A Grand Adventure (Part 1)

Three weeks of my life disappeared in a blink of an eye. Time is such a unique phenomenon. When you have a “to do” list a mile long it seems to hang over your head and creates stress and tension on a day to day basis. But when you have a deadline that includes leaving the country…..you power through that list in a day or two and get everything checked off-DONE!
That sensation of being free from the day to day commitments and obligations is a vacation in and of itself. Adding to that, a long awaited, much anticipated vacation to one of the spots on your bucket list is like a dream come true. Our 40th anniversary trip to Italy last month was all that rolled into one of the best vacations we have ever taken. It was far from “relaxing” but it was a GRAND ADVENTURE!
The planning and preparation was a bit more tricky than I anticipated because in the middle of planning our trip we had the unexpected kitchen disaster that dipped into our finances. But for me-the bargain hunter extraordinaire, it was a challenge that motivated me even more. Armed with my Rick Steve’s books, our Marriott points and our United mileage plus points, I began the process of planning. My goal was to provide the best trip possible on a shoestring budget and be able to see and do all the things we had dreamt about for years. Mission accomplished.
We began our trip in Venice. A very romantic city. Wandering the streets alongside the meandering canals was relaxing and fun. Although we had to navigate around the throngs of people who were there for the Italian Film Festival being held on the island of Lido and this prevented us from seeing the Armenian Monastery on Isola San Lazaro , we had an unexpected blessing of finding a Vivaldi “Four Seasons” concert at a small local church. So many more funny details from Venice to share but I will post more in weeks to come…….
We continued our adventure in Cinque Terra. Our goal was to conquer the Cinque Terra trail and see all 5 villages. It had rained on our train travel day so the trails were closed when we arrived but we did not let that stop us. Early the next morning we set out to hike and when the guard at the gate told us the trails were closed BUT we could hike at our own risk…we did not hesitate and off we went. There are no words to describe the beauty of the Mediterranean costal trails that meandered through vineyards and took us up steep rocky steps to breathtaking vistas. We felt God’s presence displayed in the natural beauty of this place.
Our next surprise came when we stopped for half a day in Pisa. People had advised us not to bother with Pisa, but we loved the town, the basilica, baptistery and climbing to the top of the tower. The history was interesting and the day was relaxing and fun.
Back on the train a few hours later and off to Florence we went. The anticipation grew inside of me because I had longed to be with my beloved in Florence ever since I spent most of my sophomore year of college there studying Italian and art history. Florence is a very romantic city. Meandering along the Arno and across the Ponte Vecchio filled my heart with a joy. Eating gelato and visiting various places I had wanted to share with Rick was delightful. The city center is filled with beautiful art and architectural masterpieces-Palazzo Vecchio, the Duomo, Pitti Palace, the Accademia and the Uffizi to name a few. We fell in love with Tratorria Marione, a quaint but lively place where we ate some of the best Italian food we have ever eaten. I could go on and on about the exquisite beauty of Florence and the Tuscany region but I will save that and more for my next travel post. Until then…………….
Here are a few of the lessons I learned.
1. Be flexible.
2. Always take a day or two of clothes and toiletries in your carry-on in case the airlines lose your luggage. We were without our luggage for the first 24 hours.
3. Enjoy each moment-rather than focusing on the schedule and the next thing to see or do…
4. Ask for restaurant tips and watch where the locals eat. (I am happy to share our gold mine of local finds)
5. Take the advice of folks who have just been where you are going and book a few tours to avoid the crowds-we were very pleased with Walks of Italy Tours.
6. Schedule some down time…we did not do a very good job of this and thus needed a vacation from our vacation…
7. Ask people to help take pictures of the two of you…selfies just do not do justice to the scenery or the memories you want to cherish together in your pictures. (selfies can NOT take the place of real anniversary photos and I actually wish we had thought to take one photo at each site for making a photo book.)
8. Write or journal at the end of each day even if it is a bullet point list of your activities.
9. Laugh a lot!
10. Enjoy the cultural events and treats that you can not duplicate back home-our justification for Gelato EVERY DAY and sometimes twice a day!!!
Ciao for now!