Roma

We meander through the ruins of the Foro Romano and my tour guide, the one and only matthew foley, nonchalantly points out a small structure he tells me is the belly button of the world. I've been in Rome for almost a week now with travels to pisa and Firenze (italian)(florence, in latin, matt explains they both mean flower). essentially i'm prepared to calmly wrap my mind around the incredible (michelangelos David, leaning towers, basilica di santa croce, italy, americans in italy, the vatican museum, three euro gelato, the pantheon) but the belly button of the world takes a few moments to sink in. this changes everything. i stand on stone at the place the romans believed was the center of the world and frankly i suddenly feel kind of important. at that moment my perspective shifts and i'm looking out at the world that blosoms before me; at the center, the world certainly is there for the taking. of course i'm aware of the insistent reality lingering in the back of my mind, 'not actually the center', but what if it were? maybe that isn't so important in this day and age, or maybe today, the center of the world is less geographic. in fact its determined by very different factors. in any case, the perspective one gains from the center is both rewarding and possibly dangerous i imagine. but i'm babbling because i have no words to describe rome. its an incredible city, with ancient history and modern culture inhabting the same streets. Foot locker sits a block away from the vatican, i ascend the dirty cement stairs of the metro into the sunlight with the colesseum rising in all of its ancient glory directly across the busy street. this alignment of past and present was an idea that spanned the entirety of my visit and i couldn't get it out of my head.


because, rome wasn't built in a day, when in rome, know as the romans know, all roads lead home. some are just longer than others.