Roma. My First Love. Part One.
Back in October 2016, I boarded a plane without a care in the world; I was finally going to my dream destination… Italy. This adventure sparked a passion inside of me for culture, people, places, experiences and what it means to live a life.
My first European trip was done with a company called Contiki. Contiki is a travel company for people ages 18-35. The company was founded over 50 years ago in New Zealand, connecting young people with the experience of travel alongside new friends who are also seeking the adventure of a lifetime. My first trip was a tour through Rome, Florence & Venice (with incredible stops along the way in places like San Gimignano, Verona, Pisa and Murano). I made lifelong friendships, unforgettable memories and when I close my eyes I can still see their smiling faces & hear the roaring laughter. A year later in October 2017, I was fortunate to travel with Contiki again to Barcelona, Nice, Monaco, Cinques-Terre, Amalfi Coast, Rome, Florence, Pompeii and more. The second trip made me feel even more comfortable with the idea of solo travel so I did just that; once the tour finished in Rome, I jumped on the Trenitalia train to Fiumicino Airport, hopped an inexpensive flight to Santorini, Greece and after lots of interesting language issues (& a panic attack involving a donkey) I found myself in a beautiful AirBNB apartment on the beach in an area called Kamari for a few days. With the help of the lovely AirBNB host and us both trying to communicate using Google Translate, I learned to take the local bus to travel around the gorgeous island. I made friends with strangers at rooftop restaurants, danced with new friends in loud bars, drank too much raki, sunbathed my bare behind on sandy beaches and even watched the sun set and rise from a new comrade’s cliff side hot tub in the volcanic mountain rocks of Thera.
A few years of my travel being based in North America for weddings & life events, then a world-wide pandemic, then branching out on my own to be my own boss… The itch grew strong to travel (or escape) to Europe again, but this time I was going to do my own thing entirely.
Back to Rome. I mean, I’ve thrown enough coffee money in the Trevi fountain on previous trips (it’s said that if you throw coins in the historic fountain you’ll be brought back to Rome) to keep an entire football team caffeinated. It’s a classic. Rome is everything you see in movies, it’s as magical as you think. The city of seven hills is a melting pot of the rest of Italy, a place to see a glimpse of and feel what the life of an Italian truly is. Rome, Italy has influenced much of European architecture, history and culture. The rest of Italy continues to influence everything else that goes into everything about Roma; espresso from Naples, tomatoes from Campania, wine from Chianti, olives from Liguria and so much more.
Planning this trip was part of the fun for me this time because I was curating my own experience based off previous trips, research and of course the art of dolce far niente.
… to be continued
