12 Days in Italy: An Itinerary

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It was the end of twelve glorious days in Italy with my husband, and we were sitting outside a tiny cafe on one of the oldest highways in the world: the Appian way, eating croissants with the rest of our Walks of Italy tour group. A young couple was mid-way through their one-week blitz through the country, and I was dizzy from the sound of their itinerary.

"You're going to visit how many cities in six days?" I nearly choked on my cappuccino. I felt like we barely saw the country in two weeks of travel, so I couldn't comprehend how this couple was going to visit twice as many places in half the time.

I made eye contact with Matt and smiled. I knew he was thinking about that day in Positano he wanted us to do too much and how, after we left that beautiful town, he would have been just as content sitting on our hotel balcony the whole time, soaking in the beautiful Mediterranean view. There were definite moments during our 12 days in Italy where we wasted more time trying to figure out how to "see everything" than actually seeing everything.

But the key to travel is always less is more. This isn't your how-to-see-ALL-of-Italy-in-12-days guide. This also isn't the perfect guide to Italy either. We made a lot of mistakes, and some of those mistakes turned out to be our favorite memories from the trip. Here's how we explored Italy along with a few recommendations and highlights.

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How Italy Cured Me of the Internet

I am known, from time to time, to run away from the internet. There's something unnatural about this digital world, about the way it beckons me and keeps me captive.

It all started with two weeks in Italy a few years ago. Late night dinners with my husband that lasted for hours, twilight strolls in piazzas, quiet breakfasts overlooking the Mediterranean. No computers, limited phone data, and a different time zone from the majority of my community back home showed me that surviving without the internet in today's society isn't impossible.

It's amazing what fresh air and walks and food made from scratch can do for the body. It's amazing what a society, drenched in history and art can do for the soul.

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Civita di Bagnoregio: The City that Must Live

We were climbing a bridge to a city floating in the mist. A quiet mystery swirled around Civita di Bagnoregio. Our lungs fought to expand through our anticipation of what we would see beyond the gates.

A man asked if we would take his family's photo. In exchange, he would take ours. As the man raised our camera in front of his face, he asked if we were on our honeymoon.

"We've been married for five years," my husband said. His arm was wrapped around my shoulder, and I could feel it tighten in acknowledgement. In pride. We still looked like honeymooners.

It is in this dying city that I look at my husband, at the drops of mist gathered on his glasses, at his silent wonder over scenic views, and I am awakening to all the things I forgot I already knew.

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