Hopes of Italy

a keepsake box i love, available on etsy.com

I got an exciting email the other day. It was from my dad, who had been stationed in Korea with the military. He had gotten orders to go to Naples, Italy for a month, four days after returning from Korea. He will be there during my April vacation, so my sister and I will hopefully fly out to meet him. I originally had plans to make formal college visits during break, but going to Italy definitely takes precedence.

I have been once before, when I was 11, and have always regretted that my parents chose to take us there when Diana and I were so little. We spent the bulk of that vacation crowded into a car that was several sizes too small, trying to drive across the entire country. This time, I want to go to Italy not as a tourist; I don’t want to worry about seeing every tourist attraction, about getting in line early to see Michelangelo’s David.

a photo of my grandfather at the trevi fountain in rome,
in the 1980s. this picture has become loved by my family,
and has been replicated by my dad and my sister.

One of the things I’m the most excited about is the food. You have to try really hard to find a bad meal in Italy—hands down, the best food I have ever had while traveling was in Italy. I have also been promised a day trip to Capri, and a few days in Milan, both places we didn’t get to the last time.

Diana and I usually stick together on family vacations, and it’s actually really nice having someone so close in age to travel with. We are pros at manipulating my parents to drive us to obscure, remote outlets/shopping centers instead of visiting historic sites and sketchy tourist spots (i.e. “South of the Border,” “Wall Drug”), and together we speed ahead of the parents on hikes, through museums, and when I’m allowed to drive. (Something I will definitely not be permitted to do if we rent a car in Italy, although I am determined to ride a Vespa).

view from the duomo in florence, taken by me at age 11.

I am looking forward to exploring Italy with my little sister. We are both so much more grown up now than we were six years ago. We have way better attitudes, personalities, and clothes. (Sorry, Dad, no more Teva sandals for us). Diana and I have definitely bonded in the backseats of strange-smelling rental cars and in hotel rooms with questionable stains on the walls. As soon as she turns 21, we’re going on the Amazing Race—neon clothing and fanny packs included. And we will definitely be adding plenty of drama to get lots of camera time.

             

Favorite Places

1. Wyoming

exploring the badlands
photo: diana russo

If there is a God, Wyoming is his masterpiece. It’s like stepping back in time, and the untouched, untamed land is completely and utterly breathtaking. Everything is open, and the endless, empty, open road goes on for miles. I travelled to Wyoming with my family last year, driving four thousand miles across the Midwest, and Wyoming was my favorite state. We went to a rodeo, rode horses through the mountains, and wandered around downtown Cody.

2. New York City

diana and i, spring in manhattan

            One of the most alive places I have ever been to. It is one of the places where I feel the strongest sense of belonging. New York is so much more diverse than Newburyport, so much busier, and filled with interesting people and interesting places. I have been to New York more times than I can remember, and the city holds a special place in my family’s heart, especially my dad, who grew up in the city.

photo: diana russo

3. San Francisco

the golden gate bridge
photo: diana russo

            Probably the cutest city ever. Cable cars, the Golden Gate Bridge, brightly colored houses, 

French bakeries on every corner, and farmers’ markets are just a few of the attractions. Steep hills provide gorgeous views of the bay, and the city is filled with history. On my trip two years ago, I visited Coit Tower, the Cable Car Museum, and the original Ghirardelli chocolate factory. There are a lot of young people, as in New York, but the city itself is quieter, and is beautiful in a different way.

diana, dad, and i outside of the ghirardelli chocolate factory

4. Prince Edward Island, Canada

dalvay-by-the-sea hotel, p.e.i.

            Although a long drive from Newburyport (about 10 hours), it is an absolutely beautiful little island off the coast of Nova Scotia. Outside of the capital, Charlottetown, the island is very rural, with a lot of farmland, seemingly endless two-lane roads, and a beautiful coastline. My mother, sister, and I enjoyed historic sites, afternoon tea, and shopping when we visited.

   

Birthday Weekend

Birthday

It’s been a while since my birthday (it was in January), but this year it was such a good one that I have to write about it. The celebration lasted three days, doing some of my favorite things with my favorite people.

Day 1

Saturday.

After a long day spent in the car with my mother, we were passing through downtown Amesbury on our way home when she suggested that we get a menu at Flatbread’s so we could order pizza later. To say the least, I was suspicious. I love Flatbread pizza. It was two days until my birthday, and my mom is not a big fan of Flatbread’s—to be honest, she thinks it’s overpriced and a little snobby. When I walked in, I saw a table filled with all my friends—it was my first surprise birthday party! Since turning 17 doesn’t really seem cause enough to have a big party, I had been planning to celebrate at a concert the following month with just my sister and two friends, so I was thrilled that everyone was able to get together to celebrate. We all shared pizza and salad, as well as a beautiful pink birthday cake courtesy of my sister, Diana, who had even made favor bags for everyone filled with sugar cookies. Dinner with friends was a great ending to an exhausting day, even though Diana forgot to bring me a birthday tiara.

My best friend, Klaudia, organized the whole event, and had even asked everyone to bring donations for my favorite charity, One Home Many Hopes, instead of getting me unnecessary gifts, something I had mentioned in passing to her at the gym several weeks prior. Usually for my birthday, I get the expected, generic gifts—some hand lotion, maybe a new shirt, or a scarf. I would rather take the money that my friends spend on gifts like these and give it to someone who needs it. One Home Many Hopes (OHMH) is an organization founded by my favorite columnist, Thomas Keown, who wrote for Metro newspaper before leaving to work fulltime with OHMH. This charity provides a safe place to live, as well as an education, for young women in Africa. These women go on to college, and have to promise to return to build another school. It’s a great organization that is really having a positive impact on people’s lives, and I have donated to them several times.

            

Day 2

Sunday.

Klaudia, best friend and pro shopper.

It costs $15.50 to take the train roundtrip from Newburyport to Boston. Cheaper than parking in the city, but still a ridiculously high price for a 40-mile trip on public transportation. The day before my birthday, Klaudia and I went into the city to do some shopping, and hopefully have some memorable adventures. We both hate being in high school, and going to Boston and pretending to be adults for a day is always a great escape. Sometimes it even works. After getting off the train at North Station, we planned to take the subway to Newbury Street, and made a terrible mistake. I still have no idea which subway we got on, but when we reached the end of the line, we were no longer underground and the only person in sight was an Asian man who didn’t seem to speak English. Eventually, another train arrived to take us back, and we managed to sort ourselves out.

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By now, I was feeling hungry, and it was mid-afternoon, so we wandered over to the Prudential Center in search of something to eat. We chose to dine at P.F. Chang’s, a first for both of us. I found it a little overrated; I don’t think the food was better than any stand in the food court, but the restaurant was beautiful and lunch prices were decent. The rest of the day was filled with shopping, and even though we both wanted to stay later, it was Sunday, and Klaudia, at least, had to go to school the next day.

   

Day 3

Monday.

            Finally. My wish was granted and I got to take the day off from school, since it was the actual day of my birthday. 

A Maine Winter

Living in Newburyport, summers always bring tourists and fried food stands, and local business flourishes. Although not as populated in the winter months, shops and restaurants remain open year-round. Newburyport is a charming seaside town, but it’s nice to visit other places in New England; so I drove to Maine with my mom, stopping in York and Ogunquit. I’ve gone to Maine plenty of times in summers past, and these small towns are usually bustling with tourists and smell of lobster and sun block. This time, however, both were nearly deserted, except for the occasional pick-up truck and a group of surfers braving the freezing water.

          In York, I was looking   forward to some peppermint taffy from the Goldenrod, a small candy shop with a soda counter, that is, admittedly, a tourist trap, but they do have the best taffy around. Like every other storefront, they were boarded up for the winter. York, unlike Newburyport, is a town that only lives and exists for summer vacation, as do I, and has no winter appeal. Before my family moved to Newburyport, we would drive up from Boston to go to the beach in Maine, watch fireworks on the Fourth of July, or wander through York’s Wild Kingdom (which looks pretty dull in February). I have a lot of good summer memories in Southern Maine, and it was a little depressing to see a favorite childhood spot, usually bustling with activity, look so desolate.

We drove over to Nubble Lighthouse, where I almost killed myself sliding down snow and ice covered rocks and definitely annoyed some couples enjoying the frigid and apparently romantic breeze. The visitor center/bathroom was locked, as was the lobster restaurant nearby, which didn’t open until noon. After taking some pictures, we continued to Ogunquit, hoping to find an open restaurant, or at least some sign of human life. My wish for lunch came in the form of a small restaurant offering brunch (on a Saturday! Who knew?), and I had the best waffle of my life.

It was actually nice to spend the day with my mom; she’s been busy working and taking care of my grandparents, and I feel like I don’t have five minutes to myself between school, and work, and babysitting, and piano lessons, and clubs. Usually mother-daughter bonding trips include both me and my younger sister, Diana, so spending a day alone with my mother was very restful and quiet. 

It was a good opportunity to talk, though the main topic of conversation was school, which is one of my least favorite things to talk about, and college. I like talking about college because I can’t wait to go, hopefully out of state, and my mother usually isn’t as thrilled as I am because she thinks that if I leave, I won’t come back. Though partially true, I always promise her that I will come home for the holidays. My mom decided it was time to head back, so we did, and I obligingly stopped at every secondhand store we passed just in case they had something she’d been looking for. She didn’t buy anything. At her excitement, we stopped at Stonewall Kitchen on our way through Kittery, which smelled of clam chowder and was overflowing with overpriced merchandise. We bought a bottle of peanut sauce, took some recipe cards, and left.

Although Maine has a summertime charm that can’t be found anywhere else, York and Ogunquit are alive only in the summer months, when ice cream is a necessity and green heads are abundant. It was actually reassuring to know that in a few months, the warmth of summer will breathe life back into these seaside towns, that they will not remain snow-covered and gray.