Scotland is heading for the independence referendum, Catalonia would love to have one. Anyone else?

Ask people about their hobbies and most of them will mention travelling. It seems to be an inherited feature of the human mind, one that has always made people move, explore other continents and spread throughout the world. Yet, in modern era, travelling has two faces, it can be a hobby or a passion. On my fist trip, it started as the first and ended as the second one. And there is one particular place where this change happened.

As the destination of my first own holiday, I chose Rome, the embodiment of the European history. It seemed only logical to follow the itinerary in order to embrace the city in its wholeness. Following the itinerary has one strong benefit – you will see a lot. Especially in Rome, where a day can be spent at a square mile, visiting the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument – the marble set of pillars and statutes occupying the whole side of Piazza Venezia, looking proud but slightly clumsy as well; the Capitoline Hill, whose wide staircase, star-shaped piazza and moderate palaces make the place majestic, restrained and cosy at the same time. At the near Roman Forum, a man is also flooded by mixed feelings – admiration of the subtle beauty of the ruins of the temples but also pity that their original look can only be a matter of imagination. Then, after spending some time at the Palatine Hill, the aristocratic district full of relaxing atmosphere, and at the grandiose Colosseum, the overall impression of mine was that I spent the day fully and thoroughly.

Yet, my greediness made me go on, so I went to the city centre without any planning ahead. The sun was setting but the air was still warm and as I was wandering down the streets with a gelato in my hand, I felt thrilled by discovering Rome not through particular places but through the city itself. I turned some more corners, looked in front of me and got speechless. At a tiny piazza, there was the magnificent Trevi Fountain glaring in the night and singing its water song. I stood amazed in front of it for some time and then I realised that none of the monuments that I had previously seen made me feel that way. And even though I was planning to visit the Fountain later during the trip, I knew that seeing it intentionally would deprive me of the excitement of discovery, the feeling which medieval explorers must have had. I loved the feeling. That night, the first time I saw the Trevi Fountain, my life changed. Travelling stopped being my hobby and became my passion.