During my typical morning routine of a cup of coffee, breakfast sandwich and a quick stretch to get the day started, my mind will sometimes wander back to that morning espresso, slices of prosciutto and fresh, juicy tomatoes for breakfast, and morning yoga in the Amalfi Coast. 

When the morning rolls into the afternoon, I decide to take a stroll around my local park and see the swingsets, slides, and monkey bars. I’ll see people riding their bicycles along the paved road. With the blink of an eye, the swingsets, slides, and monkey bars turn into fountains, street vendors, and little shops. The bicycles become Vespas riding through the cobblestone streets of Rome.  

As the sun starts to go down and I watch it set over the tall New York City buildings, I think back to watching that same sunset at the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. 

This was just a sliver of the beautiful parts of Italy I got to experience this past July. 

Being that it was my first time in Italy after hearing so much about it, I was quickly moved by the quality of their food, the humility of their people, and their relaxed approach to everyday life. 

It would take me a few blog posts to write about all of my experiences traveling to Italy, but one thing that I felt called to write about was the idea of traveling “somewhat solo.”

As a single woman in her 20s, the idea of a solo trip was always discussed amongst friend groups. It’s a privilege that so many people are taking advantage of and it has so many benefits: Connecting with a new place and new people, learning your likes and dislikes, and most importantly – designing your day the way YOU want to. 

That last part felt quite stressful at first, because like many other people, I’m used to my days always having some sort of structure. However, within the last six months, I’ve been allowing my days to be more flexible. To have an idea of what I’d like to do that day, but not sweating it if it doesn’t happen. Allowing others to plan activities for me, rather than me having to determine every single little detail. 

With this being a new way of living for me, traveling somewhat solo was a great setup. I spent one week in the Amalfi Coast on a women’s wellness and healing retreat, two days in Rome alone, and five days in Florence with two close friends. I think one day I’ll definitely go on a full solo trip, but this was a good start. 

These two weeks gave me a little bit of everything that I needed: the best food, great experiences, and some amazing new friends. While I could talk a lot about these parts of my trip, I took away a couple lessons from traveling somewhat solo that I realized apply to everyday life as well. They may not be the highlights of the two weeks, but they’re the biggest parts of the trip that I brought back home with me. 

• There’s beauty in duality
  • Duality is a concept that I’m still wrapping my head around, but it basically means that two ideals are allowed to exist at the same time: happiness and sadness, good and bad, etc. Like when something is ending and you’re happy to go onto the next thing, but you’re sad that the previous thing is over. I had always thought that if I was happy about something, there was no room for sadness, or vice versa. During my travels, I had many times where I celebrated and absolutely LOVED being able to shop, eat, and explore alone. Alone time is so valuable and I always try to soak up every minute I can get of it. However, there were also times where I craved community and connection with others. That was where the other women on the retreat (who would eventually become friends) were there to share a laugh or a meal with. Or my friends who I had met up with later on. We’d chat about so many things, and I instantly felt better again. The best part was that I never judged or questioned the need for either alone time or connection, because they’re allowed to coexist. Traveling somewhat solo allowed me to honor both feelings of needing alone time and needing connection, and accepting that there’s validity in both.

• Do whatever feels right to you, you’re feeling that way for a reason
  • Within the lens of vacation, it’s very easy to throw your hands up and say, “Well, I’m just gonna do WHATEVER I want today because I’m on vacation!!!” Wanna have a drink at 11am? It’s ok, I’m on vacation. Wanna sleep till noon? It’s ok, I’m on vacation. Want to stay out a bit late? No worries, we’re on vacation time, right? Just thinking of the times where I would say similar things during my past travels already gives me a happy and high vibrational feeling. The feeling of just living in the moment and not worrying so much about the next day. We love to do this while we’re away on vacation, which is why oftentimes we dread when the vacation is over. But why can’t we honor what feels right even when vacation is over and live in the moment a bit more? Not saying to drop all of your responsibilities when you’re home, but what would it look like to sprinkle a little bit of “vacation” during your regular day to day. Maybe sleeping in one Saturday morning because your body wants the extra relaxation time, or going out to eat with your friends who you haven’t seen in a while because of so many busy schedules. I know I’ve personally had hunches where I wanted to treat myself to dinner or take a drive to the beach, or dress up on a random day,  but I’d often ignore it because it wasn’t the “right thing to do” or it “wasn’t necessary.” Now? I take those opportunities to celebrate myself and do what feels good. After all, I owe it to myself. We all do. 

When putting this short list of lessons together, I quickly thought to myself, “That’s ALL you took away from this trip?” These weren’t the only things, but to me they were the most important. 

Life is constantly changing and there are so many ideas, feelings, and thoughts that exist at the same time. How much more at peace would we be if we just let them all exist without judgment? 

And without that judgment, it allows us to freely do more of what feels right for us. To take that extra time in the morning to just slow down and be, or to dance to that one extra song while you’re at the party. 

Just like any type of travel, life is also a journey. 

We don’t have to go with a huge crowd, or completely alone, but we can do it somewhat solo.