After my birthright trip to Staten Island I knew it was time to finally take the leap and book the flight to Italy. In all seriousness, I don’t know how I lived in Europe for over a year when I did my masters degree and never made it over to Italy. It’s always been a place I’ve wanted to go, and part of me wanted to wait for the right time. Maybe when I was married and I’d have someone to walk along the beach with in Positano.
My work went back to the office twice a week every week since california dropped the mask mandate. Our CEO made august “work from anywhere” month as a lot of my colleagues have kids and this would allow them to spend time with them and transition into the new school year routine without having to balance a commute to the office. I heard “work from anywhere month” and ran with it. I booked a trip to Norway to visit my best friend because when else would I have this opportunity? I had been in Norway for three weeks before finding unbeatable $120 tickets to Rome. I couldn’t say no to that.
I had initially only planned to spend one week in Italy, and then come home and visit friends in Washington DC before heading back to the office on September 6th. Today it is September 5th, I have work in a few hours, and I am just leaving Italy.
My first stop was Rome. If you’re planning on visiting Rome in August, just know it’s HOT. My walking average in Rome was around 16k steps daily. I walked everywhere my first three days. I found I preferred to work in the mornings and explore in the evenings. Rome felt safe and crowded enough to be able to comfortably explore in the evenings.
On my first night in Rome I took a walk to Trevi fountain and met a few solo traveler girls. We chatted a bit, took photos of each other by the fountain and made our wishes. As I was walking back to my hotel I saw a man drinking from what looked like a sculpture with water running out of it. In the US this water would usually be recycled and undrinkable. I asked him if it was safe to drink from that water and he said yes, and in fact it’s mineral water that doctors recommend over the tap water in Rome. We ended up chatting for a few hours and he walked me to an intersection by my hotel and we parted ways.
The next day I went to the Coliseum. I don’t know why, but a group of bikers stopped me and asked to take a photo with me. They were all 50+ and really kind. They invited me to lunch but I declined as I needed to head back to work. I was still working 8 hour days most days, but shifting the time of my work to allow me to explore the city.
My last night in Rome I ended up meeting with a group of solo travelers. I have never truly solo traveled before this trip. Every time I’ve traveled I’ve either gone with friends or had been meeting people there. I begged my best friend from Norway to join me, but she couldn’t get time off work. I was so anxious about going to Italy without knowing a soul, but I ended up meeting some amazing solo travelers through the Couchsurfing app. I didn’t Couchsurf, I stayed in hotels, but I used to app’s meet up feature to coordinate a group of solo travelers to get gelato by Trevi fountain and we all really hit it off. One of the people I met was Sonia, who I ended up meeting up with again later in my travels in Palermo.
I headed to Naples next. My plan was only to go to Naples to be able to visit Positano and Capri during the day. When I got to Naples I was shocked at how unsafe and dirty it felt. I considered getting back on the train and going to Rome. But visiting Positano had always been a dream of mine. I used to watch Mimi And Alex Ikonn’s vlogs of Positano that made it look so magical. I had to go. I later found out that Mimi and Alex were in Positano the same time as me, but unfortunately we didn’t cross paths.
The first (full) day in Naples, I took a ferry to a Capri. I had no plans, other than to explore the island and take photos. I quickly came to realize Capri is not very walkable, between the steep inclines and narrow roads with no sidewalks. I ended up staying by the shore and finding a blue grotto boat tour. I met another solo traveler, Molly, on the boat, and we ended up hitting it off and making plans to visit Positano together the next day. After the boat tour ended, she decided to take another boat to go inside the blue grotto. I decided to explore the beach. I walked down the shore as far as I could until I found a spot that was less densely populated with tourists. I laid out my United Airlines blanket I had been using as a towel and sarong and got into the water. The water was the most beautiful turquoise blue and felt lukewarm. I was so happy. I looked out at the water and the view of the restaurants on the hills next to the water and thought to myself how grateful I am to be here in this moment and experience this.
While I was in the water, I noticed a guy who kept glancing at me. He was pretty cute and kept looking at me so I decided to ask him if he knew where to get the bus to see the other side of the island. He told me where to find it and then asked me my name, where I’m from and the next thing you know we’ve spent two hours talking together in the water. It was apparent from the moment we started talking what a sweet and gentle soul he is. I really enjoyed talking to him, and he made me laugh. He told me he took a crusade from Italy to Turkey… he meant a cruise. His broken English was charming. We took a few photos together, exchanged contacts and parted ways. He asked me to dinner but since I needed to wake up at 6 am to take a ferry to Positano I declined. We did end up texting for the majority of the evening.
The next day I met molly at the ferry building and we hopped on our 8am boat to Positano. The nearly two-hour trip went quickly in her company. I feel so lucky to have met so many people that I genuinely enjoy being around on this trip.
When we got off the boat in Positano I was overwhelmed. I teared up. For so many years I had watched Mimi and Alex come here and had wanted to go so badly. It was more beautiful than I had imagined. Words don’t do justice so I’ll include photos. We met another solo traveler (Larissa). The three of us explored Positano, took photos, and ordered gelato in a real lemon that had been carved out and frozen. The taste of lemon gelato will always take me back to this day. We went to the beach, you know, the one you seen in all the photos of Positano where the buildings and homes are build into the side of the hills that overlook the water.
I got in the water, swam a bit and came back to shore. I looked around and took it all in. I couldn’t believe I was here and that this place is real. It was one of the top three most beautiful places I’ve ever visited.
I headed back to Naples around 7:30 and had dinner plans with the man from the beach in Capri, Diego, at 8:30. We had pizza in Naples, which was lithe best pizza I had in Italy. He taught me about the history of Naples, and some of the Napoli traditions, like the waiter pretending you don’t need to pay, and the restaurants hanging clothes outside. He was so kind and charming. We parted ways after dinner as I was leaving in the morning for Sicily.
I flew into Palermo airport and took a bus into the city. I wasn’t immediately impressed by Sicily. It was giving post- Soviet state. I walked around the historic part of town a bit, got food and called it a night. In the morning I figured out the bus to Mondello beach. I knew Sicily had blue water beaches but I was not prepared for how blue and beautiful Mondello beach was. The water was shallow and crystal clear… I walked about 20 yards out and The water was not above my chest. The water was warm and there were no jellyfish or sharks. I was so relaxed and at peace. I probably have over 200 photos of this beach on my phone from the few hours I was there. I met up with Larissa for a bit who was also in Palermo and then I headed back to start work.
I got a text from Sonia, a solo traveler i met in Rome who told me she was in Palermo now and wanted to meet. She asked if I wanted to visit Cefalu. I had never heard of it but I said sure because I’m always down to explore new places. The next morning we got up early and took a train to Cefalu. I had zero expectations for Cefalu because I hadn’t researched it. When we got there I was blown away. Where to begin? The water looked like the largest swimming pool I had ever seen and there were old apartments along the shore that made me feel I was somewhere back in time. It reminded me of the scenes from the town in the movie Luca.
Sonia and I followed the lead of the locals who were running and jumping into the water from the pier. We swam, we shared travel stories, we floated in silence and enjoyed the view. It was unreal. Cefalu is the #1 most beautiful place I’ve ever been to. Each city I had visited in Italy I loved more and more. But Sicily was the last city I visited before rounding off the trip back in Rome.
I came back to Rome for four days. I wasn’t able to see the Vatican the first time I was in Rome but luckily I was able to this time. I saw the Hand of God. The technique Michael Angelo used was incredibly complicated, especially given he was a turtle. Just kidding. But seriously, the complex nature of the method he used to paint the Sistine chapel could not be replicated. I wonder how they do restorations of the paintings, or if they have. Unfortunately photos inside the Sistine Chapel were not permitted, but I got some great photos of other parts of the Vatican.
Diego took a few days off of work and came up to Rome from Capri to visit me. We drank from the fountain at Trevi Fountain and he introduced me to Amatriciana pasta, my new favorite. We took a train to try to visit the Tivoli baths, and ended up getting lost in a city called Mandela. We were stuck there for an hour and a half before the next train, but it’s okay because we found a sweet cat and a place to grab a snack. We took the train to Tivoli and although it was too late to visit the baths, we found a street filled with tents and food trucks where you could buy food and eat outside. The day didn’t go as planned, but ended up better than expected.
One of my favorite things about Diego is how patient and calm he is. He never got upset or frustrated, despite my constant micromanaging and occasional hangry-driven comments. He’s the kindest person I’ve ever met and his eternal optimism and smile are infectious.
My last day in Rome, we had to visit the Tivoli baths. We met at the train station early and took the right train this time. It ended up being a spa… I realllllly really nice spa. They had maybe 12 different sections with saunas, steam rooms, hot tubs, massages, pools and more. It was the perfect way to end the perfect trip.
Reality set in as we were leaving the spa and it hit me. Tomorrow at this time there would be no Marcella in Italy, I’d be on a flight back the United States and this trip would just me a sweet memory.
If I could pause time on August 20-September 4 and live this trip over and over again for the rest of my life I would. I couldn’t stop myself from crying. This trip had been the most magical trip I’ve ever taken. I met so many great friends, saw the most unbelievable and breathtaking views, and felt happier than I had in a while. I was already searching plane tickets back to Italy sometime later this year while I waited for my flight home to board. If this is a life that exists I want to live it. I hate goodbyes. I’m sitting here writing this blog on my flight home chocking back tears. I can not articulate into words how grateful I am to have experienced this trip.
marcellacage 