I have a very vivid memory from my first trip to Rome. In 2004, sitting in a random piazza with my mother, I said to her, “Joe and I either need to break up or get married. Enough of this boyfriend/girlfriend bullshit.” The look she gave me was unforgettable. She almost choked on her prosciutto.
The irony of my statement was that she, along with everyone else in my life, already knew Joe’s plans to propose, and the exact date he would enact those plans. He had asked her permission months prior. It was to take place in less than 60 days! There was a surprise party planned. At which I wore the same shirt as the conversation with my mom. How crazy is that?! I digress.
Spoiler alert: Ten years later, I brought said boyfriend (now husband, not ex-boyfriend, thankfully!) back to Rome.
More spoilers: Ten years after that, the hoodlums produced from said union brought us back, again.
Actually, indecision brought us here. We couldn’t decide where we wanted to go. As Back to School rolled into Halloween, T1 kept delighting us with his answers to our daily question: “What was your favorite part of the day?”
We couldn’t believe the things that were coming out of his mouth: London used to be called Londinium – it was the capital of Roman Britain. Caligula was a bad Emperor, but Nero was worse. Would you rather be a Celt or a Pict? Come over here, I want to show you Hadrian’s Wall on the map. Boudica was queen of the Iceni tribe. There were more Iceni than Romans, but the Romans were better trained. Mom (insert stifled giggles), did you know Romans used to wipe their butts with sponges on a stick?
You can’t make this stuff up! After spending so many meals delighting in T1’s loquacious recapitulations of his history lessons, I looked at Joe and said, “Sounds like we need to go to Rome.”
“Sounds like we do,” he said.
The beauty of visiting Rome for the third time is that there wasn’t a “must see” list. We could focus on doing things for the kids, instead of dragging them along on our misadventures. And seize the opportunity to genuinely enjoy traveling with them.
Apparently, the legend of Trevi Fountain has held up impeccably for me. So Rome, guess that means I’ll see ya in 2034! Arrivederci!
Use Your Accent 