Project Emily Advent: Day 14
Where in the world do you most want to visit?
The place in the world I most want to visit is the Italian countryside. I know that Italy is high on many Americans’ bucket lists, especially for women. This makes me feel a little bit cliche, which is my least favorite thing to feel like, but I’d rather be truthful than special. A close second for the place I most want to visit is China, which probably sounds much cooler, but has political implications that make my stomach hurt. So for the sake of authenticity and avoiding anxiety, I’ll say that I most want to visit Italy.
Books and films have no doubt played a pivotal role in this desire. Call Me By Your Name and Letters to Juliet come to mind. Vast vineyards, rolling hills, ceaseless sunshine. Eat Pray Love comes to mind as well, the book, not the movie, and its lavish descriptions of vivacious people and delicious dinners that seem to go on forever. Eat Pray Love is one of my favorite books to return to again and again, Liz Gilbert one of my top five favorite writers (If you’re looking for a book to spark creativity, I highly recommend her book, Big Magic).
When I imagine visiting Italy, it is specifically the countryside; I don’t have any desire to spend time in any of its major cities. I don’t really care to explore the hot tourist spots or famous sites. I would like to see a church or two. But it’s the countryside that really calls to me. Funnily enough, the parts of Italy shown in Call Me By Your Name that I find the most breathtaking, look suspiciously similar to the Texas Hill Country. Hills and vineyards, fields and rivers. Hmm. Now there’s some spaghetti for thought.
