I started preparing for my Europe trip months in advance. I bought supplies, did several practice packs, spent hours researching, and most importantly, I started re-reading Harry Potter. It sounds dramatic and overly sentimental to say that Harry Potter played…
Rome, Italy, and the Risk of Returning to a Place You Love After a Decade Away
When I was growing up in rural Mississippi, one of my most desperate wishes was to travel. For as long as I can remember, visiting Rome was the ultimate dream. I was obsessed with it. In my previous post about…
A Return to Florence, a Mishap in San Gimignano, and the Magic of Orvieto
I’d been to Florence twice before, but this trip felt like the first time that I really experienced it. My previous visits were both a decade ago when I was chaperoning high school students on weekend trips. I escorted a…
Gluttony, the Oldest University in Europe, and Finally Making it to Bologna, Italy, After 12 Years of Trying
There was a brief time when I thought I might study abroad in Bologna, Italy. My university held a summer program in Bologna each summer, and for a while, it seemed crucial that I find a way to do it….
Verona, Returning to Italy, and the Other City of Love
Part of me had been waiting for Italy for my entire trip. I’d dipped into Italy for a few days back in August to spend a night in Como and then 3 nights in La Spezia near Cinque Terre—places that…
Ljubljana, Bled, Sleeping in a Former Prison, and How to Spend Your Birthday Alone in Slovenia
When I arrived in Slovenia, I wasn’t doing very well. The headache that had been building for days near the end of my stay in Croatia had only gotten worse. My eyes ached, and I was exhausted. And to…
