it looks like it’s … leaning.

so there may have been this one time that i believed that plymouth rock was in pennsylvania. because that’s where the pilgrims landed. on the pennsylvania coast.

and that one time may or may not have been when i offered that information to someone while i was in college. in massachusetts. of course this is ironic because i neglected to recognize two indisputable facts:

a. as i uttered this belief, i was standing about 45 minutes away from plymouth rock. (and i now believe that massachusetts makes its relationship to the mayflower quite clear.)

2. my *entire* seventh-grade social studies class revolved around coloring maps of the united states. every map involved labeling the states. many revolved around the 12 colonies and the path of the mayflower. i’ve never seen so many maps in my life. (our teacher was busy watching jeff gordon’s racing stats and hiding playboys in his desk drawer. i hope the jeff gordon thing worked out for him … the playboy thing didn’t.)

d. there is a new jersey-shaped dent in the side of pennsylvania, thus thwarting any chance the amish state had of having a coast.

i now acknowledge my geographical oversight and view it as both a humbling learning experience and a phenomenal opportunity for an ice-breaking comedic story. [note: story is only funny the first two to three times. then it loses some of its charm.]

anyways, i received both a laugh and a sense of redemption when i called amor on friday to say “hasta luego” and get some italy-traveling wisdom. as i ticked off the list of side trips we’d be making – lucca, pisa, assissi – she cut me off mid-sentence: “wait – i didn’t know you were going to france too!” … because that’s where she thought the leaning tower of pisa was.

now i don’t know if that tops the pennsylvania pilgrims, but it’s got to at least be in the running.

* * * *

so today was our first day really venturing into italy. due to the excitement of the day, i woke up after only three choruses of “dayman” blasted helpfully by my iphone alarm.

pisa (the italian one) was first up, and i swear i’ve never seen anything like the sight that met me when i looked through the main arch of the city wall. it was also the first time we heard helga, our adorable tour guide, call the vendors “wendors,” so it was truly a special moment.

finally, mr. nolde’s history slides came to life. and the reality was just so mcuh better than i’d imagined. it’s really incredible how electrifying the past can be. i really hope i’m not gushing like this the entire week (i loathe excessive gushing), but it will be impossible for this trip to fail to meet my expectations. because this trip, this need to stand on european soil, isn’t about finding perfection. it never was. and as i stood there looking at the world’s most famous failed architectural project, i knew it.

this trip is about perspective. the architect who declined to identify himself as the mastermind behind the sinking bell tower of the onetime maritime city (i suppose he never heard of swamp castle) certainly put everything i’m accustomed to seeing in perspective. i love the u.s., but i love that there’s so much more outside of it. today, christina, mom, kara and i ate pisa pizza outside with the leaning tower of pisa as our backdrop. unreal. some people live this history every day.

* * * *

lucca was fascinating – the tour guide we hastily thought might not be as engaging as ricardo of pisa turned out to be incredible. i’ve never heard a person with such a historical and artistic and spiritual insight ask if he was boring a group so many times. first we started with the city’s still-intact world war ii fortifications, which enclose the inner, completely walkable city and offer cars only three entrances. the one we saw was a sunken road that used to be surrounded by a moat – i hope it had a drawbridge! (i am such a nerd.)

lucca was such an inspired choice for a visit because, for all its history, it’s not a tourist trap. though i know my ever-clicking camera betrayed my outsider-ness, it was so illuminating to see a glimpse of typical italian life outside of the realm of tchotchkies and street wendors (intentional spelling). although, not gonna lie, i can’t wait to give amor her new leaning shotglass …

the streets have so much character – narrow, cobblestone, full of pedestrians and leisurly bikers (that must be how they keep the calories off …) and balconies with flowers and italian pride. i don’t think i’ve seen half as many american flags in the last month (election-night speeches excluded) as the number of italian flags i saw hanging off balconies and buildings today. i envy the italian’s sense of identity. they don’t forget to wear it on their sleeves.

best part of lucca: the cathedral. (one of *48* churches inside the city walls.) the exterior was romanesque, the inside was part gothic, part renaissance, part legend. i can’t believe i’m going to say that i was glad we weren’t allowed to take pictures, but i was. there was an aura in that space that was so palpable. the legend says its striking wooden cross was the very first one made – crafted by nicodemus, who, based on a premonition, sent it sailing away in an unmanned ship until it “chose” italy, where two un-driven oxen carried it to lucca, the cross’ choice for its new home. i kind of love the fact that the church won’t carbon date the cross to find out when it was made – it lets you make the choice to decide that even if the logic that dispels the legend is true, it doesn’t matter. there’s still a draw, still the sense that a higher power is present in that cathedral.

side note: the cathedral has *two* organs and *two* choirs! catholic surround sound!

accomplishment: two store owners thought i was italian today. i think they must have thought i was the strong, silent type, because the only words i could say were “quant’e?” “grazie” and “arrivaderci!”
but i was still proud.

fun/kinda gross pisa fact: the reason the baptistery has a weird dome top is because there used to be a huge hole in the dome to catch rain in the center to use for full-immersion baptisms (cue “my big fat greek wedding” kiddie-pool imagery). i guess they figured out it was unsanitary. it must have smelled lovely …

disappointment: how can a country of such beauty and culture not have a single can of dr pepper in it?!

gelato quota: met. mento gelato di lucca. delicioso.

viva italia! so it begins …

so we’re flying above the clouds as the sun is rising over italy and it’s finally starting to sink in. those are *european* clouds, we’re about to get the first ever stamps in our passports and i’m about to see something completely different from anything i’ve seen before.

the only thing that could make this plane ride more exciting is a window seat. but i’m cool with shamelessly staring over people’s shoulders, and a horrible italian movie (judging by the compelling subtitles) was enough to remind me that this is no trip to epcot center. we’re really going to see the world. here we go -

* * * *

wow. so we’re in an autobus driving to firenze with some incredible italian countryside on both sides and the world’s smallest suvs speeding past. it’s kind of amazing – the mountains and the fall foliage (safe word!) could all be scenes from parts of america, but it just feels different. probably aided by the radio station that just made the totally intuitive transition from italian-language pop into the new radicals’ “get what you give.” interesante.

our driver no comprenda inglese, so as he led our troupe outside the bologna airport and over to the world’s smallest coach bus, it took my use of the italian word for “when” and the spanish word for “time,” accompanied by a nice motion of spreading my hands apart to get him to tell us the length og our ride to montecatini. unfortunately for christina and her bladder, he did not appear to understand the word “baño.”

but to back up for a minute, the flight from rome to bologna gets top honors in the “best part of the trip’s first 12 hours” competition. first, two words: window seat! i may not have had the all-access pass to look down at the italian sunrise, but instead i got the fully illuminated aerial view of the roman coastline, along with the mountains covered with trees and interrupted only by the tiniest dirt line of a winding road, wisps of clouds dotting the sky below us.

second, i was able to draw on the limited phrases i spent flight #1 trying to help cram in with the help of the 15-minute italian course we’ve had for two months but i never quite got around to opening, courtesy of my eternally sharp procrastination skills. the flight #2 attendant asked me if i wanted water, and instead of reprising the “yes, with bubbles … bubbles …” refrain from flight #1, i confidently guessed that i wanted “l’acqua gassata,” and lo, my water with bubbles appeared. i’ve always been a binge learner.

and about the arrival and disembarking, i offer three things:

1. we walked off the plane through an open-air set of metal stairs while a shuttle awaited us. how presidential!
(thumbs up)

2. after picking up our luggage, we just strolled out the door – no security, no customs, NO STAMP IN MY PASSPORT. to paraphrase sandra bullock as lucy, expressing my innermost thoughts yesterday, “tomorrow i’m going to have a stamp in my passport, and it’s going to say ‘italy’ on it!”
i’m not an international-travel virgin anymore. i want that stamp.
(thumbs down)

[note: there were no paparazzi waiting for us as we stepped purposefully off the plane ... what a waste of a good staircase.]