it has been much too long since i have written anything.

when i began writing this, i was in rome {italy}, posted up in the best coffee shop i had found in the city – barnum cafe. are you in rome at the moment? you should give it a go. the cozy, mismatched furniture, chilled out atmosphere, delicious liquid / solid sustenance, and super sweet employees had me coming back every day, often for hours at a time.

but why was i spending endless hours in a cafe and not in the raw,
cobbled streets, gazing at everything majestic and ancient?

1) rome is meltingly hot in the summertime. i swear the sun has a personal vendetta against the romans and wants to roast everyone alive. my feet {still} have the most bizarre tan lines, although i’m sure the last sunny month spent elsewhere in europe has only contrasted them further on my pale skin.

2) i was never actually in rome to see rome, although i did make the most out of my time there. on recommendation from a friend, i took time to see the basilica di san clemente, or the basilica of saint clement. the basilica has a massive, cave-like tunnel system / basement below it that dates all the way back to the first and second centuries. that, along with many other world-famous sites in the city are incredible to actually see in person.

3) the most important reason for holing myself up in the cafe was that i could not stop myself from buying caldarroste {roasted chestnuts} every time i saw them being sold on street corners. they are aromatic and delicious and just heavenly, but i quickly became tired of giving the chestnut salesmen all of my money.

truthfully, i was sort of trapped in rome.
i was without my one key to the outside world – my passport.

**outside world referring to anywhere not in italy

a rather strange and utterly surreal sequence of events had gotten me into that position. to the shock of almost every person in my life, i made the decision to get legally married to my italian boyfriend. the logistics of it all are complex and draining to talk about, but i am certain that i will write a post about the entire process some day – in order to help out anyone who might be going through the same thing. i caught a train to rome on wednesday, july 9th, after living in trieste {italy, north of venice} since april. upon arrival, i was immediately whisked away to a bonobo concert by a friend and local roman. i wasn’t there to see bonobo, as much as i enjoyed seeing / hearing bonobo. i went because my appointment at the visa-processing center was the day after. they took my passport, my coveted little bit of traveler’s treasure, the tiny representation of almost all of my trips since 2008. they also took a whopping pile of official and personal documents that i had been painstakingly gathering for four months prior. after a brief questionnaire and meeting with my assigned office worker, i was asked to sit in a waiting room. with me were other visa-seekers: families, single individuals, hopefuls. the people there represented a wide array of different ethnicities, but we all had one major thing in common. everyone looked just as weary as i felt, and we were. immigration is an exhausting and de-humanizing process. i never imagined my life choices would lead me to this particular challenge. then again, i gave up on planning my future a long time ago, when i officially decided to stop pursuing a college degree {quite against the will of society and nearly everyone around me.}
i have gained so much confidence since then.
i haven’t looked back, and i doubt i ever will.

:: update of the century ::

i am officially a londonite.
{and this time, there’s no return flight waiting to take me away.}

{welcome back, the lady’s guide to adventure. you have some catching up to do.}