Hot take: I didn’t love Rome or Vatican City and it was mostly due to the heat.
I visited both as part of an EF tour during record-breaking heat in July 2023 so when I say it was hot, I mean I was sweating from places I didn’t even know could sweat. This was our only full day in the city, split between Vatican City and the rest of Rome, but because we were visiting the Vatican, all shoulders and knees needed to be covered. Unfortunately for me at the time, my only dress fitting those qualifications was black. It was lightweight and dried quickly, but it still made a hot day feel even hotter.
But the day wasn’t only about the heat.
Despite the river of sweat I shed that day, I was able to find a bit of magic aside from the opulent gold decor to help me forget about the heat for a few minutes on the tour. As we began walking through the halls of the Vatican, I realized that two of my friends had been here. One visited during a high school trip, and one visited many times over because he loved Rome and the history of the Vatican. Unfortunately, both of these friends are now deceased. I roamed the gold-filled halls and soaked in the art in the Sistine Chapel knowing they, too, had walked these same halls and looked at the same artwork by Michelangelo.
The Sistine Chapel was packed that day. Among the people trying to find their group or find a seat were workers hushing the crowd and reminding everyone that photos weren’t allowed. I craned my neck upward, trying to take it all in, while the noise of the crowd faded into the background. As I stared at the jaw-dropping artwork, I wondered how my friends reacted when they visited. What did they think about when they were staring at The Creation of Adam? It was then I realized that outside of our high school, this was likely the last place I knew for sure that either of them visited. And as I sat wedged between two strangers, tears began to silently stream down my face.
I have memories of both friends that I will cherish for the rest of my life. And, knowing that there’s another place in the world I can go where my dear friends or loved ones have walked, laughed or even spent a few minutes brings me comfort in the most unexpected ways. That, to me, is a little piece of magic. It’s also a gentle reminder that the memories are real and the person wasn’t a figment of my imagination…that the grief of losing someone isn’t made up or silly.
They had been here.
And now so had I.