Passion for Italy – Guest Blog by Ishita Sood

Today I am happy and honored to feature a guest blog post by a writer who has an unbridled passion for Italy. Like me, Ishita seems to never tire of dreaming and writing about Italy. Please welcome Ishita Sood, a writer from India.

I was always fascinated by Italy even as a young girl, the Colosseum in Rome especially attracted me. I felt a strong pull towards this country of wonderfulness and I knew that someday I would definitely visit Italy.

So in 2013, my friend and I thought of visiting Europe. After setting an ambitious target of wanting to see 5 countries, we narrowed it down to 3 and then finally to two – Italy and Spain. I was sure of one thing – I couldn’t miss Italy for the world!

Landing in Rome on a lovely warm evening in September, just a week before my birthday, little did I know that I would be leaving this country with a heavy heart but wonderful memories for a lifetime. Italy enthralled me, I did not know that a 2 week trip could have that much of an effect on me as Italy did. I felt as if I was in my land, as if I had already visited this place in some other lifetime of mine. It is easier to say that I felt a connection in the first few days of my travel and it was a wonderful feeling. I was ecstatic!

The cobblestoned streets, wonderful piazzas, street side cafes, everything lured me. I had read a lot about Italy from a guidebook of Lonely Planet especially made for the Indian traveller’s taste and palate. I realized how  similar our country is to Italy. We Indians are big on food and family values just like the Italians; I couldn’t help but smile as I recalled one of the lines from Gregory David Roberts’s book Shantaram. It said very simply “There is so much Italian in the Indians, and so much Indians in the Italians. They are both people of the Madonna – they demand a goddess, even if the religion does not provide one.” How true!

Italy has been my calling ever since. The hill town of Biasa near the Cinque Terre – where I found the real Italy; Florence where I realized how much I love the land; and Rome – my first Italian city which took a bit of my heart.

For those of you who may be curious, yes I will be visiting Italy again someday soon and this time I will be away from the bigger cities and travel the smaller towns where the real Italy is. Thank you Margie for this wonderful opportunity to write for your blog as a guest blogger, I am thrilled and honoured.

Ishita is an Indian blogger who visited Italy for a couple of weeks and fell in love. Since then, she has been writing, reading and researching on the country. Ishita plans to return to the country soon and visit the unexplored regions. She writes the blog, Italophilia ~ Stories of My Italian Journey & More..!  Follow Ishita on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.