Official Countdown Begins

While I have been looking towards September with eager anticipation, the official countdown towards Italy begins! Hotels have been reconfirmed, rental car reserved, train tickets purchased, cooking class booked, and just a few details remain. I have my to-do list of home items to tend to before leaving, and work is just madness up until the day I leave.

My itinerary:

Arrive in Milan on Thursday evening. Spend the day Friday exploring.

Venice- 2 days and nights

Florence- 4 days and nights, with side trips to Volterra and San Gimignano

Orvieto- meet up with 4 other friends, and we're renting rooms in a farmhouse outside Orvieto. A cooking class, wine tasting in Montalcino, side trips to towns such as Assisi

Everyone leaves to return to Seattle, and I travel up to Lucca- 3 days and nights

Cinque Terre- 2 days and nights

Milan- last evening before returning home

As I write that, I can hardly believe that I am going. It seems so surreal, like I am reading about someone else's travels in a book. I've wanted to go to Italy as long as I can remember. When I graduated college, my parents gave me $1000 as a graduation present, to be used towards an Italy trip. Back then, I didn't have the financial security I do now, and quite frankly, I didn't have the confidence to make such a trip alone. In those 12 years that have passed, I have done a fair bit of traveling, although nearly all of it with Thomas. I've had the opportunity to experience small pieces of the world, which only increased my hunger for more. I'm a little nervous to travel without a partner, to travel alone- but also incredibly excited. I think traveling alone will be an insightful experience, giving yet another opportunity for growth. Truthfully, there's a twinge of sadness that I'm not sharing this with a partner. But I quickly replace those twinges with hard nudges that I'm going, reminding myself that I am trying every day to live my life to the fullest, and that being single isn't stopping me from pursuing my dreams, or making beautiful moments happen in my life. I can only hope that all of those positive actions bring some good karma love back around to me.