Memorie Preziose della mia Avventura Italiana

Italy gave me so much more than just a handful of memories and thoughts to bring back home...the beautiful old ruins of Rome (a wonderful present from the past...if only they can speak and tell us things we can only speculate about), the cobblestoned streets (a feast for the eyes, but a torture to the feet --- my high-heeled-booted feet!), the terribly small SMART cars (I didn't want to risk riding in one) vis-a-vis the wreckless yet incredibly skillful Italian drivers, the beautiful cathedrals, the awesome Italian countryside...the flock of sheep, the rows of olive trees...the list goes on...

But my heart has handpicked a bunch of precious memories that will be etched in my heart forever. To name a few...

.....the teary eyes of my smiling wheelchair-bound aunt, Tita Rosie, upon coming out of the Fumicino airport, seeing Rome for the first time.  Tita Rose, you made it!

.....witnessing my "Tito Father" (my mom's brother, who I grew up calling "Daddit") being made "His Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales" by no less than the Pope Benedict XVI himself at the Vatican

.....seeing "Tito Father" upclose, walking about in his full black and red Cardinal regalia for the first time at the dinner hosted by the Philippine Embassy in Rome. What a sight to behold...

.....spending quality time with my hubby, dressing up like we own the world, taking 60 million pictures together and apart, and kissing after every winning shot

.....waving the Filipino flag amongst the international delegates in the crowd

.....shivering in the cold at St. Peter's Square on the first day, and melting under the hot sun on the next

.....listening to that well-known, rich and fashionable animalprint and fur-clad lady sitting with us say three times to me "I love the way you colored your hair, how did you do it?"

.....seeing the Church of Sta. Maria Maggiore bursting to its seams with Filipinos working and living in Italy and singing our "Lupang Hinirang" with them.  That made me cry.

.....holding Therese while she was sleeping throughout the whole mass at Sta. Maria Maggiore

.....seeing Pope Benedict XVI from special seats for three days in my life and seeing my parents overjoyed from their being able to hold and kiss his hand

.....seeing the tombs of my favorite Saints: St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare (my patron saint whom my parents got my name from); and saying hello and praying to the tombs of St. Peter, the first Pope and ofcourse, the late Pope John Paul II

.....seeing Michelangelo's Pieta...being able to get inside the Sistine Chapel...seeing the ruins of Pompeii (which I only used to talk about with my sister when we were kids)

  .....finally seeing the spots that I enjoyed seeing in my mind in Mr. Dan Brown's book: the roman fountains,  the staircase lit by tiny lamps from the altar of the Basilica of St. Peter leading to his tomb, the obelisks, Castel Sant'Angelo, etc.

....."wine being cheaper than soda and as common as water" ---Alcoholic Alter Ego!

.....my favorite fizzy/carbonated water being a staple in restaurants and stores, not just another dispensable option (I've been in love with Perrier eversince I was young)

.....LIMONCELLO, MY LIMONCELLO! 

.....the wonderful tiny shots of Espresso or Capuccino and finally enjoying them from decent breakable china instead of paper disposable cups. Hella real. (I'm sorry, Starbucks)

.....The regular tests of bravery and reflex whenever we cross the street from the Eurostars Hotel to Carrifour Supermarket and Mall (I always feared for my life whenever I crossed that road! I even tried coming up with lame excuses to avoid it)

.....walking down Via Condotti and going inside the original GUCCI store (Aldred pretended to be busy window-shopping on his own lest I catch his eye anytime to say...Mahal, can I buy this? *joke*)

.....my funny attempts to speak with the very little (and choppy) Italian words I  know and somehow still getting my messages across.  I'm proud of that.

.....the night Aldred got sick, mumbling like a helpless little baby and wanting me to hug him from the back and just spoon like that all night long

.....Mommy and Daddy taking goofy and happy pictures on the cruise to Capri

.....Lissa and Roy being trigger-happy with their cameras and competing against each other for the perfect shot...Roy as "Team Leader" of the kiddie group

.....my countryside adventure with my hubby and cousins to Citta di Sutri and Tuscania, walking around their piazza while having shots of my new love, Cointreau (French???), from yes, disposable plastic cups.

.....my first ocean sunset in Italy, watching every second of it while cruising back to Naples from Capri

.....the nightly parties at Roy and RJ's room, eating instant noodles, fruits dipped in nutella, crackers, Italian twinkies, beef jerky, Granola bars, Tim Tam and red wine (what a crazy food trip!) while downloading pics and bashing the travel agency hehehe

.....Marcus and Joaquin singing in the bus.

.....Ninong Nitoy's boys sleeping in the bus.

.....Ate Shelly sitting like a queen in the bus to Tuscania. I'm happy she's happy.

.....Kuya Joe and I, talking about his childhood days with Lolo and Lola during the two-hour bus ride back to the hotel while everyone else was sleeping.

.....Mitch making new international friends at the hotel. Her smile and undying energy. Her serving as a tour guide even if it's also her first time there.  Grazie!!!

.....watching my hubby in Tuscania, drinking in the scenery and all.  (It's a dream come true for him and me, we have always wanted to visit the Italian countryside way before this family trip to Italy hatched)

.....visiting a photographer's gallery in Sutri and buying one of his works autographed with "a Clarissa e Aldred.....and something else in Italian we can only hope means something good"

.....Trina falling, hurting her knees while still being able to save the salad take out in her hands. RJ couldn't help her because of the breakable souvenirs he was holding.  FUNNY ;P

.....Joei waking up too early for one of the events (it was only 2am!)

.....The electric train that almost split our bus in half...Trina's blood-curdling scream hehehe

.....having my portrait done at Piazza Navona (even if it didn't bear a single resemblance to me)

.....eating Crepe di Marnier, tartuffo and gelatto in galactic proportions

.....tossing the coins at Fontana di Trevi

.....my Italy-wide search for my winner SUPPLI (Deep-fried, crumb-coated Rice Croquettes with tomato sauce and mozarella)

.....Kuya Billy and his words of wisdom...his affection for everyone in the family and admirable efforts to make up for lost time...

.....Tito Gabby and his family...my crying cousins Crissy, Steph and Cindy

MOST OF ALL.....being able to spend time with my family and Rosales relatives who flew in from different parts of the world (some I've never even seen or heard of before), in an exclusive gathering on the night of March 23, 2006. This thing called "LUKSO NG DUGO" in Filipino? I felt it that one night at the Pontificio Collegio Filippino...Kindred spirits. It made my heart sing. It was so strong I wanted to keep hugging everyone and just never ever let go.  GRAZIE PER TUTTO, DIO!