Checking in: Italy
Setting the stage for my Italian Fall adventure
I had not traveled out of the country since February 2020 when I visited my friend Juwan while he was teaching in Madrid. Since COVID restrictions were lifted, the idea of a *European Summer* could not escape my mind.
Sean had traveled with a group of friends to Italy the year prior, and I had seen so many photos. It was impossible not to be jealous. I wanted to get on a plane immediately.
At that point we had been together for just under three months, but the thought of traveling for an extended period of time never made me anxious. In fact, I didn’t think about an international trip being “a big deal” until others brought it up. And I still wasn’t anxious.
My dad believes the best way to test a relationship is travel, and I think we passed with flying colors. In fact, this is the only test I’d be confident to take multiple times a year.
Our requirements:
8-10 days away
Reasonable airfare prices
Cheaper ‘cost of living’ than New York City
Warmer/dry weather
A balance of activity and relaxation
From the jump, Italy was our first choice mainly due to Sean’s previous trip. We also thought about Baja, California and Madrid, Spain (all completely different vibes, I know). But ultimately, I had set my sights on Italy and it was too late to change my mind.
With the exclusion of Capri, our overall trip hit these prongs.
Booking
We knew that booking flights in the fall would be significantly less expensive than the summer since everyone and their mother was in Italy.
When it came to choosing our cities, we used Sean’s previous trip as a blueprint: Naples, Capri and Rome.
Lodging was more expensive than we anticipated for what most consider to be post-tourist season. Originally we were hoping to find hotels in our price-range since we didn’t need a kitchen or a lot of space. However they were way out of our budget in all locations, so we were luckily able to book Airbnbs for the full trip in prime locations.
Tell me what you want to hear!
I’m dropping blogs for each city, so if you have anything you’d like us to talk about specifically, please comment.
