Italy Part 1: Solo travel on a whim-
*please note: I have a few affiliate links in this article. When you click on the link and book or purchase through the Affiliate company, I get a tiny little commission. Teeny tiny … like Tea-Cup Chihuahua tiny but I sure do appreciate your support! There is no extra cost for you! Affiliate links help to keep this blog up and running! I ONLY include links to products or services that I believe in.
I am writing this blog/journal backwards! Starting with my most recent trip first and then I will fill ya’ in on previous journeys. I’m starting it this way because Italy is why I started this blog and this blog is why I had an Italy experience! Read on and it will all make sense….
A notice to my readers regarding this first story: Nothing terribly exciting happens. It’s more of an intro to my trip, writing style and simply a lead up to the “main events”. Subsequent stories will bring you along with me as we go to the Colosseum, Forum, Vatican, etc. You’re welcome to skip this story and dive into our adventure if you prefer but since I am taking you along with me, I suggest starting from the beginning. 😊
I want to visit Rome……
I’ve wanted to start a travel & art blog for a long time and just as spring semester wrapped up, I thought it would be a great time to start one. My very next thought was “Can’t really start a travel blog if you aren’t traveling “. I simultaneously had been seeing a friend’s photos of her trip to Rome on Facebook and thought, “That’s it! I can’t take it anymore! Next summer I’m going to Italy”. But then something weird happened in my brain, some wiring shook loose and I thought why wait? I have 3 weeks until summer classes start and I could either waste those 3 weeks by puttering around the house or I could bust a move, hop on a plane and visit Italy real quick. Sounds reasonable, right?
My husband was away at a training and during our daily text message check-ins, I told him I wanted to go to Rome. Reader, my husband hears statements like this from me at least once a month, probably more so he is used to hearing me talk a good game. This poor guy replied with “ok, babe. Sounds good”.
Cool! Husband doesn’t care: check, green light! I jumped on Expedia and found fights to Rome for the following week. Now, I realize you don’t know me (yet) but this is completely antithetical to how I function. I am a PLANNER. I plan a vacation an entire year ahead of time. I research, I read, I watch a lot of YouTube in advance so this extremely impromptu trip is way outside of my norm. So much so, that when I told my son I was going to Rome the following week, he deadpanned me and then told me it was hilarious because I’m such a planner that he couldn’t believe I was going to a foreign country on a week’s notice.
That evening as my husband and I spoke over the phone I told him he needed to take me to the airport the following Wednesday. His response sounded confused “Oh, so, you’re going?” I freely admit that this plan sounds insane and I do feel a tinge of guilt that the people in my household were expected to just roll with it but folks, I am here to LIVE, ok? And if the lightening bolt of “why not?” hits you, just go with it! Ride that electric feeling all the way to Italy if needed.
I spent the next week furiously building my summer school courses and researching where to stay, where to go, what to do. My main stress point was getting the appropriate Covid test in the required time frame and I did have a few moments of self doubt when the stress of finding a clinic with the specific required test available and testing negative was at its peak. Luckily, it all worked out. Another green-light!
I am here to tell you that planning a last minute trip was a huge gift. It made me focus on the things I *really wanted to see and gave me the space to go on this trip with an open mind vs. my normal plan- for- all- contingencies way of going about it. It completely shifted my mentality and made this trip what it was: a slow-travel, meet the moments as they come, meandering, filled with highlights and immersion into going with the flow.
I gotta say: as a mom and a wife who is responsible for every little detail involved in keeping a household running and making sure your family stays alive, this type of travel was EXACTLY what I needed. For once, I allowed myself to step away from to-do lists, from minutiae, from having it all figured out and gave myself permission to just BE. A sincere reprieve!
You’re going… alone?
Before, during and after my trip I have experienced both “yay, you!” and “you went alone?” from many people. The yay-you’s were almost all from women who I think totally understood the need to go somewhere, alone. The “alone?” comments were from those wondering if my marriage was intact (it is, calm down, people) and those that are not as inescapably independent as I am. In the two weeks I’ve been home, I’ve started to wonder if I am crazy or if they are crazy for not getting why solo travel is one of the greatest forms of travel out there. Either way, I’m comfortable with how I went about this. I made sure my tribe was good to go before I left. I made Lasagna and other meals before I departed (which were forgotten about and still in the freezer when I got back so, I’m glad I went through the trouble of making them…. eye roll). Turns out my family can survive without me doing alllll the things! Who knew? (Note to selves: maybe we need to let go a little and not try to do everything, all the time!).
Like a genius, I booked an early flight from the airport an hour away which meant my husband would get virtually no sleep if he were to drop me off at an appropriate time so I decided to have him drop me off at 11:00 pm and opted to stay the night in the airport. Besides, I was far too excited to even think about trying to go to bed at 8:00 only to get up at 2:30 am to leave. This is the second time I’ve stayed overnight in an airport awaiting international travel and it’s not that bad. Your mileage may vary there but it is doable and you will for sure be on time for your flight lol.
My seat buddy and former U.S. Marine , Bill
I had a few connecting flights and on the flight to Dallas I sat between a grandpa and guy just a bit older than me. The guy closer to my age and I were headed to the same terminal so grandpa Bill instructed the guy to “take care of her. Make sure she finds her terminal and gate”. How sweet is that!? Thanks for looking out, Bill and Semper Fi! Thanks for your service in the Marine Corps and I hope your Grand-niece’s graduation was wonderful. You’re a cool guy for flying out there to surprise her! As it turns out, I needed a little help because I didn’t know we had to take a tram to another terminal but my surrogate brother knew and led the way! Don’t be afraid to rely on strangers from time to time when you travel. People are usually willing to help.
Happy Birthday to me!
I landed in Rome on my 42nd birthday! I didn’t plan it that way but I had a finite amount of time to travel and it worked out that way, as if it were pre-ordained… there isn’t a better way to celebrate your birthday than landing in ROME!! I had pre-booked a shuttle from the airport to the city center and it was a huge stress relief! The second (I think.. or was it the 4th?) stop the bus makes will drop you off at the Vatican which was VERY near to the apartment I had rented. There are a few ways to get from the airport to the city center. Check out my recommendations tab for tips and info!
I got off the bus a little disoriented so I walked to a nearby piazza to take a minute and orient myself. Two nights without sleep and being plopped into a busy, unknown city makes parking your tired butt on a bench so you can get your bearings a necessity. Bonus: you might end up sitting next to an elderly guy who smiles so deeply that the creases on his face could swallow you whole. The older gentleman tried to talk to me but…no parlo Italiano, my friend (or is it parla Italiana since I’m female? Feel free to weigh in!). We still exchanged names and sat for a minute, two strangers enjoying the view of life all around us.
I said goodbye to my new, old friend and strapped my pack back on. I don’t travel with checked luggage, only a carry-on, decent sized backpack (make sure yours has a waist strap!!) so I felt ready for navigating my way to the apartment quite easily. Boy, was my tired brain wrong!
Post Piazza bench, here’s how my first hour in Rome went down:
I enter the address of the apartment in the maps on my phone and I start walking. Woohoo, I’m on my way! It’s a HOT 96 degrees and slightly muggy in Rome but nothing I can’t handle for the short 10 minute walk. Here’s the thing though, sleep deprivation and an inability to chill the heck out mentally (too excited!) made my map following skills dismal. I was not paying attention to that little blue dot with the wedge shape that shows you which direction you are headed in and if incorrect, is the key to backtracking to go in the right direction. I was just paying attention to the…. well, I don’t even know what!?? I was lost. Lost for an hour in a giant circle, but somehow didn’t care. Everything was interesting to me. Look at those legit cobblestones! Oh! There’s the Vatican walls! Oooh, that is a pretty building!
I was like the Ted Lasso of travel… nothing was going to get me down and everything, literally everything was awesome! Example #1 of why solo travel rocks: I am not worried about who is hot, tired, pissed because we are lost. I am only worried about my own emotions and timeline. I am in control of whether or not I decide being lost is kinda great! Yes, I fully enjoyed being lost and sweating more profusely than I ever have in my life. I’m a central Californian. I know alllllll about heat but the heat in Rome is heavy, not dry like back home so I probably lost 10 lbs in water weight but gained it all back from the weight of my drenched-in- sweat clothing.
I finally get back on track and send a WhatsAp message to the owner of the apartment that I just needed to stop at an ATM (called a Bancomat in Italy. Look for official ones NOT the slimy little ones found outside of mini-marts. Their fees are steep!) and I will be there in 10 minutes. I end up waiting in line at the ATM which is across the street from the apartment and he messaged to ask if I needed help. He was kind enough to retrieve me from the bank and make sure I was all set with my cash.
His name is Andrea and he offers to take my heavy bag but I’m tough so, I decline. We cram ourselves and my bag into a small, old elevator with wooden doors and up we go to the Penthouse in Rome (you can find it on Booking.com, just type in Penthouseinrome exactly as written ). As we cross the threshold, I let out an enormous, internal sigh….. AIR CONDITIONING. Praise Jesus (literally).
The lift that takes you to your penthouse paradise! Bad photo but cool doors!
I mean……. hello! This is the view from the terrace and the terrace is all mine!
Andrea shows me how to work the air conditioning units, the tv, asks me if I’d mind watering the plants on the terrace (of course not! I’m a plant-lady, after all!) and offers to make us a caffé. We sip our tiny espressos while he tells me about his life. He’s a rigger in the music industry and in his bedroom you will find a large frame with tons of backstage passes to bands like Madonna, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Michael Jackson, etc. that he has worked for. Obviously he is super cool.
!!!!!!!!!!!
He asks, “Is the apartment alright? Is it what you expected? Sometimes pictures people put on the web can lie”. Reader, I am an artist, I love books, music, espresso, the color grey and a good view. So my obvious reply is “It is perfect! I feel right at home!” We chat for a few minutes about how he rents his flat in the summer season and stays with his girlfriend but he’s glad to have a space of his own. I think he is amused by the fact that I have come to Rome on my own adventure. He offers a vespa tour of the city (and makes sure I understand that the offer is “not like.. that”, if you know what I mean). He truly just wanted me to experience the city from a local’s point of view. I never did call and take him up on that and I’m super irritated with myself because it would have been such a unique way to see the city. I just didn’t know if my hubs would appreciate my doing so and I was already at the limit of what my husband was cool with so, I decided against it. I’ll probably forever regret that but at the same time, I still like to make choices that respect my husband (even though the vespa tour was NOT “like that”!).
I’m curious.. .what would you have done?
Anyway, I digress. Andrea left me to enjoy the apartment and my stay. I truly felt a deep sense of being “home’ while there. His walls are grey (my favorite color) and the only things in the apartment are art, books and really unique pieces of furniture. It’s a well appointed flat, it is perfection to an artist like me. He even had many of the same books I have! A little note about flats in Europe: in the cities, most flats are small and you don’t find clutter all over the place like you do here in the States. They are very good at curating what is in their homes and it is refreshing!
A perfect apartment!
So many books! That amazing piece of furniture? He got that in the Netherlands (or somewhere like that… the exact location has faded from memory. Drat!) and had it transported here. It belonged in an old farmhouse that also had a water wheel which he has a piece of the mechanics from and hangs it near the kitchen.
A great juxtaposition of topics laid out on the coffee table. Italian art and Italian gentlemen. Everything they say about how Italian men dress is 100% true! Tailored suits, gorgeous shoes, slim, and very obviously care about how they present themselves. I saw absolutely no slovenly looking men (or women for that matter!) and every single one of them was dressed impeccably. I don’t know how they wear suits in this heat but they do! They aren’t playing around!
Andrea sent me a message outlining all of the best places to eat in the neighborhood and gave great descriptions of what to expect “fun atmosphere, very social” or “less expensive and really good food” which I found to be so helpful. A good host is worth their weight in gold! The Prati neighborhood is one of the more wealthy areas in Rome. A lot of business folks live here and I chose it specifically because it was a little outside of the raging touristic areas. The Vatican is just 2 blocks away but the streets in Prati were much quieter than other areas and I highly reccommend staying here. I felt very safe and the metro was only about 2 blocks away, making it fast and easy to get to other areas of the city.( For more information on Prati and public transport, visit the recommendations tab)
I opted to walk a few blocks and eat dinner at Cacio e Pepe where I had their namesake dish, which of course I couldn’t finish. It was very obvious to me that not finishing your pasta is a sin right up there with the worst of them. I made sure to compliment the food but was just too full. The waitress looked at me like I had insulted her, the restaurant and perhaps the whole country. I was pretty much immediately written off at that point as yet another disappointing tourist. I’m a little person though and can’t eat my weight in pasta! Let me clarify: she wasn’t rude but I saw the distinct look of disappointment in her eyes when she cleared my half eaten pasta plate away. A cardinal sin, perhaps! After dinner I went back to the apartment resolutely ready for relaxation. I sat on that incredible terrace and just looked at St. Peter’s Basilica from sunset until dark. The lights at night were just as amazing as the the view when it was bathed in the colors of sunset.
This is what I mean by slow travel. I think a lot of people would have felt as though they needed to go crazy with sightseeing the first day while I knew that my body and mind needed to rest and I felt good about staying in and gearing up for my second day in Rome. Andrea had supplied me with espresso so I was golden! That night I sat with my travel journal and wrote a few bits about the day, organized my wallet which is important to do before you go venturing into areas where pick-pocketers are all too willing to lighten your load and fell asleep so full of happiness, the day almost did not seem real. I WAS IN ROME!
Don’t forget to hop over to my Tips: Italy page for ideas on what to pack and my go-to travel items that I can’t live without.
(side note: EVERYONE seems to use WhatsAp in Europe. It’s a popular way to communicate so I highly recommend downloading the app before you go).
Join me for Part 2 where I take you exploring in the Eternal City. Your mind will be blown by our first stop: the Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre. Hope you like fun facts and some art history because it’s coming at ya’ next week!
Ciao for now!
Lindsey
View from the terrace at night. Wow!
*please note: I have a few affiliate links in this article. When you click on the link and book or purchase through the affilate company, I get a tiny little commission. Teeny tiny … like Tea-Cup Chihuahua tiny but I sure do appreciate your support! There is no extra cost for you! Affiliate links help to keep this blog up and running! I ONLY include links to products or services that I believe in.
