As we wandered around Rome we continued a common theme of our trip – lost. Ross and I had been perpetually adrift for the past 3 months…pleasantly and happily lost but lost none the less. We often strolled the streets choosing our path at random, curious of what we would find around each corner. We used this method of chaotic drifting frequently and sometimes we won while other times we lost. The day prior we won the gamble when we stumbled upon a little nugget of a place that served the best gelato either of us had ever had. I thought Ross was going to combust from pure joy as the friendly girl behind the counter offered him sample after sample. Apparently this was a life changing event for him because I found him still discussing the gelato as we went to sleep that night.
We greeted another day in the Eternal City in a similar fashion yet this time I found Ross to be a little more systematic with his wandering. He was uncharacteristically taking control over the directions as we walked about the town and I was relieved to have him take the reins. I wasn’t aware of an intended destination but he seemed to be on a mission. I started to notice some familiar architecture and store fronts. As I brought it to Ross’ attention an expression crossed his face like that of a child with his hand caught in the cookie jar. It was at that moment that I noticed the entrance to the gelato place from yesterday just a few steps away. Ross acted as if it was a coincidence and feigned surprise when he stated, “Look, it’s the same place as yesterday. Let’s go inside!”
As we entered, the same smiling face greeted us from behind the counter, “Ah, welcome back!” We laughed and went about stuffing our faces with samples again. Ross wasted no time choosing his flavors and digging in. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat while digging into the ice cream. The girl from behind the counter laughed and pointed towards Ross, whose head was bobbling like a toddler’s, and cried out, “He is like baby. So happy.” I looked at the massive smile on his face and veneer of gelato on his face and couldn’t agree more.
