Let’s start with Italy!

Our international travels began with Italy. This was the inspiration for our trip and the only destination we had planned at the time of our departure from the US.

Adam had family stationed out there, so we collaborated with a few other family members to take this trip together. We spent the entire 3 months in Italy (with one work trip to Austria for me) and were constantly bopping around the country. It was a blast!!

I think an uncommon theme of our trip to Italy is we had absolutely nothing planned other than seeing family. We truly made things up as we went along and found a nice balance between my planning side and Adam’s spontaneous side. It was also a perfect time for both of us to grow and learn a little from each other!

When I say we had nothing planned, I mean we literally didn’t have a clue what we were going to do for the 3 months (or after, for that matter). But it led us to some incredible adventures! For example, we met an incredibly interesting and kind family and a couple from France when we did a work/trade in Tuscany.

Right off the bat, our time in Italy led us to Naples, Amalfi coast, and Pompeii. We had the chance to experience some amazing sights from underground fortresses in the city of Naples to the remnants of the great Pompeii. Needless to say, it was incredible. In addition to the wonderful sights in this area of Italy, we had lots of family time as we all arrived from the states.

Looking back, I wish we had the chance to spend more time on the Amalfi coast but this was a “quick” day trip where we were all crammed into one car together. (Plus, I had one of the worst migraines of my lifeee - I was sick for about 5 days or so upon arriving). So we spent maybe 1-2 hours total in the area before heading back. However, our time under and in the city of Naples as well as touring around Pompeii made up for it as both of these areas were something to behold.

When we went underground in Naples, it was really something else. These areas were used during WWII as hiding places to avoid the conflicts of war. Prior to that, the volcanic rock underground was collected slowly in order to build the city of Naples. It was an incredible yet somber experience being in that space.

The same can be said for Pompeii. The remnants of this great city was unbelievable. They had such a wonderful community built that worked so fluidly. It’s almost impossible to properly imagine it in its prime with the memories of modern-day US cities in my mind. Personally, I think those don’t even come close.

We also managed to make it up to the dormant volcano that was still steaming in one area. It was quite the trek with a bus ride up to the top and a hike to get to the actual summit/rim. But it was definitely worth it! The views of the coast and the surrounding area was beautiful as was the potentially “destructive” volcano.

Overall, this was a great introduction into Italy before we started diving deeper into this amazing country. The photos you’ll see below are bits and pieces from our time in these places. We all headed to Florence together after some time spent in Naples. We’ll get into that next time!