where wednesday [natalia]

[We're got our first international Where Wednesday! Natalia from Army of Two is my guest this week. I've known Natalia for a few years now, and she is a remarkable woman...she's always got a story to tell and some kind of adventure in the works.  She's had quite the year...her blog's tagline says it all: From beaches to barracks, flip-flops to fatigues, this is my journey from California to Washington DC, Army Wife to Army Soldier. Catch her on her fabulous blog and wish her luck before she leaves on her next adventure: basic training!]

The Appian Way, Italy

The Appian Way, or Via Appia, was Ancient Rome's earliest and most strategic road. It led from Brindisi, on the southeast coast, to Rome, as all roads did then of course! The road allowed for the efficient movement of trade goods, soldiers and travelers.

To walk the Appian Way is to walk in the foot steps of history, quite literally.  The smooth gray stones are worn down into long grooves where centuries of wooden wagon wheels have passed over them. 

On a summer's afternoon hot enough to melt the city's sidewalks, I walked down a preserved potion of the road just outside Rome.  The dusty road was lined by stately cypress trees, lichen-covered statues, bone-filled catacombs and blood red poppies shimmering in the yellow fields. The air was heavy and still, interrupted only by the buzzing of insect wings.  As I continued to walk down the Appian Way, ancient Rome unfolded before me. I could hear the marching steps of a thousand leather-sandaled feet, the creak of the wagon wheels pulled by braying donkeys and bellowing oxen, the crack of the whip, voices of laughter and frustration, and smell the dirt and sweat of man and animal.

For a student of Roman history and archaeology, walking the Appian Way is a thrilling, almost magical experience: for an afternoon I truly traveled back in time.

Where Wednesdays are a regular feature where I and a series of guest bloggers talk about places that are important to us, be they work spaces, outdoor spaces, sleeping spaces, places we visit, places we live, places we drink coffee, etc. etc. [do you want to talk about a place or space that's important to you? let me know and I'll set you up with a Wednesday!]