Pittsburgh! By all means, Pittsburgh. I will cherish my visit here... oh crap, it's where I live.

Shocking news! I actually had a Sunday off. And it was a lovely day. The sun was shining, birds were chirping, the Steelers won and it was nothing but blue skies all day. And no, that's not sarcasm. I even got to see one of my favorite films, Roman Holiday, on "the big screen." I know, I really let my pink, ruffly, girly flag fly with this one. So the visions of Gregory Peck (my love from another generation) and magical moped rides through Rome danced in my head and made it easier to go into the hell hole this morning.

I adore every single frame of this film. I can put it on and instantly feel that warm, fuzzy feeling, like a kid about to fall asleep on Christmas Eve. Completely comforted, at peace, yet the butterfly wings of anticipation are starting to stir. The running time is 118 minutes, but for me it feels like five. I've even come to love the film's ending because it's such a pull back to reality. (SPOILER ALERT!) She's a princess, he's a common reporter. They could never actually be together. Especially since the entire film they tried to hide their true identities from each other. In the end, the masks come off and they go their separate ways with only the memory of the one magical day they spent together. When I first saw this movie oh-so-long- ago when I was a real youngin', I hated the end. How could such a happy film have such an unhappy ending? I came up with many scenarios where Princess Anne runs away again to find Joe and they live happily ever after. But as I grew older, I realized not everything has a storybook ending. To quote Gregory Peck in the film "Life isn't always what one likes, is it?" Your whole life can't be a fairy tale.... but one day can. And, oh, what days those can be. We all need our "Roman holidays" every now and then, they're what get us by. So I might not be cruising on a Vespa in Rome with the love of my life anytime soon. But I won't lose hope. It is, after all, my girly dream. For now, I'll take a kayak ride down the Allegheny River on a beautiful fall day. My Pittsburgh Holiday.