediately as I discovered that it was everything that had been promised.

The sense of place that the residents of Sansepolcro seem cultivate is evident is so many forms. One of the most touching moments that I have witnessed was when I visited the park created in honor of native son Piero della Francesca and an elderly Italian woman came up his statue to pay her respects by silently bowing before his image. It is so amazing to be exposed to experiences that the average traveler would not have access to such as our luncheon on the terrace of Casa Buitoni overlooking the valley where Sansepolcro has rested for centuries alongside the Tiber River. It is also so rewarding to be studying art and architecture in the "cradle of the Renaissance!