Three... With Awe and Wonder
Through the eyes of a new traveler
Think back, if you will, to your first-ever trip outside the borders of your native country. Do you remember the deep anxious thrill bubbling up inside you?
You don’t know whether you’ll shake apart into billions of pieces because of how nervous you are, or scream at the top of your lungs because of the sheer excitement of traveling to a place you have only dreamed of.
Now, take that feeling and multiply it over 3 weeks.
That’s the gift we were given when our young adult friend, Jonathan, landed in Rome for his first-ever excursion outside the United States.
He was captivated!
Every twist and turn from the moment he landed was filled with awe and wonder.
We spent our first day outdoors as the weather was perfect for December 31st. But first, we had to pick up the passes we had booked, which required learning the new skill (for Jeff and I) of conquering the Metro (the subway.)
We’ve traveled on multiple buses and trains throughout Europe and in Rome. We also rode the tube in London. However, we never took the Metro on our two prior excursions to Rome.
Thankfully, we use phone apps to help us navigate transportation in many European countries. Metro…mission accomplished!
Once we were off the Metro, we meandered our way to the ticket office, which just happened to be inside… Saint Peter’s Square!
What?!
Yep!
Saint Peter’s Square was Jonathan’s first real visual of an ancient historical site.
Now, I know how excited I was on the way to Vatican City for my first visit. This was my third. And all three times I was (and still am) just as excited as the first.
Why?
Because I was blessed to not only see it again, but I got to experience the thrill of it through the eyes of our friend for the first time.
As we walked, I listened to him talk and ask questions, sharing his thoughts through many different angles of what he was seeing. I cannot count how many times he said, “I can’t believe I’m here.”
At least twice, Jeff walked over to Jonathan and gave him a big hug. Because the thrill of experiencing this ancient land through someone else was exhilarating.
Let me just say, that when you are visualizing a place so grand as Rome in real life for the first time, everything around you screams for your attention. Look to your right, there’s a fountain, look to your left, there’s another Basilica.
The sights.
The sounds.
The smells.
Every
one
of your senses is engaged.
So, you enter the doors of your first tour location and you don’t know whether you can keep standing or if you’ll fall to your knees. The sheer depths of your capacity to take it all in is mind-blowing.
All that has been imagined through books and photos is suddenly right before your eyes … IN. REAL. LIFE.
The essence of a place you knew existed only in what your mind had stored from studying it, perhaps, has suddenly become the matter that you are now physically standing on and capturing with every fiber of your being.
It is truly an existential experience.
I will end with this;
If you ever have the opportunity to go to a place you have only dreamed of through pictures and stories you’ve read, or maybe watched a Youtube video about…DO IT!
It will change you.
We would LOVE to help you not just imagine it but also get there and experience what we have in the places we have traveled to.
Three weeks…with awe and wonder has just begun. I look forward to sharing more with you in the coming weeks about this time with our friend.
One word. TUSCANY!! 🌞