Adventure

Continuing on with sharing what I’ve written during a writing exercise with a friend. The topic this week was “adventure” and we had one hour to write:

Adventure (1 hour)

I had always considered myself an adventurer, but traveling alone was something that hadn’t been on my radar until late into my twenties. It had been easy to travel with others and not worry about an agenda or planning where to stay or where to go, but when I found out I was invited to a wedding in northern Italy, I knew this would be the perfect opportunity to venture into solo traveling.

I was excited to be able to build my own itinerary and decide what I would do every day. I didn’t have to worry about pleasing anyone else. I could eat when I wanted, go where I wanted to and stay for as long as I chose. I could go to a museum or skip it and feel no guilt.

I booked my flights and decided to take a full two and half weeks. I knew I’d be with people I knew for a few days at the wedding, so I wanted to give myself two full weeks to explore and travel on my own. I’d fly in and out of Milan, and I booked a flight to and from Croatia towards the end of the trip so I could visit two different countries.

The lead up to the trip was thrilling. How do you pack for two and half weeks traveling across various cities and climates? Where was I going to go and where would I stay? Should I plan every day out, or figure it out once I got there?

There were so many questions, but no amount of asking people or reading on the internet could make the decision for me. It was fully my decision to make, and I felt so empowered!

Ultimately I decided to plan a very lite idea of an itinerary. I booked 3 nights total for the 19 day trip — my first two nights in Milan so I could rest assured that I had a home for the first few days while I got over jet lag, and the first night in Croatia since I was landing fairly late in the day and wanted to make sure I had a place even if the flight was delayed.

But that was it! I’d never felt this much freedom, but also this level of fear and uncertainty. Would I be able to figure it out? Was I leaving too much unplanned? Will I regret it? And what if there are no available hostels or hotel rooms available in my budget?

The decision had been made, though, so I’d have to just find out. I packed light, bringing only a carry on and a backpack so I wouldn’t have to haul around a big bag or check anything for my flights. That was one of the best decisions I’d made so far! I didn’t care about wearing the same outfits multiple times, because who would see me? And even if they did, who cares?

As I stepped onto that first airplane my heart was pounding. I had a lot of fears about being alone for so long, but was also worried if I would be and feel safe.

While those are legitimate fears, they eventually diminished as my trip progressed. I landed and had the typical travel adventure of trying to figure out how to get to the hotel. There was the public transportation debacle, and then walking what seemed like forever in the unforgiving heat and humidity to find my hotel, which I only found after going in circles a few times, but I made it. I was alone and on an adventure!

It was too early to check into my room, so I dropped my bag and took off to explore the city. I didn’t know where to start, so I asked the concierge if he had any recommendations. At that point I didn’t really care where I went. I was feeling tired from a sleepless flight, but the energy and excitement of my adventure ahead carried me on.

Within an hour of leaving my hotel I had made a friend. Someone had approached me to ask for directions. Can you imagine? Someone thinks I know my way around Milan? I was happy to help, even if it just meant sharing my map and trying to figure it out together.

It turns out my new friend was also visiting Milan and looking around for places to explore, so we decided to explore and walk together. We meandered through the streets of Milan, stopping at one point for ice cold drinks and Italian baguette sandwiches to rest our feet and escape the heat.

Later that night, my first night alone, I went to a cute little cafe and ordered an Aperol Spritz. I had no idea what it was, but I saw that everyone was drinking them and wanted to try it. It was lovely, and the best part was that there was a free buffet after buying a drink for happy hour. The best news for a solo traveler that wasn’t looking to spend a lot on dinner! I loaded up my plate and loved trying all the different Italian treats.

As I was sitting there I remembered that right before I left on my trip, one of my friends mentioned that her sister in law was living in Milan. I had only met Katie twice, but I had such an incredible connection when we met that I figured I may as well reach out. 

Katie was excited to hear from me and she invited me to come see her perform in a Cirque du Soleil show at the World Expo. What a great opportunity! At one point during the show the performers came out into the audience and Katie found me and said hello. She invited me to go out with her and the other performers, which ended up being a crazy but incredible night.

Everyone thought I was one of the performers, so I fit right in as we moved from bar to bar and I spoke to people from all over the world. I had planned to leave Milan the next day, but ended up staying one more night with Katie and her husband.

I was so glad I hadn’t booked ahead, because it allowed me the flexibility to stay. Along with staying in Milan an extra night, my plans took a turn again when I left the city. I had been planning to go to Florence, but the friend I had met on my first day suggested I visit his hometown of Bologna first.

Again I thought, why not! I had a buddy to ride the train with, and a host to show me around the city. We climbed up the towers, ate pizza and gelato, and later that night went to a restaurant built into a hill. It was one of the most beautiful restaurants I’ve ever eaten at! Half an hour out of the city in a small one lane town, it was built into the hill and had grape vines growing all over the patio. It was an amazing place that I would have never seen if I hadn’t met that man.

There are so many more stories and adventures like that from my trip. I met a guy and ended up on a boat tied to a remote island outside of Split where we swam to shore and BBQed 5 different kinds of meat. I met a guy and ended up on top of mountain with the most incredible view of Dubrovnik. I met a family in Venice and ended up cruising through the canals with them to an island where we were the only non-locals.

These are the types of adventures that I will treasure forever. Traveling alone and keeping an open mind taught me more than I could have understood at the time. It empowered me to make decisions on my own, to choose my own path, and to explore areas in ways that likely would never have happened were I with a group.

Even though I was traveling alone I rarely felt lonely. I did give myself times and days to be alone, but it was very easy to meet people and find new friends if I chose to be with others.

I am forever grateful for the experiences I had in Italy and Croatia that summer, and it prepared me for my many travels ahead, both alone and with groups. While I love traveling with others, traveling alone will always have a special thrill and energy for me.

The view with a new friend in Dubrovnik.