Nine Eleven

On September 11, 2001, we were in Sorrento, Italy. We had decided to spend the day at the campground as we were tired and didn't feel like going anywhere. In the late afternoon, we walked into town and knew right away something was wrong - even in an unfamiliar city surrounded by people I didn't know, the feeling in the air wasn't right. I caught a televised image of the twin towers as we walked by a bar and said to Gus, "Is that New York?" We went inside and huddled around the TV and accessed the internet to find out the news. I don't remember any other Americans being there, just British and Australian travelers milling around, watching and listening same as us. Contacting people they knew in the US to find out if they were okay.

The strangest feeling came when it was announced that the borders of the US were closed, meaning we couldn't go home if we wanted. Not knowing what was coming next, what the government would do, what else the terrorists had planned and how long this would last was so scary. Watching our country from afar, wounded and vulnerable, was surreal. The days and weeks that followed, as we traveled through Italy and on to other countries, all day we searched the radio for the BBC to find any snippet of news, checking the internet when we could. Our European Adventure never quite felt the carefree getaway it was when we had started in July. Who would have known?

At times clichéd - stuck to thousands of car bumpers, screened onto countless memorabilia and, in the case of Rudy Giuliani, an entire presidential campaign platform, I still believe it rings true in our hearts and minds eight years later: We will never forget.