I wasn't quite sure to expect of traveling alone to such a far away place, but I had a great time in Italy. And now, having put away all the laundry, stored the suitcase, and ordered the Italian stovetop espresso maker, I'm back to real life.
I learned a few things during my travels:
1) Most people who visit Rome don't bother to learn how to say, "Scusa signora, parla inglese?" if they need to ask someone a question on the street. If you look like you know where you are going, they literally come up to you and start jabbering away in English without asking if you speak it. I saw this happen to so many Italians, and it even happened to me. Very weird.
2) It takes patience to be in Rome. You might need to wait a looooooong time for a bus. That bus might never come. You might start walking and then see the aforementioned bus zoom by you. Don't stress, just stop for some gelato.
3) A lot of people want to get their photos taken by cool stuff like fountains, statues, art, views, but they don't actually stop to take it all in and experience it. In Rome and Florence, I saw things that literally astounded me, things that I had to walk around to see from other perspectives, like the Bernini statues at Galleria Borghese. Thank goodness there were no pictures allowed in that gallery. When I walked around the statue of Apollo and Daphne, I could almost feel the motion of the fabric, the rooting of her feet, her hands sprouting into leaves, reaching toward heaven. It was a reminder to me as a creative person that details matter, that making your work shine from every angle is worth it.
4) It is possible to get lonely, even in the midst of a crush of people. That was an old thing that I remembered from years before, when I'd sat at a Christmas Eve service by myself because an ex hadn't wanted to come with me. On that pew, and in front of the Trevi fountain, I felt that aloneness. How even surrounded by people, strangers or those you know, you can still be insulated, singular, on your own. It was one of the few times that I felt a little sad on the trip. I chucked my coins in the fountain and jetted right out of there, not so much feeling La Dolce Vita.
5) But ---- aloneness is also a good thing. When you travel by yourself, you can do what you want. Eat what you want. Go where you want. There's no one else to please but yourself, and that's quite a nice perk of solo travel. Also, you end up talking to more people on your own -- and so my Italian got a huge workout. If you travel with someone else, you'll end up speaking English to each other much more than Italian to strangers and new friends.
5) History is all around you. In Italy, here in America, everywhere. There was something else that stood on the place you're standing. Another story that took place before today's e