About the Trip
So a few months after my first trip to Europe, I left my job at the record label WEA and traveled back to Italy alone. My ticket did not have a return date and I made no plans for the trip. In fact I decided to go on February 27 and my flight left on February 29.
All I knew was that I was flying into Rome. I brought a Frommer’s Italy guidebook with me and planned as the days went by.
My first day in Rome I ran into three girls I worked with at the job I just quit. I stayed with them for a few nights. Together we traveled to Naples, Pompeii and Florence. When they left I headed to Orvieto for a few days of rest.
I traveled north to Venice and jumped into the craziness of Carnevale. I celebrated Ash Wednesday at San Marco then spent a few quiet days recovering in Venice before returning to Rome.
My lack of planning got me stuck in Rome with no flight home. The day after my five hour train ride from Venice, I had to take a series of slow regional trains to Milan to fly home. It took me nine hours and three trains to go from Rome to Milan.
I learned my lesson about traveling carefree.
Dates
February 29 – March 13, 2000
Visited
Rome
Naples
Pompeii
Florence
Orvieto
Venice
Milan
Masses
St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican
St. Peter’s Square, Vatican – Canonization Mass with Pope John Paul II
Duomo, Orvieto
San Marco, Venice
Accommodations
Spring House, Rome
Hotel Trastevere, Rome
Hotel Virgilio, Orvieto
Hotel Mignon = Gross, Venice
Hotel Antica Locanda al Gambero, Venice
Hotel Alimandi, Rome
Seedy hotel near the train station, Milan
Photos
Click here to view photos from this trip.