Posted: Jul 12, 08 8:17pm
. This past summer, my husband and I set out on a new journey in Italy. We landed in Milan and rented a car to head for parts unknown!! We decided that we would make it a road trip much like those we had taken in the USA. We headed toward the lake country and stopped whenever something seemed particularly beautiful. Obviously if you have traveled in this region, you know we had a lot of stops.
We never knew when or where we would stay. We'd explore all day and come evening we will look for a sign along the side of the road for a bed. We often stayed in homes where the folks just rented out an extra bedroom for travelers..
Before leaving home my husband as very worried about this mode of travel. He wanted to go on a tour....or at least set up hotels and condos in advance. But it actually turned out to be a deightful way to roam around Italy. We never were lost because our bags were in the trunk. We never were ahead or behind schedule because we had no schedule!! We could stay 3 or 4 days in one location...or change locations everyday. Whatever whim we had.
We found all of the lodging very clean and the people most welcoming. It did not matter that we did not speak Italian. We simply would gesture and communicated with our eyes and our hearts.
We stayed in Italy for a total of 6 weeks and we did set up one homeexchange and one condo rental. Both of these also turned out excellent. Our home exchange was through the site: homeexchange.com and the condo rental we secured through vrbo.com
My husband had wanted to go TO ITALY on a guided tour. Or at least to have "hotels" or "condo rentals" lined up all over Italy..... After all, we were going in August...the highest tourist season, we had never drove a car in Europe, and we speak NO ITALIAN....
But when I was young I dreamed of traveling Europe with a backpack and a rail pass. I never did it. Traveling with Stan on a train all over Europe is out of the question. He joked that we were camping or staying at the hotel 'el elegante when we had just a room with the bathroom down the hall. But he learned to laugh a lot, and most importantly he learned to go with the flow of life.
I will have to admit that I too wondered about driving on the wrong side of the road, getting lost, not being able to speak Italian, and what if when we wanted to stop, we couldn't find a group. We were traveling in August the highest tourist season. Or what if the only rooms that we could find cost $$$$$$$$$. We tried to stay between 40-80 euros a night. And what if the hotel or the home exchange I had arranged were not there when I got there?? Then what?? Of if I couldn't find them.....
You know we had a wonderful time. But I think one of the best things is that I would set out in a car to travel now anywhere in Europe. But....just for the record----I'm still afraid of going many places!! Guess there are still worlds to conquer.
