"One Does Not Simply...Walk Into Vatican City." "Blessed is he who has learned to laugh at himself, for he shall never cease to be entertained." - John Powell You know the Rome from brochures and the Travel Channel, the one with pigeons and marble gargoyles and stone masonry engraved in Latin? It exists. As with the volunteer charity work I'd done in Ghana, Africa some years ago, I think I was surprised not to be surprised upon arriving here, to find a reality ...

Anthony Bourdain I Am Not "All I know about Italy is that everyday you're gonna eat something that makes you happy to be alive." - Herb Eckhouse My hosts and I startled each other the next morning. I emerged from my bedroom at 7AM with my shoes on and my shoulder bag slung across my body, intent on finding a cafe somewhere for my long-fantasized-about cappuccino and cornetto (the Italian version of a croissant). I nearly collided with Mario in the hallway, who ...

Per La Prima Volta "Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear." - The Princess Diaries The literal translation of "to give birth" in Italian is dare alla luce - "to give to the light". It was a long and bumpy ride over the Atlantic. Flying east through the blackness, it felt as though we were chasing the sun, looking for the light that had left us behind in Chicago. Somehow, somewhere, sometime...

No Reins "Lonely is a freedom that breathes easy and weightless and lonely is healing if you make it." -Tanya Davis I figured it out. That primal, intuitive drive that awakens to override conscious thought at the exact moment you arrive at a crossroad. Action jumping the gun on logic just when you need it most, whether you know it or not. Ever since I was a tween, I've been the proud owner of something I've come to call my "Inner Horse" - a young, unbroken mar...

The Plan Author's Note: I'd like to apologize in advance for the sheer scope of this post. Future entries won't be nearly this long, but this one concerns the planning process, and the planning process…was long. "Remember Cotopaxi" "I can almost see it, that dream I'm dreaming, but there's a voice inside my head saying 'you'll never reach it'." - Miley Cyrus, "The Climb" April, 2013 Here's what they don't tell you about following your dreams: You will ...