Nomad at heart

As I stare at the beautiful, ancient structure outside my window, I wonder how I got here. What I had done in my life to deserve this gift.

Because that's what it was. A gift.

It was when I first began to learn languages that the concept of travel began to rouse my curiosity. The speed with which I learned Italian encouraged me to learn more about the country. The history behind the beautiful words that appealed to me so.

You'll find that when you've lived all your life in a new country, you find yourself appreciating places that are truly old. That have history, more fantastical than you can imagine. It was when I learned the history of Rome, that I truly fell in love. The history and the myth. The story of Romulus and Remus, of Zeus and Hera, and every other God and Goddess the Roman's adopted. Of an empire so strong they conquered almost the entirety of what is today referred to as Western Europe, and then it's inevitable fall from grace and power. Nothing excited me more than the prospect of visiting the coliseum, of throwing coins in the Fontana di Trevi, or marvelling over the beautiful statues.

For years I plotted my trip to this beautiful country, and it was as I plotted that my interests expanded. Due to my fascination with the mythology, it was not surprising that the next place I learned to love was Greece. However Greece turned into England, then Ireland, Turkey, Germany, Japan, Taiwan - what started as a small talent for languages, had over the years become a raging desire to explore. To see for myself whether the French were really as rude as portrayed. Whether the Irish were as drunk, the Italians as jovial, or the Taiwanese as friendly.

When my mother asked my what I wanted for my graduation present, it wasn't hard to answer.

I wanted to visit the country that started it all. Whilst my single-minded obsession with the country had passed, it still held a special place in my heart, and so it was only fitting that it was in Italy that my first foray into the world was begun.

And so it was that after years of curiosity, I found myself staring out my window in awe, as the lights from the Pantheon invaded my small hotel room. And whilst Italy is no longer the only place my heart yearns to explore, it will always hold a little piece of my soul, glittering brightly like the lights of the Trevi.