Wrapping up our Italy trip…

Approx. read time: 6 minutes

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Everyone asks you when you’ve returned from a trip, “how was it"?” and we can never quite explain the magic of the experience, can we?

How can I describe the way Rome smells in June? Or the sense of awe that floods you when you view ruins or the blue waters of Positano? The following is my last entry on Italy. If you have been following along with my travel journal posts, you know I have already discussed what to wear, where to go, what to see, eat, and how to order coffee in previous entries (all of which are littered with fun ancillary info so you should read them.. just sayin’)…..

I refer to them as journal entries because I hate the word blog… it sounds so… clunky and what does blog even stand for anyway? Who thought up this word that is unsophisticated?

Alright, here we go, Travel Tribe….one last story….

“They’re like pigeons”

I left Sorrento and grabbed a taxi at Termini, ready to check in at Zoe B&B for my last night in Rome.

The cab driver sighed as we waited for tourists who were walking directly in front of the cab, slowly. I laughed at his sigh and he looked in the rear view mirror..

“They’re like pigeons” he says in his thick accent and I laugh even harder.
”Where I live we have tourist pigeons, too”, I say.

“What brings you to Italy? What do you do?” I tell him I live by Yosemite National Park in California and I’m an art teacher.

“Oh! Very beautiful there so not so sad that you are leaving Italy tomorrow. Rome must be like Mecca for you with all of our art and architecture”. It definitely is, I reply.

After checking myself into the apartment, I decided to head out and wander the Trastevere neighborhood one last time. It struck me that I now felt very confident in Rome. Having been away for a few days and returning, I felt comfortable with my sense of direction as I walked the neighborhoods. Funny how quickly we can feel at home somewhere.

I found a tiny little ceramics shop tucked in an alley and the artist, Marina Gozzi was a delight to chat with. I bought a small and lovely coil bowl and she asked me to place a stick pen on her world map.

“All of those pins on the map represent a place my art has traveled to. People from all over the world have a piece of me with them now”. I thought this was a wonderful sentiment and there were a lot of pins on that map! If you’d like to explore her work, look for her on Facebook and Instagram or at marinagozzi.com .

Art connects everyone!

My last 24 hours in Rome were introspective and here are my final thoughts on Italy:

Rome smells like Jasmine. Usually cities stink like you would imagine a dense urban area would. But Rome? It smells sweet. Your olfactory receptors will forever imprint Rome in your brain and every time you smell Jasmine, you will take an imaginary voyage back to this wonderful city. I knew I would long for it again so I planted a Jasmine when I got home!

People in Rome are an interesting mixture of personalities.

I have a hard time defining it. At first, I thought Romans had a touch of subversive arrogance or snobbishness,…maybe even impatience, especially during the coffee ordering process.

(Pro Tip: Know the process for ordering coffee in Rome. They’ll love you for it).

At the same time, the people I met were incredibly friendly, helpful, and jovial. So, how does one define this dichotomy in personality?

Pride.

They take pride in their appearance, their traditions, their city, and way of life. They are no doubt weary from the unlimited amounts of tourists in the summer months, just as anyone living in a tourist area becomes. Once I realized this special blend of personality traits, I felt far less intimidated and much more welcomed because I looked at it with a different and more correct lens.

In the South everyone was friendly and they seemed excited to share their culture with me It definitely felt more easy-going in Sorrento and Positano. This is likely due to the fact that things close up in the winter so tourist season is their bread and butter and they get a break from the madness every winter season. The sense of pride here was a bit different… more like the type that a proud nona has when her grandchild graduates kindergarten and she wants to show you the photos of the monumental event.

Here they present the culture to you like a gift, whereas in Rome, they wait for you to come to them and then they are enthusiastic about sharing their city with you.

Italy requires a second and possibly third visit (real talk: maybe even a 4th):

There’s a lot to see in this country. If I could have stayed a month, I would have been able to visit Florence, Venice, and many smaller villages that I have on my extremely long bucket list. My suggestion is to only pick a few places to visit and really immerse yourself in them. Bouncing quickly from location to location doesn’t allow one to really *experience it, it becomes a “to-do list” at that point. Be content with your travels and focus on a few areas and then GO BACK another time to see more.

Familiarize yourself with the history of the area before you go:

Read up on the historical sites you plan on visiting in advance that way when you arrive there, you will be able to FULLY appreciate how incredible it is. If you don’t know about the Forum before going, you will miss out on some of the important details. Of course, you can always join a tour group but they are going to rush you through (remember that whole story about the Dali paintings at the Vatican Museums I told you about?). If you need a brief rundown, you can visit my Historical Sites: Rome page to learn about some of the important sites in Rome. I’ll be adding to that page soon so you get the full enchilada, so to speak.
I personally want to go back and travel parts of the Appian Way, and visit Florence and a few charming towns scattered about the country. I stumbled upon Italian photographer, Andrea Frazzetta’s photo essay on the Appian and I wish I had seen it before I had gone. You should seriously check the story out on National Geographic Magazine., it’s a must-read/view! AND you should view his website. Some people can tell stories with words, Andrea tells more than a story with his photographs… he gives us a bit of the soul of a place or people, Remarkable.

Italy is a wonderful place to visit. It’s a country with a vast history, a love affair with coffee, art, and food . It’s a place where you never feel alone. English is obviously widely spoken and since they talk with their hands a lot (it’s true, ok?), you can get by even when there is a language barrier. People are friendly and there is a genuine sense that they want to share their country with you. Rome can be overwhelming simply because of the insane amount of sites to visit. You will leave with a new appreciation for the profound history here and you’ll never be able to mimic a cappuccino in quite the same way ( I have an espresso machine, I’ve tried. No dice. I also have a stovetop percolator… nope. I think you have to be surrounded by Italians speaking quickly to get the same results).

Arrivederci, Italy 🥲

I sat on the plane, looking out the window awaiting takeoff. I queued up a documentary on an artist and as the opening song for the film began, my heart felt heavy and light all at once. Judy Garland’s tenuous voice filled my headphones… “Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.” and I felt a tear escape. My eyeballs were leaking just a bit because my mother loved this song and before the song had even started, I had been thinking of her and how much she would have loved this little adventure I had just been on. It felt like her way of saying arrivederci to Italy with me and I knew she had been with me there in spirit. Of all the songs in the world, this one at this very moment was one of those “whispers” that occur in our lives, the ones that remind you to pay attention to the moment you are in. I had just fulfilled a dream, I had just been thinking of her. I wished I could have stayed longer, I was not yet satiated but home and responsibilities were calling so I adjusted my focus from longing to contentment.

Somewhere over the Atlantic….

I decided a Bailey’s sounded good. I RARELY drink but thought it would be a treat so I ordered one from the flight attendant. It was taking a long time to arrive so I mentioned to the other attendant that I’d like one and here’s where I was schooled in patience.

The second attendant brought me one followed rapidly but the first attendant who delivered hers (they tag teamed this and planned my humiliation together LOL)

I said “Yikes! I’m sorry, I thought you had forgotten”

She replied with “that will teach you to never underestimate a flight attendant” (she was annoyed, playfully smug and smiling ). We both laughed and I said “You didn’t forget and now I’ll never forget!”…. I need more patience, people. I gave my second Bailey’s to my neighbor who was very chatty about his trip, his career, his kids, etc. I enjoyed our chat but also secretly hoped the Bailey’s would escort him into a nice nap so I could write in my journal.

Later, as the flight extended into its 10th hour, I was already formulating my next adventure…. a Bailey’s induced brainstorm on how to visit several countries next summer.

There are too many places I need to see. There are people out there I am destined to cross paths with, cultures out there that I want to understand. I wish I could be a professional traveler, one who wanders the world to experience the root of connection… people, history, culture.

Perhaps my tribe can help me decide where to visit next. Drop a comment below if you have been somewhere that you think everyone must visit.

Pro Tip: if you are returning from abroad and land in Chicago… make sure your give yourself plenty of time for the connecting flight. The customs line was INSANELY long. I can’t even describe it to you other than to say the line snakes through 4 hallways (the length of the wing of the building) and back through the same 4 hallways so you are having to double back… I can’t even explain it. I almost missed my flight so patience and good planning is a must for customs at O’hare.

Thank you for taking this trip with me, Travel Tribe! I hope it inspired you to make plans, be unafraid to go somewhere solo and to dive head first into what awaits you.

I’m taking you to Spain next so …. Olè!!!!

Serendipity is constantly calling.

How will you answer it?

Ciao, for now!

-Lindsey

Curious to know what travel watercolor set I take along with me? You can find it them on Amazon and they’re affordable!