Yesss! We finally made it to Italy!

Visiting the beautiful country of Italy had been on my bucket list since middle school days.  I am DECADES past middle school and Italy had become a distant and hopeful longing into adulthood.  One day everything changed after  a general  discussion with my trainer post workout of course (Otherwise I would not have been able to speak).  She made a casual comment that if you don’t plan for something it will most likely never happen.  That truth bomb hit me like a ton of pasta.  It could have been the lack of oxygen or mild dehydration but I was  slapped with a desperately needed dose of reality!

I’m a dreamer by nature, I tend to move through life thinking great things will happen for me whether I plan them or not.  This mindset rarely works for targeted goals, for example; I keep hoping passive income will just fall in my lap without any effort. I’m praying that one day I will magically do full body pull up without consistent weight training and maybe, just maybe my cluttered kitchen cabinets will straighten themselves out.

If I ever want passive income, muscle mass to do a single pull up or de-cluttered cabinets, I need to make a plan.    Italy was no exception.  My trainers words became my mantra, and a  part of my prayer.  From that point on I started saving for this trip with just my husband.  I started by taking  a portion of each paycheck and stashing it aside.  I even shaved a bit off the grocery fund. – Sorry kids, no extra chocolate milk this week!  Little by little I saved over the course of a year until I finally reached my goal.

My goals were pretty lofty ( in my mind) monetarily and experientially.   I didn’t want to just visit Italy, I wanted to explore the cities, do some light shopping, eat local Italian cuisine and bring something special back for my kids and  family.  I wanted to do it all debt free and strictly on what I had saved. It literally took a year and 1 month(ish).

My husband and I celebrated when we reached our final milestone!!!  It took a year of patience, careful planning, and sacrifice.  Once we had the funds we contacted an online travel agency to help us book our trip.  We selected the Venice, Florence Rome package.  The company we used is called Trip Masters, https://www.tripmasters.com/.  They were helpful in booking the trip, planning transportation to and from the airport and locating hotels  (Each service was an additional fee).

As for the hotels, we loved two out of the three, but more on that later.  I will say, each hotel charges an upfront hotel tax based on the hotel’s rating.  Be mindful of that extra expense if you plan to travel.

Venice was our first and my absolute favorite stop!  I loved the waterways, beautiful old building and open air cafe dining.  I found it all very romantic and surreal.  My husband, always had his camera at the ready and we, took what felt, like hundreds of photos.

Venice had an eerie tranquility that we didn’t figure out until day 2.  There are no cars on the island- at least none visible to us.  Can you imagine, no traffic, honking horns or sirens to speak of?  My urban brain needed that!  We did notice one particular day, construction vehicles being transported via water freights to the island.

For the most part, Venice was everything We’d hoped for.  Would I ever go back?  Heck yeah!!  – Only, I would go in the fall, or winter.   As a  teacher,  we  get a few weeks in the summer.  Not 3 months like way back in the day.  Summer was the only time I could travel.  And you guessed it, it was hot ya’ll.  I swear I was melting from the inside out.  Even my kneecaps were sweating!  And my hair!  My hair was frizzy, fried and sweaty all at the same time.  I was a walking Q-tip!

And then there was my skin.  At some point my chocolate skin felt deep fried.  It was my first (that I can remember) sunburn.  I wore hats and sunscreen daily but I’m not sure how well it worked.  I just kept slathering it on like BBQ sauce.

Even with frying skin, it was worth it! If you don’t believe me, check out our photo collection of Venice.  So beautiful…and H-O-T!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention, the hotel was very pretty.  Our room was smaller than I expected but it was very clean, comfortable and most importantly, air conditioned :).  I would recommend upgrading your accommodations from the standard rooms if you can.  In this case, the room was standard but very good.

If you made it this far, linger a bit longer and check out our photo collection below.

Our future stop on this touristy blog, Florence!

Until then, I wish you unshakeable faith, wealth beyond measure and laughter ’til it hurts.  Kim J.

Photos and text , all rights reserved.  To use with permission, contact Solomon Jagwe at www.sowl.com