Resiliency Field Trip: Two Weeks in Italy & Spain

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page” – St. Augustine

I’ve been craving a foreign overseas adventure.

The farthest I had been from Utah, where I was born and raised, up until recently was Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Travel opens your eyes and your heart in unpredictable and wonderful ways. 

I technically checked this item off my list with a very spontaneous weekend trip to Sardinia, Italy and Paris, France at the end of August, but that was just a teaser.

These last two weeks had been in the works for many months and, true to my nature, involved nine Airbnb reservations, seven airplanes, traveling over 800 miles of Italy in a rental car, and a hefty spreadsheet to keep everything straight.

I could not begin to go into detail, and all of our travel experiences are uniquely our own anyway, so if you’ve haven’t been to Europe yet, all I can really say is: go.

For a bit of a taste of our Resiliency Field Trip, a brief report:

Day 1: Flying from Salt Lake City to Venice

Day 2: Walking into Venice is surreal

Venice feels more like a Hollywood backdrop than a real city. The streets are clean and crazy and narrow. It feels odd that there are no cars, or trees, or grass. It feels the most foreign to me and I am glad that we begin and end this adventure in this unique spot.

The streets are cobblestone and I immediately regret bringing a traditional carry-on after one of the wheels actually melts, warping to a useless nub from the heat of the friction.

The day’s highlights include taking a water bus for the entirety of the Grand Canal which is a nice introduction tour to Venice, exploring Piazza San Marco, and watching the sunset over Rialto Bridge with an Aperol Spritz, a fizzy orange pre-dinner drink.

Day 3: Starting the Road Trip – Venice to Florence

Just getting out of Venice is an interesting challenge that involves multiple means of transportation, but once we are in the rental car, we are immediately overwhelmed by the foreign and seemingly conflicting road signs, the promise of photo-based ticketing, and the fact that everyone is speeding despite this. We are also caught off guard when all of the gas stations only sell coffee and pastries. No sunglasses, maps, or bottled drinks here.

We hug the coast and drive through Ravenna for lunch before making our way to Florence via Bologna.

The mountainous area further inland is actually far more beautiful than that particular coastal area and we pass through too many tunnels to count, holding our breath on the first six or so before we can’t stop giggling.

The radio stations play a small handful of songs over and over, half of which are by Justin Bieber.

We get stuck in a toll booth on the autostrada with no idea how to pay at one point, but eventually pull into our Airbnb in the breathtaking hills above Florence where we dine like Italians on fresh bread, cheese, and Tuscan wines on the terrace while the sun sets over a vineyard on the horizon.

Day 4: Florence, the Duomo & the David

Our first errand in Florence is to pick up a new bag for me and in the process, we just happened to wander into the Duomo (Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower), completely stunned by its size and beauty.

There is an insanely long line, but a tour guide walked up to us and offered to bypass the line for 28 euros.

Maybe I’m crazy, but when you’ve paid more than a grand to get to Europe and taken that valuable time away from work and family, it’s a no brainer to avoid standing in lines. The ticket alone was 15 euros, so we were only paying an extra 13.

We are of course wearing shorts in the warm weather, so had to run back to the car to change before we went on a 463-step journey to the top of the dome and then through the cathedral itself, earning a hearty appetite for pasta and a real Caesar salad with anchovies in the cafe on the piazza next to this masterpiece.

Figuring the David is an important must-see, we venture past the ridiculously long line and then pay 8 euros each to go right in with reserved tickets. Why a tourist would wait more than an hour to get in is curious to me.

We closed out the afternoon with gelato, and then returned to our terrace to once again delight in cheese, wine, chocolate and fruit in the evening.

Day 5: Winery Tour in Montalcino & Rome

One cannot pass through Tuscany without a proper winery tour.

We find Poggio Antico Winery in the quintessential Tuscan hill town of Montalcino and luck out with a tasting of the Brunello wine the area is famous for, a tour, and a very artful lunch. My steak tartare is served on a slate board alongside edible flowers.

We continue on from Tuscany to Rome, venturing out to see the Colosseum during daylight, roaming up to the Trevi Fountain before our night tour of the Roman Forums and the Colosseum, where we are utterly soaked in the history and the rain.

It is strange and shocking to see these incredible ruins embedded into a busy, modern city. We close out with a celebration of food, of course, delighting in real Italian pizza for our first time.

Day 6: More Rome and then Onward to Naples

There is so much to see in Rome, so despite the late night tour of the Colosseum, we are up bright and early for a tour of the Vatican, in particular the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica.

The Sistine Chapel is smaller than I anticipated. My favorite aspect of the Vatican is actually the maps hall, which I have no awareness of until I am walking through it, my head craned back to take in every bit of the ceiling.

St. Peter’s is simply overwhelming. It is enormous and yet intricate. Every single nook, cranny, and ceiling space is taken up with artwork and fine details. There are too many sculptures, frescoes and crypts to count. I feel small as our tour guide informs us that the letters embedded in gold toward the ceiling are nine feet tall.

We make a quick stop at the Spanish Steps, which have just reopened a few weeks earlier. In fact, we are in Rome at the perfect time as many historical icons have just been restored.

After lunch, we journey on to Naples and are welcomed by a beautiful view of the Mediterranean and a rainbow over the city as we pull into Castellammare di Stabia to meet up with our Airbnb host, who takes us on a harrowing narrow drive up the canyon to our little bungalow overlooking the bay.

This is when we are informed via email that Iberia has cancelled the second leg of our upcoming flight to Greece, from Barcelona to Athens, due to an air traffic controllers strike.

It is sad to let go of our plans in Greece, and we lose a chunk of cash on the Athens Airbnb reservation and the Ryanair flight from Athens to Milan, but we rally, booking the two extra nights in Barcelona in a spacious Airbnb by the beach and find a $56 flight from Barcelona to Milan.

Day 7: Pompeii + Amalfi Coast + Caveman Fine Dining

This is an intense day.

We are up early for the 20-minute drive to Pompeii where I enjoy what must be the 12th cappuccino of the trip before we take a private tour of the ruins with a wonderful guide.

We head on to the Amalfi Coast, driving from Positano to Salerno with a lunch stop at La Brace Restaurant in Praiano. This turns out to be the best meal we have on the entire trip and the view of the ocean is indescribable.

After a bit of a nail biter drive, we take off across the country to Bari on the east coast. The warm drive across southern Italy is full of steep mountains, small towns, farms and windmills – an incredible last day of the road trip portion of our trip.

We arrive in Bari with plenty of time to search out parking before our late evening dinner reservations at the Ristorante Grotta Palazzese, the Summer Cave Restaurant.

This is one of those I saw it in a magazine and now I’m going to live it experiences, complete with a long, three course dinner and a new favorite wine, Susumaniello.

After such a day, my favorite of the trip so far, it could have been a real downer to then get into a fender bender involving an iconic Italian roundabouts on our way to our Airbnb in Monopoli.

However, I am pleasantly surprised at how kind and patient the polizia are in Italy, giving me a new perspective on what law enforcement can look like, and I thank my stars for having purchased the extra insurance to cover the deductible.

Day 8: Barcelona, Spain!

After a very brief amount of sleep, we turn in the little VW Golf that now shows some serious wear and tear from our escapades through Italy at the Brindisi airport and board our flight to Barcelona.

This stop was never part of the original plan.

Our first plan had been Italy and Greece, with the goal of making our way all the way around the Adriatic from Venice to Venice. But, there were numerous roadblocks to getting through a couple of the Balkan states, in particular Albania, and we ended up settling for just Italy and Greece.

Then, when we were booking our flight from Brindisi to Athens, we found one with a 25-hour stopover in Barcelona and had a Why not? moment.

So glad we did. And even happier that we now have three full days in Barcelona instead of one.

Barcelona is a warm and bright combination of ocean, beach, city and mountains. Spain might have the best hot chocolate on the planet. I don’t think any amount of insulin could have kept up, but when in Spain…

We tour Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia with a superb guide on the first day and I pick up some fresh gorgonzola, bread, and olives at a street market for dinner.

We both have managed to come down with a mild cold, so we spend the chilly evening inside snacking and reading in our top floor Airbnb overlooking the city.

Day 9: Flamenco + Sangria + Tapas

After the intense Italian road trip, it is time to slow down a bit.

I spend much of the day simply sitting out on the terrace ripping through a trilogy on my kindle while drinking wine in early afternoon like a good vacationer.

We venture out in the evening to explore Born and La Rambla before taking in a disappointing Flamenco show followed by a fabulous pub dinner of way too many Spanish tapas and an entire pitcher of Sangria.

Day 10: Montserrat Monastery + Spanish Winery 

Jumping onto a fun bus in the morning, we enjoy the contrast as we leave the city and head north up to the monastery on Montserrat Mountain.

While soaking up the foggy views overlooking Barcelona from the summit, the bells from the monastery’s cathedral make the moment almost too perfect. If I could have brought anything from Europe home with me, it would have been all the church bells throughout this day.

After a tour of the cathedral and a photo op with the black madonna, we head on to the Oller del Mas castle and winery for a tour, tapas and wine tasting before napping in the bus back to Barcelona.

Another lazy afternoon of reading and red wine on the terrace later, and we head back out through Born to wander the shops, landing in front of a huge cast iron pan of seafood paella on our last night in Spain. I will crave paella for the rest of my life.

Day 11: Barcelona to Milan 

Another flight takes us from Barcelona, where we could have easily spent a few more days, back up to northern Italy to Milan.

The rain is intense when we arrive, so we simply get settled into our Airbnb by the university and have a peaceful dinner at a nearby pizzeria recommended by our host.

Day 12: Milan Duomo 

The rain continues, so I pick up a mocha (or two) at a very busy coffee shop packed with university students who still think smoking is super cool and get cozy for a lazy morning reading while the rain comes down.

In the evening, we venture out to the very gothic Milan Cathedral and the small shops around the piazza.

As intended, we keep these last four days of the trip in Milan and Venice quiet and slow, recharging before heading home.

Day 13: Train to Venice

I’m so glad we took the opportunity to take the train. It is peaceful, roomy and relaxing and I finish an entire book on the two and a half hour ride from Milan to Venice.

It rains cats and dogs in the city of water and I am soaked through and through by the time we make our way by water bus to the Airbnb.

It rains and rains and rains, but that doesn’t stop me from venturing out to enjoy a very long Italian-style dinner of pizza, chocolate pyramid cake, and, of course, a cappuccino. I may have cappuccino withdrawls after this trip.

Day 14: Venice Solo

Setting out for a solo exploration day, I decide I want to celebrate all things Italy on this last day in the gorgeous country, and I am rewarded with a day full of sunshine.

I wander the entirety of Venice proper, enjoying two cappuccinos with an omelette and pancetta breakfast.

From the north end of the Grand Canal, I secure a water taxi to take me all the way down to Piazza San Marco and it is worth every penny to see Venice this way.

Piazza San Marco has flooded from the rain and I pick up a pair of cute, blue rain booties paired with another cone of gelato to enjoy while wandering through at least six inches of water in the surreal confines of this ancient city.

Later, I sit down for another long Italian meal, a late lunch and early dinner all in one at an outdoor cafe overlooking the Grand Canal, complete with another only-in-Italy Aperol Spritz.

I decide I cannot leave Italy without a cannoli, so I walk all the way down the southern edge of Venice and then back up to the north before cutting over to Rialto Bridge to capture the sunset, burning off as much sugar as possible before snagging the last cannoli at a small bakery.

It is worth all bazillion grams of sugar that are packed into that sweet heavenly roll.

Day 15: Back to Salt Lake City via Toronto

I sometimes dread the journey home, but I am so recharged and ready that I am wide awake on both flights, consuming four great movies and two more books, along with a bunless burger at Wahlburger’s at the Toronto airport during our layover.

Stepping across the threshold into my home sweet home, I shower off the 13 hours of transit and crawl into my own bed, never more grateful to be back and yet reassured that I already have travel coming up soon to Thailand.

Don’t wait. Go out and explore.

Travel can provide such healing distance and perspective, as well as a great deal of resilience practice. Everything that can go wrong, may go wrong, and that might just be exactly right.