illustration: the time i almost saw iron & wine in bologna.

"well. that was a learning experience." was pretty much the take away lesson for this weekend. i think almost everything that could have gone terribly wrong literally did occur, minus the sudden thunderstorm with flashes of lightening and thunder. yet, though our adventure to bologna did not turn out at all the way we had imagined, we were in excellent company and enjoyed the ride. just like real life.

the beautiful iron & wine ticket that was.

so to break down this whirlwind of a weekend, let me give you a sort of moment by moment playback:

w h o : my sweet friends jacqueline, lauren, and sarah, me, and my dear, dear friend from loma who is studying in barcelona, denny (learn about living a beautiful story in barcelona by clicking here http://icanseelifeinyou.blogspot.com/)

w h e r e : this story begins in mid power-walk on a random street in florence, and unfolds on random streets in bologna

w h a t : an attempt to live fully, pursue the simple joys in life, and ultimately to see iron & wine in concert

w h y : because life is about getting lost, finding your way, and loving people along the way

we dodged bicyclists and old men with soft leather briefcases as we hurried through the cobblestone streets of florence attempting to find our way to the notorious refredi train station in hopes of catching our 11:42 train to bologna. with our bags strapped to our backs and eyes crusty with evidence of last night's sleep we were on our way. all smiles. these are the kinds of things that really make me feel truly alive. spontaneity. brisk morning mist. anticipation of adventure. the company of people who enjoy taking life one moment at time. soaking in each intricate part of the world around us without any worry or fear of what the future may hold. the wonderful mystery of a day that has yet to draw back its curtain and reveal the beauty which it contains. yes. now this is home.

the train station never turned up while we wandered, but wonderful people eager to help did present themselves in perfect timing. we ended up hopping on a city bus, befriending a man and elderly lady who spoke perfect italian and not one word of english, but understood the look of lost american in our eyes. they directed us to the train station as we racked our brains for the meaning of the words we knew we had once studied in class. and there before us the station stood, train long gone on its journey. another helpful individual assisted us in changing our train tickets and after hurried doses of caffein we sat in the belly of that great train. satisfied and excited to embrace the rest of the day we laughed and told stories and saw the painted countryside of tuscany rush past us, patches of snow resembling clouds speckled the hills and the sun shone ever so slightly.

finally in bologna lauren, who agreed to the adventure regardless of the cold that inhabited her body, threw up in a clear garbage can in broad daylight and we laughed as she recovered and we realized we knew nothing of the name or location of our hostel, so the search for an internet cafe began. after stumbling upon musicians, cheap pizza, a middle aged lady clad in fishnets and way too tight of clothing dancing, and a magnificent fountain we found internet. for an hour jacqueline searched the world wide web for information on the hostel and the long awaited concert. meanwhile we sat. singing, reciting poetry, watching people walk by, and we lived. we lived so fully.

jacqueline appeared after some time wearing a face similar to that of a guilty and fearful child as she delivered the somewhat painful news: we never a c t u a l l y bought the tickets for the concert, and the tickets were soldout. the confirmation email was actually a "thanks for registering your membership to our website and shnazzy venue" email. not a "here is the money you are sacrificing to witness someone whom you respect and admire create musical perfection in front of your very eyes" email. woops. after shedding more laughter than tears we attempted to find our hostel. jacqueline ran her head into a garage door that was lower than she previously thought. we bought bus tickets and rode bus 93 to the stop we imagined our hostel might be near. that is jacqueline, sarah, and denny got off the desired exit. lauren and i remained stuck on the moving bus caged in by plexiglass doors, searching for a button, screaming, laughing. hysterically. we rode on. jumped off at the next stop and hurriedly retraced the route to the location of our dear friends.

after asking a man for directions to the hostel and finally finding a bathroom we began the long hike to the hostel. we walked along the highway style street, dodging cars, singing out joyful songs. backpackers, making their way through the country. by now the darkness of night had already settled in and made itself at home, and the lights of passing cars lit the path before us. soon the hostel revealed itself in the night and we checked in, happy to know that at least we had a place to sleep. only minutes later we were at yet another bus stop. eager to at least find the venue and pray that italian scalpers would be eager to sell four tickets to four unfortunate americans. we happened upon the great locomotive that gave the venue its name and denny retrieved his ticket, the only one who successfully made an online purchase. after begging him to go in and absorb all that he could in hopes that perhaps the rest of us could live through him, he sold his ticket to a woman who was possibly the happiest at that very moment than she ever had been in her whole life. we knew that our misfortune led to someone's happiness and we were satisfied.

hunger struck our bellies and lead us to a lovely family restaurant. the air was filled with the voice of a sweet old women humming to the notes that the accordion player struck and we laughed as we recounted favorite moments of the day. dinner was followed by another bus mishap. this time we missed the last bus of the night and stood in the center of bologna with no way to the hostel. then we met nora and boy who did make it to the concert. they said it was the best concert they've ever been to. and we held back our sadness and embraced the joy they overflowed with. we hailed a large taxi with them, and we all journeyed to the hostel. once back at the hostel we stayed up too late for our own good and we relaxed. we told stories. we loved. we lived. in such a robust way, we lived.

i'm discovering here that chaos can be so effervescently beautiful. that confusion and tensions and tears give way to laughter and community and love. this life is such an wonderful mess. one moment you can feel like life cannot possibly break your heart more, and in that same moment the comfort of a friend, the smile of a stranger, or the overwhelming beauty of nature reminds you of the magnificence of this life. this life is not to be wasted in pursuing meaningless tasks. an attempt to promote self and seek after success. rather it is an opportunity to appreciate the place you are sitting right this very moment, and the people who surround you. this semester, this day, this very moment, i am choosing to inhale the life swirling in the air around me. and i choose to breath that life into others. may life be breathed into you today, my friend.