The End of a Long Journey; the Fulfillment of a Dream

So.............. I just backpacked through Europe. I'll come back to that.

Yesterday I didn't end up going to Pompeii like I had planned. I was up around 8, but I wasn't out until a little after 11. When I got to the train station, the lady I talked to informed me that it is a three hour train ride just to get to Naples, and from there I would've had to take local transportation to Pompeii. I don't know why I didn't think of this - I knew it was a good distance away - but for whatever reason I just didn't think about it yesterday morning. So it would've been a good 7 or 8 hours of travel time round trip, with only an hour or two in the ruins. So I just said nevermind. It may have been for the best, anyway; after I went to the train station I checked the weather because it was looking like it was going to rain. It sorta did, off and on, but the weather was supposed to be worse in Pompeii, both yesterday and today. Oh well. So after that I went wandering around Rome for awhile, going everywhere but the area of the Roman Colloseum and Forum. I stopped to eat some pizza at a little joint I passed (it was really good), saw a big church (Maggiore something or other), and just generally observed the city. At one point, I accidentally caught a glimpse of the Colloseum. I was trying to save it until today - I didn't even want to see it. It didn't really ruin it, though. A bit later on, I got a little lost and my guidebook wasn't helping me at all. I ambled in what I thought might have been the right direction, and ended up a block or so away from my hotel. I had a thought then: perhaps sometimes the best way to find where you're going is to get lost. After that, I went to this niceish Italian joint just up the street. I had the best glass of Chianti I've ever had, with some bruscetta with tomatoes, green olives, and something else, and then risotto with a light brown sauce and some other stuff. I finished it off with espresso and a little thing of chocolate mousee; the whole meal was phenomenal. AND only 25 euro!

Today was a short day. I was up at nine, and out by noon. The only thing I had left to do here in Rome was see the Colloseum and the Roman Forum, and it only took a few hours. I knew it would, and had planned accordingly. It's why I wasn't out until noon. The ruins of the Forum were much, much more extensive than I thought they would be. It was so cool. You could go into Augustus Ceasar's (technically the second Roman Emperor, but the first who stayed in power and probably the greatest emperor of them all) house, but there was an uber long line so I skipped it. Still, it was really cool. They put trees and bushes all over so that, in a few places, you get a real feel for what it would have been like there 2000 years ago. After that, I went to the Colloseum. That, too, was awesome. It is huge, and you get a good feel for just how advanced Roman construction was. I really enjoyed myself today. After that, I went up to the train station to reserve a spot on the first train to the airport tomorrow morning (552 AM). On my way, there was some kind of protest or demonstration going on, I'm not sure what it was about. After I finish writing this, I'm going back to my hotel to finish the little bit of food there, and the other half of that bottle of wine I bought Thursday. I'll go to bed early so that I have a chance of being somewhat well rested for my 20 hour (including train time) sprint home.

From what I have observed in my brief stay in Italy, and from what I already knew, the biggest trait that I see most Italians sharing is passion. This manifests itself in several ways. It's what makes their food so good. It's what makes them good, if volatile, companions and lovers. It's also what makes them scream at each other over soccer and probably what led to them being the biggest gangsters in America. There was one point in Florence when a car had to screech to a halt because the guy driving hadn't noticed that the pedestrian's 'walk' sign had lit up, and that they had the right of way. At first, he honked and yelled at the people. But then three different other men, walking, (I don't think they knew each other) walked up to the side of the car and started screaming in his window. I made sure I was out of earshot before I started laughing. I love it here in Italy, especially Rome, and I think I could get used to Italian culture if I wanted to. I also think that Italian women are the most beautiful of the ones I've seen while over here. They also look like they may rival French women at how high-maintenence they are.

Ok, so now about the whole me backpacking through Europe. It's a little hard to believe that I just did it. When I was much younger, probably around ten or so, I laid out a few big goals for myself: skydiving on my 18th birthday, hiking the appalachian trail (or the continental divide trail), and backpacking through Europe. Of those three, going to Europe seemed the most remote, the most unlikely. It wasn't quite how I had envisioned it - I think I meant actually walking throughout Europe at the time - but it has still been quite something. In some cases, all I managed to do was find out where I want to come back to. I didn't go to Venice, Pompeii, most of Spain, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and a few places in France. I would probably have to take another five weeks to do all of that right. I also haven't seen any of Eastern or Central Europe, and then there's still Asia, Africa, and Australia. But still, what I have seen has been remarkable, and I suppose I am now something of a world traveler. Does that make me worldy? Maybe not, at least not yet.

It's hard for me, at this point, to tell how much I've changed, if I have even changed at all. I suspect that I won't know for several years yet. I made some observations about the world, but I don't know if I can really speak with any authority about the different cultures of Western Europe. I had a few epiphanies, wrote a few essays, and thought a lot, but I don't know if I have become any wiser. I may go home and slide right back into the place I was when I left; but then I may go home, move out, finish my book, and go back to school with a newfound drive. Maybe it will be somewhere in the middle, I can't really say. Perhaps I am overthinking things; I tend to do that. Whether I grow from my time in Europe or not, I have had some amazing experiences, and done things at the ripe old age of 21 that some people never get the chance to do.

I'm not sure if I actually lost any weight. At one point I know I had, because my stomach was much smaller. But then I started eating regularly and my days became a bit less strenuous, and I may have gained it all back. No big deal, I was going to have to keep exercising and dieting when I got home either way. Besides, I didn't come here to lose weight.

Europe is a fantastic place, with as many different cultures and landscapes as there are countries. If anybody is thinking about taking an extended trip, I would strongly recommend coming here. Also, if anyone wants some advice on how to travel or where to go, I can help some with that, too. I ended up spending about 5000 dollars in all, over five weeks. 2000 of that was airfare and my Eurail pass. Another 800 was losing my camera and staying in a hotel here in Rome. I've actually paid for about half of the trip, with the other half charged on my credit card. I'll have it paid off by the end of December, mid-January at the latest. I would have been able to pretty much just paid for it out of pocket, but my car broke down, my computer caught a rather expensive virus, and I stopped paying attention to how much money I was spending a month or two before my trip because I was having such a good time with my friends. Still, I think it was a pretty good way to go, and I'm happy that I was able to set out on this huge undertaking without help.

Tomorrow night I get back into Cincinnati at 7 something Eastern time, before going to dinner with my rents and then crashing. Monday I plan on doing absolutely nothing, except for maybe cooking some. Tuesday and Wednesday I'll be catching up and partying with friends, going into work to tell them I'm still alive and would love to work next Saturday night, and write. And post Facebook pics (that's going to take FOREVER). I plan on junking out through Thanksgiving, but I'll be exercising all this week and be right back on the wagon after next weekend. Life as usual will resume after that.

I know I've rambled a bit in this post; sorry about that. I'm just saying any last minute things that come to mind, anything that I feel like maybe I ought to say seeing as how this is my last entry for this blog. For those of you who have followed it and made comments, thank you. To everybody who has read even one, whether I knew about it or not, thank you as well. I hope whoever has read these has enjoyed reading them as much as I have enjoyed writing them.

It's been some adventure, but I'm ready to go home. For now, I'll say goodbye to Europe. It's been fun.

-Ben Rosenzweig