I stood in my closet with clothes and shoes strewn across the floor and piled halfway into my suitcase. What in the WORLD to pack for ten days in Italy, from Venice to Lake Como to Milan … oh, and don’t forget our friends’ rehearsal dinner and wedding, the main events! And given the streak of bad luck with checked bags gone missing, everything MUST. FIT. INTO. CARRY-ON. Including toiletries?? Dio mio!
Somehow, I managed to wrangle everything into the case (my husband’s backpack fortunately had room for my laptop so I could continue posting assignments for my two summer session grad classes from the road) and even got a few hours of sleep on the overnight flight from DFW to Heathrow (one of my favorite airports in the world, but I digress).
Landing in Venice was a beautiful start to our trip (did I mention it was my birthday week?), hopping straight into a water taxi for our first glimpse of the City of Love. Every single moment in Venice felt like we were living on a movie set – the canals, the gorgeous villas, and the startling contrast of the sea, the sky, and the colorful buildings. The highlight of the trip was visiting the glass factory on the island of Murano and seeing the artisans at work, sculpting and blowing the most gorgeous sculptures. Touring the Basilica of St. Mark revealed the wealth – gold was everywhere! – and the craftsmanship of old-world Venice from the times of the Crusades. The other best part? Gelato every day!
Then off to Lake Como, via a three-hour drive through the Italian countryside on their version of a speedway – with the most courteous drivers in the world! Once we got closer to the lake region, navigating the narrow, winding, barely-room-for-two-lanes roads was, frankly, nerve-wracking to say the least. But we made it and spent the afternoon lakeside with a spritz (did you know that alcohol-free gin is widely available in Italy? Perfetto!) and sunshine.
Heading into the weekend, the wedding festivities dodged the sporadic summer rain with the sun breaking through right as the ceremony started – rainy AND sunny, good luck for the couple! After another couple of lazy summer days lounging poolside and taking a short tramp through the botanical gardens on the hotel grounds, we were ready for our journey back via the historic Lombardy city of Milan.
And lucky me! We caught the end of Milan Fashion Week on our final stop in Italy… from the paparazzi and fans outside of the hotel screaming (for moi??) to the high-fashion models wearing the latest and greatest, the city was practically vibrating with exhausted excitement. It had been a whirlwind few days of haute couture around the city (Mercedes minivans with “Gucci” placards on the dash flying up and down the streets), but I got in a little shopping spree of my own…
Ginevra showed me the proper Italian way to tie my scarf on my new handbag (inspiration for a new story, perhaps?) and I got to take a twirl in front of Prada and Louis Vuitton before heading over to the Duomo and scaling the roof terraces for some of the most gorgeous Gothic/Renaissance cathedral arches in Europe.
It was the perfect blend of history, architecture, art and craftsmanship, food, fashion, and most importantly making memories with loved ones. There is something about being in a world that holds centuries-old memories, walking the streets and paths that feet have trod for thousands of years. It makes you feel small, and yet it makes your heart expand. And yes, I carried some mementos home (I’m sentimental that way), but most of all, I carried home the feelings that Italy evokes in the soul – beauty and love, bellezza e amore… arrivederci, girlfriends!
