La Dolce Vita

Ah yes, the sweet life. We all dream of it. We all have differing definitions of what "it" is. Right now for me, it's all about researching for my trip. I'm researching everything from, best types of photos to take that aren't tourist trap photos to how best to document it all.

It's the latter that I'm thinking about today with regards to the sweet life.

I love to write. I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, GREAT at it. And that's ok with me. I still feel inclined to put my thoughts down for all the world to read. I've had plenty that I've needed to say and feel that 99% of the time, most folks really don't care. But if I can entertain my readers for just a moment with a tale of a day in the life of a tourist in Rome, and allow that person for one moment to be transported to the small café I'm sitting in (or will be sitting in sometime in April) then I have done what I've set out to do.

Photo courtesy of Amazon

I'm knee deep into a book I randomly bought off Amazon called "Globejotting - How to Write Extraordinary Travel Journals".  This book called to me on so many levels. Not only can it help me to have "extraordinary" travel journals, but perhaps it can help me have "extraordinary" life journals.  This blog is, after all, my journal.

Our trip is a trip of a lifetime. I've not been back to Rome since I was a junior in high school The experience I had then was one I will never soon forget. Back then in 1986 the Internet didn't exist. Facebook didn't exist. I couldn't, back then, tell my friends at every second what I was doing. No, it all had to be written over and over again in letters back home.

But now, as an adult I want to experience Rome as an open-minded adult who wants to share it with you.  Not everyone likes to travel. For some the thought of getting on an airplane feels them with such anxiety they just don't do it. For me, travel is in my blood. I haven't been to Europe in a long time - unless you count the work trip to the UK in 2007. And I want to remember it all. Thus the book.

I'm on page 49 and just started reading it today (life of an unemployed PM, right?). This book is well written with a hint of humor and enough knowledge without being condescending. It's really a guide book for writing. Dave Fox, the author, has little exercises throughout. I'm not doing them all today, choosing to take my time with them and go back and work through them once I'm done with the book.

So here's the thing, this book has awaken another layer of what I want with regards to my writing. My current writing is shallow, at best. Boring at worst. I tell the story of my daily life without any real depth. And at times, that's ok. But what about telling deep stories? What about some of the memories I have that have stayed with me? Can I tell those stories to you in a way that will make you want to come back and read more? I think I can. And with Dave's book, I plan to try.

My trip is a mere 33 days away. So much needs to happen before then - primarily I need a job.  Aside from that, I'm taking this time off to practice writing/journaling, and learning Italian. In the next 33 days I hope to bring you some tales of the past trips to Europe, and have you ride along side my anxieties, excitement, expectations, etc of this coming trip.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to the book.