Travel: Life of Yes℠ Italy
And that’s a wrap for Best Friend & Best Friend Do Italy.
17 days
9 hotels
8 cities (20+ if you count day trips)
3 “we don’t check luggage!” bags
95 happy pounds gained
0 minutes spent in the customs and security lines that were over an hour for almost everyone else
A dash of Italian — Prego! Busto! Basta! Ciao! Si! Buongiorno! Uscita! Treni! Biglietto! Vegano! Dove! Bene! Mi scusi! Conto! Permesso!
Too many trains and steps and stairs and favorite memories to count
SUMMARY
Italy rocks.
A HIGHLIGHT
When we heard people use phrases that we use ironically non-ironically. Imagine “Oh la la!” emitted from a child’s mouth as he exhaustedly reaches the top of a mountain. “Mamma mia!” exclaimed from a tiny elderly woman when looking up at the Sistine Chapel.
INTRIGUES
- Bidets
- Bathroom emergency cords
FIRSTS
- Professional soccer game
- Bidet use
- Turkish Bath use
- Ordering from a Pillow Menu
I’LL MISS
- a comprehensive, fast train system
- gelato multiple times a day
- everyone in linen and brightly colored New Balances and Saucony
- restaurants patio chairs that all face the street
- not having to cook
- not having to tip
- tiny cars
- a clean room when we come home every day
- lake life (which is ironic, seeing that I live on Lake Michigan; let’s just say, it’s no Como)
- much more wandering and walking than computer/TV screening
- Italian
I MISSED
- wide, smooth sidewalks
- flatness
- police uniforms that didn’t make me giggle
- free water
- AC
- pigeons that know their place
- washer and dryer
- free bathrooms
- alleys
- the grid system
- large stores
- large elevators
- yoga
- pretzels (Best Friend’s addition)
- drivers that don’t nudge you across the street when you’re in the crosswalk and make you feel bad for walking
- good customer service outside of hotels
COST
Total “should’ve been” cost (lodging, flight, activities, food, trains, etc.) = $8500; total “post-hacking, actual” cost = $4500.
Fake Oprah signing off. Live your best life, y’all.
Got any Italy faves of your own? Love to hear ’em in the comments!
Did you know you can hire us as travel consultants?
That you can join our upcoming travel webinar?
That I post tons of travel’ness on this blog, which you can easily find by searching the travel category?
That if you ask about our travel hacking & fave resources and/or general travel, I’ll point you to said webinar and blog?
And that perhaps one day, if the interest is there, you can join a Life of Yes℠ Trip yourself?