Our last day in Italy was spent in Milan. After walking up the numerous stairs, I stepped into the sunlight and saw for the first time the skyline of Milan in the background of the hundreds of spires of the Duomo. White marble provided an ancient frame for the relatively new city that lay behind it. The gothic structure was the most intricate piece of architecture my young eyes had ever seen. Hundreds of statues decorated the building, every carving and boarder carved into the stone was individual from the next.

The marble was warm in the sunlight. The air shimmered in the distance with the heat. I was surrounded by ancient carvings, hundreds of feet off the ground. For all intents and purposes, I was on top of Milan. I felt like I was
on top of the world.

I could not stop taking pictures. As I ducked through the doorway to get to the next section, I knew that any photo I took would not do the structure justice. I could only capture my friends and myself in this moment. I needed to document our brief time above Milan so
that we could refresh our memories down the road.

Ducking into a gutter, I watched the city from the shade. My small stature gave me the ability to catch some respite from the elements in the most interesting of places, and I relished the fact that I was the only person with my particular vantage point. I stepped onto the banister, making myself approximately 3 inches taller than normal, and spread my arms wide. I embraced Milan from the top and imagined that I was embracing Italy as well. My small embrace hopefully showing Italy the gratitude and elation I felt. Thousands of miles have been traveled and hundreds of years have passed in order for me to be here, on top of the world.