La Dolce Vita

top At the end of February, after much debate and discussion, I finally got the go ahead to go on vacation! Originally, I had thought that I would only be able to travel within the US, so I had started some research and asked my peeps on Facebook where in the US they would travel. I got some great suggestions and started looking into New Orleans, Chicago and Florida a bit more. Then when I was chatting with my doc going over places to go, I threw out Europe. She gave me a look and then said, “I would be a hypocrite to say no. I love Europe. The hospitals there are well maintained, so if anything happens to you, I won’t be as worried. Can you do your trip in your off time from chemo?” I had no clue if I could or not, but I would figure it out.
 
Now, the funny part is a few days before all of this the hubs forwarded me an email from Travel Zoo about a tour of Italy. It was only 8 days, and they were running a sale. Well, heck! I think this is a sign. I started looking at it a bit more. Trips were planned almost every other week starting in March. I then did a deep dive into my medical bills. Thanks to my generous friends and family I had a little extra cash to pay for the ever-growing stack. For once I didn’t feel like I needed to hold back. This trip really could be possible.
 
I then had the hubs check the vacation calendar at the shop to see if he could get the time off. He could make it work if we were back by the beginning of May. Otherwise, we would have to wait to mid-summer. I checked with my boss, and she said not to even give the office a second thought. Whenever I went, she would make it work. I just had to make my chemo schedule worked with the travel schedule. I did a bit more investigating and found the right dates and they were part of the sale! I waited for the hubs to get home to double check that all the dates lined up and then clicked the purchase button. We were going to Rome, Florence and Venice in April!!!
 
The time before we left for the trip, I was a bundle of nerves. All the what ifs played in my head. The best part was I had less than 30 days to worry about the what ifs. I put it aside with a bit of retail therapy. I needed packing cubes, power adapters, a cute new top or two and a new coat for the trip after all. LOL Before I knew it, it was time to pack the suitcase and get to the airport. My doctor wrote me a note asking the airline for any accommodation they could give me. That came in handy since the hubs and I were sitting apart from each other on one of our flights. It probably wouldn’t have been that big of a deal to not be next to each other, but I am the keeper of the snacks. I’m not sure if the other passengers would have been so willing to pass around the sour patch kids without keeping some for themselves.
 
We finally arrived in Rome, but the suitcase that we checked did not. Good thing all my meds, toiletries and a change of clothing were in my carry on. We filled out all the paperwork and got the airline the address of our hotel in Rome. The suitcase was scheduled to arrive the next day, but they would call if anything else happened. We finally got to our hired car to take us to the hotel. I didn’t care that I was missing half my stuff. I was in freaking Italy! I’ll buy new clothes if I have to.
 
The absolute most amazing site was as we were driving into Rome from the airport. Out of nowhere the Colosseum appeared. Such an amazing piece of architecture sitting right in front of me. Rome is just filled with buildings that are really old and others that are just old. I found it fascinating. I guess it’s one of the downsides of being from California. There isn’t anything that old here. Our hotel was an old building that was transformed into a nice hotel with a few modern touches. I really wasn’t worried about what the hotel was like. As long as it was clean and comfortable I was good. Once we checked in, we dropped off our bags and headed out to explore. I did my best to soak it all in. The first day we were on our own, as the rest of the group arrived at different times. By 4pm I was feeling the jet lag start to kick in. The hubs and I made our way back to the hotel and tried to stay awake. It didn’t work. It was okay though. The next morning, we had an early wake up to meet the group, have breakfast and take off on our first tour.
 
4 days in Rome did not disappoint. We toured the Colosseum, the Forum, Palatine Hill, Vatican City and so much more. We found some cute holes in the wall places to eat, that had the best food, and I wanted to try it all. I had read that Italians didn’t eat breakfast like Americans do. They do it better! Who needs eggs and bacon when you can have cake and cappuccino?!?! Before we knew it, it was time to move on to Florence. On our way there we stopped in Orvieto and Assisi and ended the day with a night tour of Florence. Florence was just beautiful. The next day we saw the city in daylight and then made an afternoon trip to Pisa. We then packed up for our last stop, Venice. First, we had lunch in Bologna and made a stop in Padova.
 
By the time we arrived in Venice I was jumping out of my skin with excitement.  My older sister was staying in Venice at the same time with one of her friends. Neither one of us talked about the trips we had planned before they were booked. I just happened to message her letting her know that we were finally going on holiday and she responded asking what dates we were going to be in Venice. Who would have thought that we would both randomly book trips to Italy and both be in the same city at the same time? It was kismet! The first part of the day the hubs and I did a walking tour with the group and the evening was spent drinking spritz and having a good laugh or ten with my sister and her friend. Who could ask for more?
 
Sadly, our time in Italy had to come to an end. I didn’t want to leave. There was still more pasta, pizza, gelato and wine for me to try. Reluctantly I packed my bag and off to the airport we went. The hubs checked the fitness app on his phone and discovered we did on average 18,000 steps a day. Thank you steroids for giving me the energy to keep up! Our flights home were uneventful. We watched a bunch of movies and I read a bunch of books. 14 hours is a long time to sit in one spot. It didn’t feel that long going over.
 
The day after we got home, I was back to my routine. I had to go to the doc office to get lab work done. Then that Friday I was back for chemo. All the nurses wanted to hear about my trip and were just amazed that I had only been home two days. As my luck would have it I then ended up with a sinus infection, that turned into an ear infection. Three rounds of antibiotics later and I’m almost back to normal. As much as being sick sucks, I would do it all again in a heartbeat. 

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