Ode to Italy

Switzerland to Italy We're almost done, but still have seven days Our last country, four cities Canals, the beach, pizza and history Crossing country lines Architecture flips like a dime While the landscape continues by undisturbed by changes In culture and currency, governments and culinary staples Like they don't exist at all We spent 25 hours and 55 minutes in Venice But there's already a song dedicated to it Termini Station sucks Busy even at night, hassled by passerby With any luck we'll get to where we're going without getting mugged Was our first thought It looks like a dirty New York, but in the dark it seems scarier Because we don't speak the language just English and minimal Spanish Two American-trained brains in a foreign land Two American-trained brains in a foreign land Until the sun bleached the sky and American-internet fears are set in perspective Were we able to examine the city without exaggerated subjective assumptions The history here is un-comprehendible; ruins here and there The food was fantastic The Vatican was intricate and massive Two Americans in a foreign land Two Americans in a foreign land It was unbearably hot The baths were cool, but unable to cool you off In the Pantheon we saw Raphael's tomb and the column to God This city's a maze No trust for tourists; we ran from scams our entire stay We met our New York/Berlin friends, ate gelato, drank wine on the steps Four American friends in a foreign land Four American friends in a foreign land Then we took the train from Rome to Naples/Napoli We got four hot seats, a window screwed shut by a broken toilet and loud company We walked through the market, smelled fish heads, saw toys for cruise ship tourists The city was dingy We ate the rumored best pizza in Italy From there we catch a bus That drives an hour against mountain side cliffs with a driver who was hard to trust We hiked to our place with a mountainous view Excited to be with friends and excited for the waves tomorrow too We found a beach the next day in Amalfi That was a long walk until the 400 steps down to the rock tumbling sea We collected stone, glass and tile The water was so clear and a peculiar shade of green We sipped absinth and cringed to its warmth and alcohol content And swam in the saltiest water in the rain I was floating twenty feet above the sea floor soaking in the sun The beauty of the scenery was well worth all the steps back up to the street We drank Prosecco to hydrate and ate an awesome dinner and played charades We drank wine and played games and laughed until our friends; they went away Then spent our last day relaxing with more Prosecco and less limoncello And caught a bus back to the train We missed the ferry by five minutes I can't believe our trip is almost finished First stop Rome Next stop home Next stop home One more sleep at a Rome BNB in a nice man's apartment near Termini We pack our bags one last time and sweat all night 'till our early alarm