Kim Han Young
Dept. of Political Science and Diplomacy

Wow! I couldn't stop the sound of my heart beating. It was really fast. Yes! I had a special experience during summer vacation. It made me happy as time passed, and I'm so happy to talk about my story to Kookminians.   During the first week of August, there were many cautions about travel to Europe on the TV and newspaper because of the new Influenza, but I went there anyway. It didn't make me give up my travel plan. Thankfully, I didn't catch the flu. Anyway, I started my two weeks travel.   I'm used to getting up late during vacation, so I felt sleepy on the day of departure, but I was full of hope. The plane headed to Italy, the country of handsome guys. After 12 hours in the airplane I arrived in Rome at 8 pm, Rome time, but in Korean time it was early morning and everybody seemed tired except for me.  The next day, I went to the Colosseum, the most famous ruins in Rome. It was just as great as I had imagined from the pictures. After that, I went to many places in downtown Rome, Spain Street, Fontana di Trevi, and the Pantheon. The most memorable thing was the Pantheon, built in 118∼128, when Hadrianus ruled Rome. Although the temple has a very big hole in the roof, the rain doesn't enter. That was really mysterious.    After that, I went to Naples, Sorrento, and Pompeii. I would like to tell about Pompeii, the city buried by a volcanic eruption. Pompeii, which had a lively and brisk life style, was buried in a day. Thousands of years later, it was discovered, revealing evidence of even the smallest details of everyday life. Buried by a sudden catastrophe, the remains were well-preserved with little damage, so I could see how the people then had been living. Thinking about what they must have felt in such a big disaster, I understood our human frailty in the face of nature. The next day, I went to Florence, my favorite city in Europe. As you know, Florence is where the Renaissance began, and the hometown of Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. I could see the entire view of Florence from the Piazelle Michelangelo (Michelangelo Hill), and the scenery was really great, I had to catch my breath. So many wonderful historical structures still exist in 21c Italy. Seeing that, I understood how history still breathes in our own time.   In Florence, I did a lot of sightseeing. I saw many sculptures and paintings and many beautiful buildings. It was really beautiful and I felt it was really the Renaissance city.   The Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral was more beautiful than any other church. Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral is the most famous building in Florence, and is considered the flower of Mother Mary's church. It is the 4th largest church in Europe and it was built in 1359.  The one most regretful thing was lack of time to travel everywhere. Anyway, I had a really good time in Italy, because I had really wanted to go there. Surely there were many other places I wanted to visit, but I had to remain there, with history. If I have a chance to go to Rome again, I will visit with great expectations again. Until then, "Good-bye Rome!"

han05389@hanmail.net