June where did you go?! I must say my re-entry into reality after my May trip to Europe was harder than I expected. But as it is with vacations, it was SO worth it! I joined my daughter at the end of her semester abroad in Florence, Italy. After her semester of study and adventure, we headed out on our own mother/daughter adventure.

Here are some of the stories of our travels and the lessons learned that may help you in your future journeys. I also wanted to share with you the beautiful video Ali created of our trip! Pour a cup of coffee, or better yet, a glass of wine, and enjoy!

 

 

1. TAKE THE TRIP! In the months leading up to this trip to Europe, I often had doubts pop into my head about the wisdom of spending the money to go. Was it the right priority? Did I have the funds to pull it off? I decided that it was more important that I go, than NOT go and regret it. It took some faith to believe it would all turn out well. I was sharing this with a friend when I returned and she said a wise person once told her, “Take the trip!” I couldn’t agree more. As I look at our video and see the smiles on our faces and hear the laughter in our voices, I’m convinced it was the right decision.

 

2. Plan ahead! Our friend that traveled with us, Abby, did an amazing job of figuring out our itinerary.  We started chipping away at the expenses about six months in advance. First I paid for my flights. About three months out, we made all of our lodging reservations and paid for those in advance. Then about a month out, we paid for some miscellaneous items, like the train fromVenice to Florence, the ferry to Greece, and the tickets to the Vatican. Once I actually got to Italy, it was just food, shopping and some local transportation that I had to worry about!

 

3. AirBnB is the BOMB! Most hotels in Europe are “double occupancy”, so with our travel party of three, we wouldn’t have fit in one room. So we went the route of AirBnB. (If you haven’t heard of this—basically it is individuals who rent their properties by the night through the AirBnB website.) We stayed in seven different AirBnB’s during our two weeks, and every single one was a unique and fantastic experience! Our locations included a third floor apartment on a Venice canal, an apartment a block from the Ponte Vecchio bridge in Florence, a Tuscan farmhouse straight out of an 1800’s movie, a penthouse in Athens overlooking the city, and a cave home built into the side of a cliff in Santorini! Our hosts would meet us at the place, check us in, and usually sit down and go over their recommendations of things to do, places to eat, sites to see. Helen hosted us in our beautiful flat in central Rome. A firecracker of a lady, probably in her mid-sixties, she greeted us with her arm in a cast. With her gravely smoker’s voice she pulled out the map at the kitchen table and told us how to navigate the ominous task of seeing Rome in three days! We were right in the heart of the city, and ended up walking everywhere! We spent 15 nights total in AirBnB accommodations and I spent less than $1,000. Do the math!

 

4. Pack LIGHT! Another piece of advice I received before traveling was to pack my suitcase, and then take out half of what I had packed before closing it. I did this and did not end up regretting it one bit. Many of our AirBnB’s were on second and third floors, without elevators.  We got fortunate a few times, like at our Tuscan farmhouse when the brawny farmer hauled our luggage up the two flights of stairs. But you can’t always count on that! (FYI—Ali did a ten day, five country spring break trip, all in one backpack. I haven’t gotten that good yet!)

 

5. Rick Steves is my travel BFF. I was introduced to this famous travel guru by my friends Mark and Michele who invited me over for a wonderful evening of sharing their best Italy travel tips a few months before I traveled. As I drank the glass of Italian wine they poured for me, I took notes, and then took action! They loaned me their Rick Steves Italy travel book. I downloaded the “Rick Steves Audio Europe” app on my smart phone because Mark said I should know what I’m looking at when I’m in front of it! So in Venice I tried the app out for the first time on the Grand Canal boat ride. It was amazing as he pointed out the ancient palaces, ornate churches and famous bridges that we passed on the canal. My favorite audio tour was the “Heart of Rome” walking tour. From the “panoramic piazzas” to the “fanciful fountains,” it was an evening of exploration I will never forget. The only place we paid to be on a guided tour was the Roman Colosseum, and I didn’t enjoy having to be in a group of 30 people, going at the tour guide’s pace, not to mention it cost 25 euros. With Rick’s audio tours you can skip, rewind, fast- forward, and take breaks when you want to!

 

6. Use a map! We discovered the importance of having a maps app that lets you download the map of the area to use without wifi. We used “HERE WEGo” and it worked like a charm. Abby was our navigator and always had the map with a pin dropped for home! This was always a comfort to us whether we were on foot, ATV, or bus!

 

7. Be adventuresome! As we were headed from Italy to Greece, Ali said to me, “Mom! The only thing I want to make sure we do in Greece is ride ATVs!” So when we arrived in Santorini at our AirBnB cave home, our host Aris recommended we rent a small car or ATVs to navigate the island. Needless to say, we chose the ATVs and had a blast! From the cliffs of the red sand beach on one end of the island, to the magnificent sunset at Oia on the other end, we zoomed around the island laughing our heads off. So when given the option of going conventional (a car) or adventuresome—choose the adventure!

 

8. Do your research. When you’re doing a trip of this magnitude, you want to make sure you hit the main attractions, and then leave room for the spontaneous stops along the way. We bought our tickets to the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel before arriving, and walked by two city blocks of people waiting in line to buy theirs. Also those little tips in the travel books usually turn out to be spot on. I had read that St. Peter’s Basilica opens at 7 a.m. each morning, and the lines usually don’t start forming until 9:00 a.m. So Ali and I got up early the day we were leaving Rome and walked over. It was breathtaking to walk in with no crowds, and hear the singing of the church service taking place! As we stood in front of the beautiful Pieta, with Mary holding Jesus in her arms, it was a sacred moment. I’m so thankful I had followed that tip to go early and soak it all in as we started our day.

 

9. Comfort over fashion. Don’t dress to impress. Wear the most comfortable clothes and shoes possible. When climbing mountains and ruins, you need hiking boots or tennis shoes, not your cute sandals!  I made the mistake of wearing the cute sandals the day we walked all over Athens.  As we climbed the rocks of Mars Hill I knew I’d made a big mistake and eventually had to go barefoot to get down safely!

 

10. Pace yourself. Europeans embrace the “siesta,” an afternoon break where shops close and people go home to rest and re-energize for the evening ahead. We tried to do this on most days, and it was a huge blessing when we did! Also pace the time of your meals so that you don’t go too long without eating. We didn’t do well with that the day we toured the Roman ruins and had to cut our tour short because we were famished. And finally, don’t pack your schedule so tight that you can’t do the spontaneous. Some of my favorite moments were stopping to hear the gorgeous Florence opera singer in the piazza with the carousel, watching the Roman spray paint street artist, throwing coins in the guitar case of the Athens singer who serenaded us as we climbed the dusty road up to the Acropolis.

There you have it!  Julie’s tips for a wonderful European vacation. Thank you for reading and watching, and I hope you have a special trip in your near future!  Ciao!