The last time that I planned a trip to Europe was all the way back in 2020. I found an absurdly cheap ticket to Paris, booked an AirBnB, starred a bunch of beautiful spots around the city to take photos… And then COVID hit, and I spent the next 18 months in my apartment. So it goes!

I’ve done a bit of international travel since then - mostly to Colombia to visit my boyfriend’s family - but I’ve been itching to get back to Europe for a while now. Recently, Ahmed and I were finally able to make that happen, and we booked our tickets to Italy!

As a massive history nerd, I was incredibly excited to visit one of the true centers of the ancient world. While there’s plenty of history to be explored in England and Scandinavia and other places I’ve visited, there’s really nothing like a city that’s been continuously occupied for almost 3000 years. Just walking around, you sense the dense layers of history all around you - the monuments of empire, the winding streets and plastered buildings of the medieval period, the Renaissance and Baroque masterpieces. Everywhere you turn there’s some gorgeous piece of art or architecture; I only wish that we’d had a guide who could have told me all about… well, everything.

One of the highlights of the trip was our last full day in Rome. Ahmed had bought us togas, and we spent the entire day (well, evening, actually - allergies knocked me out for the early part of the day, but after some meds a nap we were back in business) running around in them, taking photos and getting both smiles and scowls from the locals. We even filmed a music video for Ahmed’s new song, attracting a crowd of enthusiastic teenagers who were delighted to meet a “rock star.” It was a great reminder that even when you’re trying to live your Dolce Vita fantasy, a Party City costume and a smile will always be a fun vibe.

Other highlights have to include discovering an amazing karaoke bar called La Saletta - we went there 3 nights in a row because the vibes were simply immaculate. The drinks were cheap, the bartenders were friendly (Prisca and Anka, I’ll never forget you), and everyone sang along to every song whether they knew it or not. If and when I make it back to Rome, it’s definitely going to be on the itinerary.

The second, shorter leg of the trip took us to Genoa, where we got to spend some time with Katarin, a friend of Ahmed’s who had moved there from Colombia. Hilariously, everyone (and I do mean everyone) told us how boring Genoa is (“Genoa? Who goes to Genoa? I mean… there’s an aquarium…”), but we found it delightful. Admittedly, we went really hard in Rome - we didn’t get home until after 3am our last night - so a relaxed couple of days hanging out with friends, sightseeing, and enjoying good food was exactly what we needed to finish off the trip.