Welcome to the Journey!

If anyone's met me for more than five minutes they'll quickly realize that my great love in life is Italy.  First, let me tell you a little about myself.  During my first combat tour in Iraq I made a list of things I wanted to do with my life if I survived the war. Number one on that list was go to Italy. I have always wanted to go there.  In college I double majored in History and Art, two great passions of mine.  Well, Italy has more history and art than you can shake a canolli at.   Mmmm.....I'm just thinking about canolli.   Well, as you can see, I survived Iraq and I went back to college. Unfortunately when I got back I didn't adjust well.  I ended up so full of anger and rage that I ended up hating almost everything and everyone. I remember thinking that the world didn't deserve to be happy. No one understood what I and my fellow soldiers had gone through.  They asked ignorant questions like "So, did ya kill anyone?" That just infuriated me even more. It seemed that my fellow students were completely ignorant about the war being fought over seas. Also, I couldn't relate to their petty concerns and problems.  To them a real problem was missing an episode of American Idol. I didn't see any goodness or beauty in the world. After my first semester back my art-history professor was going to take a group over to Italy and she suggested that I should go. I was single, had money and had nothing else to do...why the heck not??  So I signed up and flew over to Italy with the school group.  I knew it wasn't going to be a lame, touristy rushed tour because my two professors were awesome.  Just driving from the airport in Ostia to Rome and driving through the streets I saw things I never thought I'd see in my life. We drove by the Colosseum!  It was just right there in front of me!    That was only the first of many, many sights I'd see that blew me away. There in Italy I tasted the best food I've ever had.  I met the nicest people, saw the most gorgeous churches and scenery, saw the most historic sites and gazed on the most divine art I've ever seen.  It was in Italy that I learned that there was goodness and beauty in the world. I learned that I could be happy again and now every time I think of Italy, I cant help but smile.  After my second tour in Iraq, I went back to Italy and lived in Rome where I taught English to the wonderful Italians.  I got to wander around like a lost vagabond and explore Italy like a local.  During the journey of this blog I hope to bring you along with me on my adventures.  We'll explore the old churches, the forts, the palaces and the museums.  We'll eat at all the best and worst places, have gelato and wild boar sausage and learn about the art and the history of the countless places.  I hope you enjoy the adventure as much as I do.  But remember, I'm eccentric so I won't go along with the same things the cheap tour guides go with.  I'll offer a unique perspective of Italy with eyes trained in art, history and life.
I think this next picture sums up what my blog will be about.