Bridging the gap again
BARBARAWALKER-HUFF Contributing Writer

It was the "Best of times and the worst of times. The Age of Wisdom and the Age of Foolishness." These are the opening words of Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities," which my grandaughter had to read while on our trip to Italy. This describes the beginning of our trip, aside from the foolishness on my part. I did things I've always told others NOT to do when traveling overseas.

From the beginning of the trip I tried to be organized and prepared, but when you have two teenagers to worry about I guess you forget the basics and things go unaccounted for. I left my purse in my husband's car when he took me to Gwinnett County, so my daughter could take us to the airport. I was taking my grandchildren, Alex, 14, and Jena, 16, to Italy over spring break. Alex's friend Walker and his grandparents, Linda and Frank Coleman, were to accompany us on the trip.

After a lot of confusion, people driving this way and that, and an hour and a half later, we finally caught up with my husband. My purse contained all of our travel documents as well as money and i.d., but it was too late, we missed our flight. Walker and his grandparents went onto Italy, where we planned to meet up with them the next day. We had to fly to Amsterdam, Milam, and then onto Rome to catch up with our tour.

We arrived safely, tired and sad that we had to miss some of the sights in Rome. After arriving at our hotel, I was a little nervous about leaving my purse anywhere so I took it with me on our venture into Rome. Sadly, it contained all of my money. This is something I tell everyone NEVER to do. NEVER keep all of your money in one place.

We boarded a bus to the Forum and Coliseum, hoping to see them before they closed. Time and time again I have told the grandkids not to speak to strangers, especially in a foreign country and especially on a busy street such as the areas around the Forum (with all the tourists and locals). Alas, I didn't heed my own warning. Some young ladies claiming to be taking a survey about poor Italian children stole all of my money, in the blink of an eye. I tried to get rid of them after they followed me for two blocks. Foolishly, I signed their petition, and while doing so, one of them unzipped my purse and took all of my money. This was not the first time I have encountered this situation, so I thought I was smarter. Once, while in Pisa on a previous trip, my husband was robbed by Gypsies in Pisa, Italy.

Live and learn, I guess. Trying not to be disheartened, the next day we went to the Christian Catacombs and a famous garden. My grandson Alex said that it was his favorite place we had visited.

The kids were good not to be upset about the incident earlier (not getting to see some of the sights their friend Walker had experienced with his grandparents the day before). So on we went on the Grand tour.

The next destination was the volcano Vesuvius. While the others walked to the top of the Volcano to take pictures, I sat and rested to reflect on the trip so far. "Oh well," I thought, "it could have been worse right? At least I wasn't beaten, robbed and left for dead somewhere."

After Vesuvius, we then traveled to Pompeii and the Isle of Capri. The kids learned so much about Ancient Rome and especially Pompeii, which was buried in 70 A.D. The ferry took us over to Capri, one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. We arrived at trwilight and the little Villas were all lit up all over the mountain like fairy houses. The small fishing boats bobbed up and down along the coast with a soothing sound, and our hotel overlooked a breathtaking view.

The next day we took a chair lift to Monte Solaria to view all of the isle, Sorrento, and the Bay of Naples. What a sight to behold. The people of the isle have such an amazing place to live. After lunch, the bus took us on a wild, wonderful, and "scary" ride along the cliffs of Capri, and the AmalfiCoast hundreds of feet above the Sea.

We traveled on to Sorrento for the next two days. Sorrento is famous for its lemons. Small, medium and large lemons were everywhere. Every farm had lemon orchards with some lemons as big as grapefruits hanging from the tree limbs. We visited the home of the famous Swedish doctor, Axel Munthe, at the Villa San Michele.

The last morning was Good Friday. We were lucky enough to see the Great "Procession" at day break. Hundreds of people, dressed completely in white, carrying candles and displaying a statue of Christ walked by. At twilight, they returned dressed in black with candles, mourning Christ's death. This is observed in many European countries. We missed the evening "procession" as we had to leave for Rome.

Our last night was spent on a tour "Rome by Night" which was wonderful. We saw the great Spanish Steps, where Shelley and Keats once had an apartment, and then the famous Trevi fountain with the magnificent statue of Neptune. They were all lit up in their glory, making them even more beautiful.

We returned to our hotel feeling a little sad that we must leave such a wonderful and historic city, but the delicious and excellent food that awaited us at the restaurant made parting a little less difficult.

The Colemans were a joy to travel with. Frank was a great help because we needed a man to come along. I am glad of his decision to join us at last minute. The Colemans had never been to Europe before, but had traveled the United States extensively.

The trip was a great success for the kids. They seemed to have had a great time. Alex and his friend Walker are still friends despite such travel woes.

I think Alex and Jena learned one of the great lessons in life. Everything can't always be perfect and you have to make the best of a bad experience. As the British say, "Carry on." And that is exactly what we did despite the foolishness (sometimes) of their 80 yearold grandmother. They promised me that they would return one day to Rome and see the sights that they had missed as they threw their coin in the Trevi fountain.

We returned home safely with happy hearts and sore feet. I said in my last article when we went to England and Scotland, do things with your grandchildren while you can. Make memories not just for them but for yourself.

Will we go again? Who knows? As Scarlet said at the end of "Gone with the Wind," "I'll think about tomorrow, for tomorrow is another day."

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