Giornale 2
I looked out the window as the train slowly started pulling away from the station and towards Rome. Peter was already asleep, Reshma was journaling, Emma was scrolling through her phone, and I couldn't tell if Bucky was trying to talk to us or talking to themselves. It was our third full day in Rome, and some of us decided to go to a nearby lake in a small town called Bracciano.
Backtrack six hours, the five of us stepped out of the uber and into the Roma S. Pietro station. We had no idea what we were doing, but the woman at the ticket box told us exactly how to stamp our tickets and how to get to the right track. The second we stepped on the 15:33 train, a huge wave of relief washed over us. It had been a hot and to some, a stressful morning, a day trip to the lake was exactly what we needed. We didn't anticipate how meaningful our trip to Bracciano would be.
An hour or so later, we hopped off the train, and I began racing down a hill, with no sense of direction at all. I knew we had to go down, so I just kept going, until I reached a dead end. I was just so excited, so happy that we made it. When the others realized that I was leading them in the wrong direction, they began calling me a 'headless chicken', and Bucky took over navigation for the team. Which worked out for the best, because in no time, they had us going in the right direction, down a twisty road. While passing a steep ledge, we finally saw the lake below us. It was like waking up and seeing presents under the Christmas tree.
We continued down the hill and came to an intersection, at that point, the monumental beauty was in front of us. My eyes traced across the circumference of the lake, passing over other little towns, packed with little houses and marinas. The best part of thinking slightly in advanced is that we were smart enough to wear our swimsuits under our clothes. The water was ice cold, but that wasn't going to stop me. The forecast said it was meant to be storming, but the rays of sun against my back said otherwise. I began to wade in the water, only to be approached by Peter, who sneakily, got behind me and pushed me under. Turns out this was Reshma's brilliant idea, I still bug her about this. At first, I wanted to kill Peter, but for the time being, I decided to splash him with infinite amounts of water, to the point that he looked like he wanted to kill me. Eventually, the other three grew a pair and decided to join us. No one else was in the water, and there were very few people at the beach. It was clear that the people who were, were not only Italian but judgemental Italians. They glared at the five adults, who at that moment, acted more like five-year-olds. We didn't have a care in the world.
After realizing how hungry we all were, the five of us struggled to put our clothes on over our wet bodies and ventured back up the hill. The hill was steeper than the Janiculum, and by the time we made it back up to the center of the small town, I thought I was going to collapse. We took a short break, drank some water, took a few selfies using self-timer with the lake behind us, and soon enough we were on our way to dinner, which was delicious. We ate in a small piazza right across from the beautiful, Castello Orsini-Odescalchi, a large castle that stood right at the top of the hill, dominating the town and the lake.
Once Reshma and Emma finally finished their Tiramisu, we decided to explore the town and ended up going farther up the hill on a tiny street that lead us to a church. At that point, we all began doing our own thing. Bucky investigated the large cat population around the church, Reshma got lost while face timing her sister, Emma got lost looking for Reshma, and Peter and I followed the curved street further. We climbed up peoples balconies and walked into peoples yards, to find the beautiful sight of a pink sky over the calm lake. I had never seen something so tranquil. Eventually, once we all got in contact with each other, we met back up in the piazza and made our way back to the train station.
I was sad to be leaving, but I was so happy that we were able to go. It was one of the best days of my life. It was spontaneous and incredible, and it brought me closer to four wonderful people that I never really took the time to know. I realized all of this while sitting on the platform, the others laughed about our eventful day, as the train back home slowly pulled into the station.
(Lake Bracciano, Italy, May 23, 2019)
Backtrack six hours, the five of us stepped out of the uber and into the Roma S. Pietro station. We had no idea what we were doing, but the woman at the ticket box told us exactly how to stamp our tickets and how to get to the right track. The second we stepped on the 15:33 train, a huge wave of relief washed over us. It had been a hot and to some, a stressful morning, a day trip to the lake was exactly what we needed. We didn't anticipate how meaningful our trip to Bracciano would be.
An hour or so later, we hopped off the train, and I began racing down a hill, with no sense of direction at all. I knew we had to go down, so I just kept going, until I reached a dead end. I was just so excited, so happy that we made it. When the others realized that I was leading them in the wrong direction, they began calling me a 'headless chicken', and Bucky took over navigation for the team. Which worked out for the best, because in no time, they had us going in the right direction, down a twisty road. While passing a steep ledge, we finally saw the lake below us. It was like waking up and seeing presents under the Christmas tree.
We continued down the hill and came to an intersection, at that point, the monumental beauty was in front of us. My eyes traced across the circumference of the lake, passing over other little towns, packed with little houses and marinas. The best part of thinking slightly in advanced is that we were smart enough to wear our swimsuits under our clothes. The water was ice cold, but that wasn't going to stop me. The forecast said it was meant to be storming, but the rays of sun against my back said otherwise. I began to wade in the water, only to be approached by Peter, who sneakily, got behind me and pushed me under. Turns out this was Reshma's brilliant idea, I still bug her about this. At first, I wanted to kill Peter, but for the time being, I decided to splash him with infinite amounts of water, to the point that he looked like he wanted to kill me. Eventually, the other three grew a pair and decided to join us. No one else was in the water, and there were very few people at the beach. It was clear that the people who were, were not only Italian but judgemental Italians. They glared at the five adults, who at that moment, acted more like five-year-olds. We didn't have a care in the world.
After realizing how hungry we all were, the five of us struggled to put our clothes on over our wet bodies and ventured back up the hill. The hill was steeper than the Janiculum, and by the time we made it back up to the center of the small town, I thought I was going to collapse. We took a short break, drank some water, took a few selfies using self-timer with the lake behind us, and soon enough we were on our way to dinner, which was delicious. We ate in a small piazza right across from the beautiful, Castello Orsini-Odescalchi, a large castle that stood right at the top of the hill, dominating the town and the lake.
Once Reshma and Emma finally finished their Tiramisu, we decided to explore the town and ended up going farther up the hill on a tiny street that lead us to a church. At that point, we all began doing our own thing. Bucky investigated the large cat population around the church, Reshma got lost while face timing her sister, Emma got lost looking for Reshma, and Peter and I followed the curved street further. We climbed up peoples balconies and walked into peoples yards, to find the beautiful sight of a pink sky over the calm lake. I had never seen something so tranquil. Eventually, once we all got in contact with each other, we met back up in the piazza and made our way back to the train station.
I was sad to be leaving, but I was so happy that we were able to go. It was one of the best days of my life. It was spontaneous and incredible, and it brought me closer to four wonderful people that I never really took the time to know. I realized all of this while sitting on the platform, the others laughed about our eventful day, as the train back home slowly pulled into the station.
(Lake Bracciano, Italy, May 23, 2019)
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