No, I have never been to Italy either. (And now, in this third in a series of “I have never been…”, I’m wondering if it’s “I have never gone…”) I can count the members of my family who have been/gone: mother, both brothers, sister and BIL, SIL and yes, my daughter.
Collectively, they have driven the Amalfi coast, the Italian Alps and walked the Ancient Via Appia. They have climbed the Spanish Steps and sat in the coliseum. My mother experienced an audience with the pope. All family members have imbibed the sacred wine juice and…lemoncello.
I haven’t been there, but their stories of where they’ve been captivate me. I could get lost in all the pasta recipes my sister has prepared in soups, salads, sauces and a main entree: alfabeto, anchellini, orzo, farfalle, fusilli, conchigliette, capelli d’angelo, cannelloni, lasagna, rigatoni, ziti. There is pasta A to Z and multiplied for each letter, I think. In her kitchen she has a poster print dedicated to dozens of shapes. If she’s short on inspiration, she glances at that poster.
My mother has brought me sensible souveniers. They are sensible in that they don’t take much space and yet are beautiful keepsakes: a cameo from Florence and a heart shaped piece of Murano glass capturing just about any color I might be wearing on a given day. She has told us the story of taking pictures there, accidentally setting her camera on movie which caused her pictures to be “eaten up” by the video footage. We still hear about, “I took a picture of X, but the camera ate it up.” Oh mom, we love you and yes we laugh. Thank goodness she has my sister’s pictures as back up.
My sister has been there more times than I can count and shares her pictures with us.
The coliseum
The Trevi fountain
The Spanish Steps
The Villa of Hadrian
Paestum–Greek ruins in Italy, South of Naples, Salerno
St. Peter’s, Vatican City, The Pope’s Balcony
Shewolf nursing Romulus and Remus
Rome Pietá
The Holy Spirit, St. Peter’s Cathedral, Vatican City
Positano
The midaeval town of Siena in Tuscany
We all have a piece of Italy on our walls.
These give me thoughts of wine and lemoncello.
These remind me to keep real garlic on hand.
Of course, there’s still another family story behind this Italian cookie jar.
No, I have never gone to Italy per se, but Italy has come to me. Next Sunday I’ll tell you the story in the cookie jar.
Thanks for sharing these photos. Just makes me want to go there even more now!
I hope you get to go, Darla.
I have enjoyed living it vicariously up to now. Perhaps I should re-read your most recent post encouraging your kids to go out and play and substitute it with “Go…take a trip…it’s better in real life.”
I really enjoy these “never been” series. I’m beginning to wonder if we have everything we need in our own backyard.
I’m so glad you have enjoyed them. They keep things in perspective I think. There is a lot that can “mined” from our own experience and vicariously.
I love it when people bring us souvenirs from their trips. I have a little angel from Italy my brother and sister-in-law brought me, and one of my fellow bloggers, Amy from San Antonio, sent me some beautiful things from her trip abroad. We’ve only been to Ireland, and I don’t know if we’ll ever get to go abroad again, but I love hearing of other people’s travels.
I agree, the souveniers are such fun. They’re tangible and have a voice of their own, I think. Ireland…Now there’s another place I have not really been…unless you count the time our plane made an emergency landing there. Oh goodness…there’s another story. Thank you for stopping by, Susan. Missed you.
i believe i would like that country, too. but i’d weigh 400 lbs. upon my return.
wine and bread and pasta for everyone!
I remember a lot of conversation about where they ate.
What a great series Georgette! I love it!
Haha…I’m so glad you do. More about never having been to Italy on Sunday.
See I get to live vicariously through you living vicariously! Don’t know why but the thought cracks me up!
haha…a mirror effect, eh?
Love the images your sister had taken from her trip. It’s like we were also there. Perhaps one day my friend, I get to see it in person too, Take care.
There is so much to see and do there. Yes, perhaps someday we’ll make it there.
The closest I’ve been to Italy is Bugatti’s, the Italian restaurant a couple of miles away. Sigh. Someday, eh?
Italian restaurants are good. That would be me, too, depending on which direction we go from the house. There’s a host to choose from, it seems. I bet the owners have been several times.
I HAVE been to Italy, actually. I was about 5 years BC (before children) and it was magical. We just stayed in Rome and I’d love to go back and explore the countryside. My daughter took 2 years of Italian in college, so maybe we’ll go when she graduates in 2 years…in fact, I’ll plan on it!
What an extraordinary graduation gift that would be! I’m so impressed your daughter has taken Italian in college in the midwest. I like your thoughts of going back with your daughter…Gwen? right? I do think it takes a lifetime to make memories of all the places we have been, and to experience those places at various stages of our lives. I remember taking my daughter to Paris where I was able to show her where I went to school and stayed…we’ll always have that memory.
I finally went to Italy a few years ago. It was only for a day (we were visiting Slovenia and took a day trip). We went to Trieste because I wanted to make my “coffee hajj” to the Illy cafe where the espresso machine as we know it was invented.
I’m sure one day you’ll get to one of your Never Beens. It took me 25 years to finally get to France and I never thought it would happen, but it did, so I’m sure it’ll just be a matter of time
Btw, been vs gone: in practical terms, the meanings often overlap, but there is a subtle difference:
“Been” would imply that you went somewhere but came back already. You are no longer there.
“I’ve been to the store (and am now home, unpacking the groceries.)”
“Gone” is that you went but are still there.
“I’ve gone to join the circus (and will send the divorce papers soon because I’m not coming back!)”
In the case of “never been/gone”, I imagine you could use either one. Since you never went there in the first place, you never had a chance to not come back!
So both meanings would technically still be true.
I can’t believe it was Trieste where you were! You won’t believe this but my roommate in Paris who was working on her doctoral thesis on Georges Sand was from Trieste, Italy! She did tell me it was in the north of Italy, so I can understand your passing through Trieste. With her Italian and French, and my Spanish and French we communicated for the time we lived together at a foyer on the Isle de St. Louis. We both were studying at The Sorbonne. I posted about my time in Paris last summer in this post: “Vous avez des postes aujourd’hui.”
Thank you for the clarification on been/gone. Yes, it makes perfect sense now.
Ah! I’ve just been to the grammar page to sort out “been” and “gone”, but limr beat me to it. What she says is exactly what I found. As it turns out, that explanation also helps to sort out the line from the old song. “Another man done gone…” is exactly right, since that poor old fellow won’t be coming back again!
Despite the number of times I’ve seen photos of the Pietá, I must say – your photo here is so striking. I like it very much. I also enjoyed the view of Positano. I have a friend who grew up in Librizzi, and the towns very much resemble one another.
Now, it’s time to go cruise the recipe pages to figure out what I might do with a bit of limoncello! I love anything lemon, and I’m down to my last jar of lemon curd and some Newman’s Virgin lemonade. There’s a Spec’s down the street, and if I could find a decent recipe I might give it a go. Thanks for the reminder that there’s another kind of lemon out there to ease the summer heat!
A colleague at the college makes her own limoncello, something I still haven’t tried. But with Christmas so many months away, perhaps I could try it in order to have some homemade gifts on hand. Right now we’re waiting in anticipation for grandbaby #2 by the end of the month and then fall term will be starting so very soon, so all my planning seems to be going in those directions. What a wonderful thought to think I could have some homemade Christmas presents ready for the season if I get on to it soon! We’ll see.
I’m glad you enjoyed my sister’s photos. She has hundreds. I asked her for just a dozen or so. Since she’s skittish about posting on the internet, she shared ones without people. These are postcard quality I think. As a matter of fact I compared it to the postcard photo I used in a post back in May, and it’s hard to discern a difference. If I were to go to Italy, it would have to be with my sister.
I’m glad the “been/gone” question has been addressed and answered. I thought “been” was the correct choice of wording, but as I wrote this third in the series, I had second thoughts. I thank limr for addressing and answering the question.
I’ve never been to Italy either, but the Pieta came to me at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York. I will never forget that moment even though I was only 11 years old. I also helped to send something to Italy, Florence to be precise. I worked with an American ex-airline pilot who created the Leonardo da Vinci horse that da Vinci was never able to complete. It was an incredible undertaking and Leonardo’s Horse has since been donated to the people of Italy in honor of Leonardo’s creative genius and is in a plaza in Florence. Perhaps someday I will see the horse in it’s new home…
What a fascinating story about the da Vinci horse. Perhaps you can write about it some day. That would be the close of a very interesting circle if you could see that horse in its plaza in Florence.
The Pieta came to you in 1964! How fortunate you were to see it. It goes to show that early experiences like that stay with us forever and always.
Italy is the place I recommend for folks who only expect to have one trip to Europe in their lives. And anywhere will do. The cities are magnificent, the countryside is picturesque and the seacoast spectacular. The food and the people are wonderful There is nothing missing, except at the moment you and me.
Now on to your next piece! (Yes, I’m late!)
Oh, Elyse, no worries. You’re not late and if you miss–please know I know you’re busy at the phone bank, and keeping abreast of this busy political season. I appreciate your reading, commenting and visiting. My years in Europe add up to a couple of years in Spain, France, Belgium, Germany and England — but not Italy as yet. I guess I need to plan a trip with my sister who knows Italy best– some day.
I thoroughly enjoyed your post and loved your sister’s photos – they are really excellent – and then again I enjoyed reading the comments. I agree with everything Elyse said ie
Italy is the place I recommend for folks who only expect to have one trip to Europe in their lives…
We were last there 2 1/2 years ago. And cant wait to go again.
My goodness Georgette you’ve lived in many places in Europe!
I’m glad you enjoyed this. The family leaves again today, not for Italy but for Germany where my nephew will marry his high school sweetheart. I can’t go as daughter #2 is expecting her first very soon and I made the decision to stay home for that, finish summer 2 and begin the fall term on Aug 27. I have had the opportunity to live and travel in Europe, so am content to stay home. Thank you for reading.
I will say again, your 1-12 was so well thought out and developed–not at all long–quite perfect I think.
I too would stay home if my daughter was expecting a baby. Such an exciting time for a Granny
Thank you for mentioning my post on the Camino challenges. Its so encouraging to get feedback like this from another blogger. You’re so thoughtful. I hope I can meet you some day Georgette.
Can’t wait! Becoming a grandma again–there’s nothing like it!
This is as close as I’ll probably ever get to Italy.
Thanks for sharing the photos (the ones that didn’t get eaten) and the lovely treasures. I’m always amazed by cities densely built on the hillsides.
Patti, I think I would love to visit a small Italian town like Positano and perhaps even experience it during a thunderstorm.
Oh my poor mother and taking videos = pictures eaten up by the memory needed to store so much video.