Canal Grande, Venezia
Fontana di Trevi, Roma
June 17, 2026
Madrid to Venice
45.43° N, 12.32°E
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Italy for the 4th time in 2 years? I’ll never say no to pizza and pasta. No such thing as too much dairy or wine.
Before I met John and Lauren in Rome, I thought I’d take advantage of this remote job and do a little solo trip. Flights to Venice were €25. Gotta see it before it goes underwater forever! I booked the hostel across the bridge in Mestre, right next to the train station.
Incredible hostel. I booked it because I saw there was a workspace available. And there was. Along with many other festivities. Perfect for the solo traveler. I spent the afternoon working, and didn’t even make it onto the island. I booked a few days in Venice knowing I’d have to spend my time in the office. All good. What better way to work than with the Grand Canal just a stop away.
June 18, 2026
Venice
45.43° N, 12.32°E
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Since I’m working West Coast hours, mornings are my time to explore. I wake up for my classic sunrise shoot and get on the first train out to the island. First step out of the Santa Lucia Station and you’re on the Grand Canal. Not a bad first impression. Sun rises at 5:22 AM so the people had yet to stir in the streets. Naive me was thinking: "Wow Venice isn’t really that packed, I was expecting it to be chaotic." I would soon find out my expectation was right.
But for that morning, I was walking the canals of Venice solo. I had a general sense of direction I wanted to get to but at its core, I just wanted to get lost. Crisscrossing the hundreds of canals. Taking far too many photos of all of them. Each of them so similar but with its own little character. I turned up at a few too many dead ends and only got my feet wet twice.
Placid
First disruption
Ride to the island
Morning bliss
Sunrise
That's an exquisite bridge
After my sunrise sesh, I make it home for a day in the office. Nothing to write home about here.
With work finished up, I take advantage of the scenery. Back into the city for sunset. By this point, Venice had transformed. What was my quiet little Italian oasis, full of character and lost corners, turned into shoulder-to-shoulder, sweaty crowds and turbulent water. A different scene, but enigmatic in its own right. I found myself much deeper into the island for sunset, practically on the other side. I got a better look at these gondolas that take over the canals of Venice. They really are the Rolls Royce of the water. If I was a mid-century Italian nobleman, I would have been rolling up to every party in one of these bad boys. Might even put a pirate flag on it and call it the Black Pearl.
Long walk back through the maze in the dark. Took more than one wrong turn.
Getting busier
Basilica di San Marco
Day on the job
San Giorgio Maggiore
Lighting
Calming down
Out to open water
Tight squeeze
June 19, 2026
Venice
45.43° N, 12.32°E
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Free walking tour! Best way to see the city. Learned a thousand facts I’ll never remember but certainly enjoyed listening to at the time. Over 400 bridges in Venice! Remembered that one.
Lunch at the tour recommended spot. Local. Quiet. Delicious.
After the tour, I met up with some friends I had met at the hostel. We do a proper Italian tourist, walking, stopping, aperitivo-ing, the works. Since we were in Venice, I convinced them to do the gondola ride. Not cheap. And not long in duration. But hey, we were in Venice! I think we got a particularly cool moment.
Like I said, the gondolas are bougie as hell. I thought it was fancy before, but not only being inside of, but also having another human paddle us around was a different level of superiority.
Another fact I learned on our tour was that being a gondolier is a legacy career path. Meaning that fathers pass this profession down to their sons and unless you are a part of that lineage, you are not allowed to be a gondolier (Our gondolier told us women were recently added to this list, and they are now 15 of the 400). So it is a very exclusive profession, and obviously a sacred, momentous occasion for a family to pass the torch. And unlike most of the solo-captained gondolas I had seen prior, ours had two: a young kid, about 16, and an older gentleman. A son and his father. He was two weeks into training to becoming his family legacy. While the kid practiced, the father coached. When coaching wasn’t needed, the father explained to us the history of gondoliers, canals, and how special it was to share this moment of passing the torch to his son. And his son was a natural! Two weeks in and we only almost hit a few things. A few bob and weaves and we were good. What was originally a cliche “we have to do it because we're here” experience turned into a rare experience of authentic cultural tradition.
Basilica di Santa María
I had yet to cross this bridge
Feeling bougie
Luckily I was at the front of the boat
Black Pearl
Turquoise
Hello Plebeians
Art and History
Dangling Feet
We finish our exploring. Return to the hostel for down time.
Then back to the island for the World Cup 2026. USA vs. Australia. Luckily, I was with an American AND an Australian. Made the night a whole lot more competitive. And naturally we went to an Irish pub to watch, because well the Irish are a friend to all in these scenarios.
USA wins. But we all enjoy.
June 20, 2026
Venezia to Roma
41.8919° N, 12.5113° E
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Early train to Rome. Time for the main event! Haven’t seen John or Lauren in almost 10 months. How the time has flown.
Arrive at Roma Termini. Quick, but warm, walk to the Airbnb.
Sweaty hugs. And off for an initial explore.
Rome has a different vibe than Venice for sure. A real city to say the least. The heart of the Roman Empire? It was hard to not stumble upon international landmarks. Roman Forum and Coliseum spotted before we even got to the second aperitivo.
The city had a similar vibe to Madrid, but on a larger scale, and a little more spread out. Lots of cobblestone, beautiful architecture and sculptures everywhere. You could almost feel the history buzzing through the streets and buildings as if it were a tangible element.
As we lazily make our way through the Roman heat, finding refuge in misters and Hugo spritzes, we stumble upon a few other monuments.
Trevi Fountain. Like the Statue of David, I was blown away. I always thought it was just like a little fountain people throw coins into. Wrong. It’s a big ass building. Absolutely magnificent.
The Pantheon. Not quite the same reaction as above. But dope. And they have tables outside for more refuge with a view. It might be a tourist trap, but wining and dining in front of the Pantheon was a good time. Touristy is touristy for a reason. No tourist goes to something that isn’t cool. Well that’s not true.
Pantheon in the Moonlight
First building I saw
Tourist Trap? More like Tourist Steal
I mean cmon
June 21, 2026
Roma
41.8919° N, 12.5113° E
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Italian cafe breakfast. Gotta be fully nourished for our day of fun. And education.
While I have tried to stray away from planned trips and overfilled itineraries in an effort to let life come to me and not at me, in some places, there’s shit you just gotta do.
Our walking tour of the Roman Forum and the Coliseum was a scorcher. I love a good walking tour. I'll be real. The Forum was a tough one to get through in the heat. But I was most excited for the Coliseum. John and I had a duel to the death scheduled and I didn’t want to be late.
We paid a little extra for the Coliseum floor tickets, to get to be on the actual ground of the Coliseum. Better view and away from the other plebeians.
Fun fact: I have been saying "plebeians" for years and after spell checking myself for this journal, I am realizing that above was the first time I have ever actually used it in its correct context.
"Plebeians (or the plebs)" - the general body of free Roman citizens in ancient Rome who belonged to the commoner class.
Certainly worth the visit and withstanding the heat to check it off the list. But boy were we happy to arrive to the air conditioned kebab spot. You can only eat so much Italian food.
Battlegrounds
All smiles before our duel
Talk about intricacy
The stories these walls could tell
Worth the Scorcher
Intermission to regain strength for the main event.
A pizza making class, or any cooking class, especially Italian, will never not be fun. This was no exception.
Endless wine and cheese in preparation for our class and an absolute hoot of a hostess. We were seated with a few MIT-grads. Next to us was a giant bachelorette party. Not sure what country. Our hostess played match maker and joined the one single guy in the group with the bachelorette group. Poor guy never stood a chance.
But we had a hell of a time! I was our wine, cheese, and bread liaison, in charge of letting our hostess know when any of the essentials was running low. I was a busy liaison.
After about the 5th request, our hostess swept me off my feet and we fell into a waltz! Thank god I took a ballroom dancing class in college.
Our finale was greeted with an applause and right in time for our slot to make some pizza. There wasn’t a single ingredient on that table that did not make it onto my pizza. John did the same. I have this crazy phenomenon where in Italy my lactose intolerance suddenly disappears and allows me to eat all the pizza and pasta without consequence. How lucky am I!
We wrap up our night with a Hugo spritz in Piazza Navona, calling home to share our adventures thus far.
No ingredient was safe
¡Que aproveche!
La vida es más rica
Casual
June 22, 2026
Vatican City
41.9028° N, 12.4525° E
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Day 2 of the tours. Gotta see 'em.
Today: Vatican City. 24th country baby. Our guide was great and I was very impressed with it all.
Vatican > Coliseum > Roman Forum
Sistine Chapel, while the actual room was underwhelming, the history and significance of the work I had underestimated.
Obviously Michelangelo was a beast. The story of the Creation of Earth, the Creation of Adam, and the Last Judgement brought an unexpected level of complexity for a ceiling you had to strain your neck to see. Guess there is a reason it's the most famous ceiling in the world!
As cool as it was, St. Peter’s Basilica was hands down the coolest part. Holy huge! I definitely might have gotten lost from the group once or twice. Drifted a bit too far and the radio frequency was out of range.
I was promised that everything in the gift shop was blessed by the Pope, so naturally I bought a necklace, only to find out nothing in the gift shop is blessed by the Pope. I'm pretending it is. Ignorance is bliss.
Peeking out
My boy St. Pete can build a dome
Squad!
Details
PIVS VII P M FECIT AN XXII
Spiraling
Kebab break.
We had a dinner rezzie that night, but we had a few more things to check out before we end our time in Rome. So we take a stroll to the Spanish Steps, and take the poster picture of our trip.
Then we pay the €2 to get into the closer Trevi fountain and huck that coin in there. Can't even remember what I wished for but I'm sure it came true.
Even cooler up close. So impressed.
Tried the pantheon. Missed it by a half hour. I’ve seen domes before.
Our dinner rezzie was at this tiny little spot in this very trendy little neighborhood. The wait was an hour, and at first I thought no way. But they serve you Spritzes in line so we had a blast catching up and the time flew right by.
The food. Exquisite. The wine. Efervescente.
But the company? Well that's what makes some busy old city into a memory of a lifetime.
10/10 night to end a 10/10 trip.
Incredibly fortunate to share it with my dearest brother and sister-in-law.
Thanks for letting me crash your Italian summer!
What a trip.
The Shot
Trevi!
What did I wish for
Comida buenaaaaa
The final bridge
