As I said in my last post, when I got back from Tanzania I was immediately depressed and yearning for something new. My same friend, and new found travel partner, suggested a trip to Italy right after graduation and there was no need to even finish the sentence. Now at this point, my parents still hadn’t really adjusted to the fact that my life would now consist of creating a never ending list of countries to visit, so to ease their worries (there’s no easing Mama Kathy’s worries) we opted to do this trip with a group tour called EF College Break. Although I personally prefer planning my own trip and doing my own thing, there can be a lot of advantages in having everything taken care of for you. Plus I made 45 new friends. 😊
Our trip started off by flying into Milan. I lack the capability of describing in words how SPECTACULAR the Duomo di Milano is. It is massive and beautiful and although there were give or take another MILLION tourists there, I felt like I was on my own and I couldn’t fathom how I got so lucky in life.
It was a two week whirlwind of cities that included Verona, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Siena, Assisi, Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri and Rome. According to my Instagram account that’s the exact order too… Verona was charming, Venice featured a gondola ride and Pisa included lots of laughs while trying to figure out how to recreate such clever pictures of the leaning tower. Pompeii was surreal, Sorrento was full of cliffs and lemoncello and Capri was what blue water dreams are made of. Florence included complete peace one day, a brutal hangover the next and the best damn sandwich I’ve ever had. Oh, and Rome made me quit my job. Let’s discuss those last two.
Florence gave me peace. Or maybe I created it myself. Either way, I found it at the top of the cupola of the Florence Cathedral (Santa Maria del Fiore.) Two unusual things happened before this moment. I didn’t put on makeup for the day and I visited the Cathedral by myself. Here’s the deal with me. I mentioned before that I’m wildly insecure and awkward. I have rosacea all over my cheeks and nose. Honestly it probably isn’t even that bad. It mainly looks like I roasted in the sun without any sunscreen. But for most of my life, I refused to go inside even a gas station in Jefferson County without foundation on. So needless to say, I did not choose to spend the day in the most amazing city without my face on, but there was some confusion about if we were checking into the hotel first and nevertheless I ended up makeup free. I also don’t tend to venture off by myself, but there was limited free time that first day and I was the only one insistent on climbing 500 tiny, narrow steps to the top of the Duomo. I’m so thankful for both of these circumstances.
There’s usually a moment in every trip I’ve taken that I’m so overwhelmed by the scenery that I start crying. Not full on sobbing, but a few tears just leak out. This was it. When I reached the top and looked out over the city, all I could think about was how beautiful this world is. I was so happy to be by myself so as to fully embrace it without any distractions. No group photos or wondering if somebody else was ready to go yet. Just me. And I don’t know if this makes any sense, but for some reason being able to feel so at peace in a beautiful city with just my regular face felt so freeing! It changed my life. Of course I still wear makeup when getting ready, but I don’t put it on to run to the store and back. I don’t put foundation back on after showering for the night just because there’s friends still around. And I always spend at least one day of a trip completely makeup free. Thank you Florence.
Now to Rome. Rome was the big city. The coliseum, the fountains, the Basilica etc. It was everything. We even got to listen to the Pope speak at St. Peter’s Square. I never wanted to leave. If life could be filled with this, why would I want to come home and start a sales job that I didn’t even want? So i pulled the ultimate millennial move and sent an email stating I would no longer be starting. I was sitting in the Detroit airport on a layover and I just truly couldn’t imagine starting a job I knew I would be miserable at. I went back to school and ultimately started a career path that I knew would make me much happier. I think this would have happened eventually, but thank you Rome for the jumpstart. ❤️
New countries are always filled with new lessons and I’m so grateful for the ones learned in Italy. Stay tuned for the time I was a terrible driver in Ireland.
– Liv
More pictures from Italy below!
livlovelacewanders.com 