The country I spent the most amount of time in on my trek 'round Europe was Italy. I started in Bologna where I stayed with a friend who had come to Ohio as an exchange student and stayed with family friends. But I also went all over the place - including a visit to my family in Carovilli, to to Verona, to Pizza, to Florence, to Napoli, and of course to Rome.

I absolutely love Italy, for everything. The people, the history, the gelatos and food in general, the culture, and of course because I saw first-hand where my family originated - and met my dads cousins and uncles (those that stayed back rather than come to Ohio).

Of course I did the tourist things in Rome. I saw Pope John Paul's mass at St. Peter's square, went to the Coliseum and to the Spanish Steps, and to a bunch of churches. But one of the cooler things I did was go to a soccer game.

I was too young to remember the games my dad took us to in Argentina, so the Roma vs Inter Milan game on may 5, 1997 at Olympic Stadium was the first game I can recall being at overseas.

I sat behind a goal, a section over from where the Inter fans were massed. The security presence was strong - cops with shields on every other row and on my side of the large barb-wired fence that separated the visiting fans from the home one.

There was a moat down below that separated the stands from the track. At one point, I nearly shit my pants when I thought a bomb had gone off. The Inter fan had smashed up against the fence, yelling in celebration after they took the lead. One threw a cherry bomb or something similar into the moat, and the sound echoed so loudly that I was ready to run.

Then, future France World Cup Champion and MLS star Youri Djorkaeff scored a ridiculous bike / over-head goal, one that I came to later realize was regarded as one of his best ever. It was a fantastic experience.