The anniversary of our first ever Europe trip is coming up & I am feeling so blessed that we were able to make that trip happen last year! It was a trip of a lifetime and with all that is happening right now, I couldn't imagine how devastated I would be if we had to cancel! My heart truly goes out to all of you who have had to cancel a major trip such as one like this!
Day one was mostly a day of travel; we flew out late (9pm) from the Toronto airport on a non-stop flight to Rome. It was a six hour drive to Toronto BUT it saved us quite a bit of money on airfare so it was definitely worth it! (Also, with it being one of the few non-stop flights that did make it even better!!!) If you are interested in doing a trip like this and looking to save on airfare, make sure to explore ALL your options--- even if you may have to drive a bit for your flight.
Packing cubes were a huge game changer, especially for this flight/trip and I would 110% recommend them for ANY upcoming travel you have! For two weeks, two different countries, and lots of variety of activities--- these helped organize and save space!
Ok, so arriving at the airport in practically the same outfit as your friend kicks off the trip!!! (HAHAH!!) This trip would have not been half of what it was without our two travel buddies! My friend Ashley & I (and some help from my husband Tyler too) planned the entire trip ourselves. From making an itinerary to booking Air B&B's, and train tickets it was 100% done by us!
We were able to sleep most of the plane ride over, took our "No Jet Lag" pills and arrived in Rome ready to hit the ground running! (Italy is 6 hours ahead of us and it was about a 9 hour flight)
We connected with our driver to take us to our first Air B&B, got our bearings for a bit, and then set out to grab some food and explore! That first day we hit the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, the Spanish steps, and views around the Vatican. We experienced our first (real) Gelato and Italian food & wine (and we were HOOKED!!!! Seriously never tasted better food!) We mostly ordered the house white and it was delish! Also, here starts the "Gelato Challenge" (eat Gelato at least once a day while we were in Italy! ;)) In case you're wondering, my friend & I 100% completed this challenge and have NO regrets!
This was a lot for our first day and we were beat! We grabbed dinner (which by the way... restaurants kind of shut down in the middle of the day to early evening and Italians are accustomed to eating late dinners!) and then headed back to our place for the night to re-group on tomorrow's plan and get some rest!
Using Rome as our hub we ended up experiencing the city in a couple different days (one at the beginning of our trip and one at the end). We did A LOT of walking on this trip which helped us to really see and experience it all! If you're interested in our itinerary for the trip or have any other questions, I would be glad to help! :) Stay tuned for more pieces of our Europe journey & memories!
Email me: romzeka@gmail.com
I loved Rome when I went! Did you like the food? I'm a huge Italian fan and the authentic kind was even better. Can't wait to travel internationally again! Or domestically!
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