Let me start off by telling you I that Italy was never on my bucket list. I had originally bought it as a surprise gift for my boyfriend, The Italian*. About a year ago, we had a conversation about what were on our bucket list. I remember asking him what was on his and getting the reply “I would like to go to Italy”.
So with much planning and the lovely help from the team at Contiki, I was set to surprise the Italian with the greatest Christmas present ever!
However, he said
No.
Who says no to a free trip to Italy?
I have learned from my past travels with Contiki is that life is about no regrets! I wasn’t going to let buying a trip for someone to someplace that wasn’t on my bucket list be one of mine.
So, I went to Italy all by myself!
I actually enjoy traveling by myself. I get to move at my pace, I’m not rushed to get from point A, to point B. I get to see what I would like to see. Although, getting to Italy was its own adventure, but that’s for another blog post.
The people I met on this tour where amazing. The places I saw where breathtaking. The food I ate was plenty and delicious. The memories I made because of these I’ll remember Italy forever.
Sometimes it’s simply not where you’re going that makes the destination, but the rather the people you had met along the way the destination a memory to last a lifetime.
These are just a couple of people I met along the way. Each person I met on this trip was absolutely fantastic and helped create awesome memories of Italy with me.
One of my favorite moments was the last day of our trip where it POURED buckets and buckets of rain in Rome. I refused to buy and umbrella or poncho from the many venders selling them. I was soaked. I didn’t care. What did I do? I handed off all my electronics to Pooja, and started jumping in puddles all over Rome. BEST TIME EVER! Again, Eleri, I’m so sorry I got you wet! I honestly didn’t think the puddle was that big!
I got to put my feet in the Mediterranean Sea. I did a wine tasting in a beautiful vineyard. I rode a gondola threw Venice. I got to see the roman Colosseum. I saw the statue of David. I visited Juliet’s balcony in Verona. I visited the Cinque Terre and saw some amazing buildings.
The buildings in Italy are a sight of their own. The amount of craftsmanship that went into them just blew my mind. The churches I visited where fantastic, but I don’t have many pictures of the insides because a lot of them ask you not to. I’m OK with that. You will have to visit Italy to find out why everything here is so spectacular.
Would I go back to Italy? Yes but not by myself. I feel like I need an adventure buddy to visit Italy again.
Would I buy a trip for someone else and surprise them with it again? I probably will, but not for a while.
As much as I love to travel by myself, my next adventure will have to be with a travel buddy!
All the best,
Bailey B.
*I call him The Italian because he is Italian, his family came from Italy and he was the 1st Italian I had ever met.