Ever since I can remember Italy has been a place of great interest to me. My dad is Italian and his grandparents actually moved to New York from Italy. I never got the chance to meet very many people in my family on my dads side. My dads father left when he was very young and his mother passed away a few years later. So my dad was raised by his grandparents. I have heard a few stories about my great grandparent but they both passed away before my second birthday so I never got the chance to get to know them. I would love to have been able to ask them questions about the Italian culture, food recipes, family histories (possibly Italian Mafia?), and so much more.  This is why I am passionate about learning everything I can about Italy.

     

  At this point in my life my dream would be to be able to travel to Italy. It would be amazing to be able to spend a year there just learning and experiencing life in a whole new way. I always think about the movie, "Eat, Pray, Love" when Julia Roberts' character is sitting outside on the patio with a glass of wine when the waiter brings her a big plate of authentic spaghetti. One day I hope to experience this because anything that involves pasta, bread, and pizza is my food heaven. 

    Another thing that has always interested my is the Mafia. It would have been a crazy time to have lived. My mom used to tell me stories about how people in my family on my dad's side would disappear or something weird would happen but no one would talk about it. Everything would be hush, hush. She always thought it might have something to do with the mafia. It could be a long shot but who really knows?