Trip of a lifetime
First and foremost: better late than never. Maybe I should make that my official blogging catchphrase. Life has been busy since coming home, though I worked while I was away, I wasn’t able to take on as much, so I said yes to all I could upon returning home. I am so grateful for it, but it has just meant some late nights and long days. I visit this blog when I can, but putting it together has just taken more time than expected.
I have been thinking about how I can best structure this. I want to give the people what they want, and there have been a lot of questions regarding details of the trip, but I also want it to feel authentically Sam, and we all know that Sam is not a details girl, and what matters most is how things feel.
I also asked whether I should write one big blog, or about each separate place, and separate places won by miles - BUT - I didn’t think of the magnitude of writing 27 blogs (lol), so I will try to combine it all into this one (probably quite long) blog - but for all of you details people - just scroll to the bottom and you’ll find what you’re looking for. For those of you who like the jibber jabber - keep reading.
For those who don’t know, I went to Italy for three months with one of my (now) closest friends. I’ve always adored Nat, but before this trip, due to growing up in different friend groups and her living abroad for a while, we rarely saw one another. In fact, I don’t think we’d even had a sleepover before. We were those friends who rarely saw each other, but when we did, there was always such big love there.
The closest we’d been before this was when Nat decided she wanted to learn Italian and asked if I could teach her. I didn’t speak it nearly well enough to teach, so I suggested we learn together. We started having weekly “Italian nights” where we’d both use Duolingo and I’d make us something for dinner that felt authentic to the theme, like spaghetti bolognese. Honestly, it was so wholesome.
Nat moved to London, and it wasn’t until she came back last year that we really reconnected again. I’d just been to Italy, and I told her I couldn’t stop thinking about it—I told her I kind of wanted to live there. She immediately said she’d considered the same before.
“We should just go, for like, six months,” she said.
“Would you actually? Because I’d love to, but I don’t want to do it alone,” I replied.
And that’s how it all started. It was September last year. We began meeting for coffee walks, brainstorming how to make it happen. Eventually, we decided three months felt more realistic for both of us.
“Are we actually doing this? Like, for real?” I remember asking her.
I’m such a planner, so even though we had eight months to prepare, the whole thing felt so spontaneous. But between Nat’s confidence and my love for Italy, once she said yes, we were all in.
When we first started planning, it was mostly Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok marathons to dream up all the places we wanted to go. We’d meet up, swap lists, and pin our favourite spots on Google Maps, prioritising the places we both chose. Then we figured out how long we realistically wanted to spend in each region. Our plan was about two weeks per region, with 4–5 nights in each town (roughly three towns per region). From there, we narrowed down our favourites, checked for public transport accessibility, and began booking accommodations.
People often say traveling with someone can make or break a relationship. Nat and I knew that going in, so before booking anything, we had a lot of conversations about expectations: budget, pace, daily routines, the activities we wanted to do, and how we’d handle challenges. By the time we started locking in plans, we felt so confident about sharing this experience together—despite people telling us we were crazy. (😂) And can I just say: we absolutely nailed it. (High five, Nat)
I will speak for just myself when I speak of feelings on this trip and try to make this as much about my personal experience as possible considering Nat and I lived literally attached at the hip for 3 months.
As the trip approached it felt so surreal to me that to be completely honest, I didn’t really feel anything at all other than disbelief. I had wanted to see more of Italy for so long, but always felt I’d need to do it with a partner because finding someone else to leave their life to come with me would be near impossible. I just kept thinking - this is too good to be true - and honestly when I feel that way, getting excited feels way too vulnerable, but there were small moments that made it feel real and in those moments I would get such a rush of excitement I felt like I could just run to the airport on the adrenaline alone.
As time passed, all of the firsts began to happen; booking our first accommodation, making our first payment, booking our first flight - Each little thing made it feel more and more real, but even as I was seeing friends for the last time and saying goodbye, even as I was packing my luggage, I just don’t know that I really believed it was happening until I sat next to Nat on the plane. I remember we held hands for take off and I just felt like - okay wow. I. Am. Going. To Italy.
For 3 months.
With my friend.
And that’s when the butterflies really kicked in.
One of the first culture shocks we experienced was how much we needed to slow down to match the Italian pace of life. The days felt so long, and we struggled to make it to dinner time those first few nights. But soon, we adapted to the Mediterranean lifestyle: slow mornings, wandering through towns, midday siestas, aperitivos, gelatos, and late dinners.
“Do you feel stressed?” Nat asked me one day, genuinely perplexed.
“Not at all. Not even a tiny bit,” I replied.
We both laugh and reflect on how stressed we felt before leaving and how it had all seemed to melt away. We had some stressful moments, that naturally come with navigating travel, but all in all, I think I was the most relaxed I’ve ever been in my entire life.
It didn’t take us long to find a routine that worked. Considering we had never traveled together before, we quickly settled into a rhythm, like a cute lil couple who’d been married for years.
When we arrived in a new town, our first steps were always the same: settle in (and shower—because, travel 🥵), then check the kitchen to see what was provided. Most of our accommodations were booked through Airbnb or Booking.com, and we always aimed for places with kitchens to keep our spending down. Some kitchens were bare, while others came with basics like olive oil, salt, pepper, and utensils. If the kitchen was well-stocked, we planned meals at home—usually breakfast, snacks, and simple pasta dinners. With just 15–30 euros, we could easily do 3–4 days' worth of shopping, which was amazing for our budget.
We’d also start a load of laundry (if there was a washing machine) and head out to find the local grocery store, which doubled as a way to get a feel for the town. Travel days were tiring, so they naturally became our “errand days” to settle in. On our second day, we’d wake up early—like, really early—to explore the town and take photos before the crowds grew. Some places were magical during these quiet mornings, while others came alive later when shops opened and the town’s energy filled the streets. We played it by ear depending on the vibe.
From there, our daily routine looked something like this: I’d wake up early and work for three hours (usually 6–9am), we’d have breakfast at home, then head out to explore or go to the beach. The first drink of the day was usually a coffee or freshly squeezed orange juice. Lunch was a mix—sometimes bought (Italy has so many cheap options: €3 arancini, €4 focaccia or pizza slices, €6 panini big enough for us to share), and other times made lunch at home.
Afternoons were for downtime—napping or editing photos—because the heat made it impossible to stay outside. In the cooler hours, we’d head back out to explore more of the town or relax at the beach. Evenings were where we felt most Mediterranean, with aperitivos (a spritz or Coke Zero), gelato, a walk, and then dinner.
That’s it. Every day, for three months. It was incredible.
We didn’t plan much at all before arriving in Italy. Neither of us wanted a “touristy” trip—we wanted to experience each town like locals. Of course, there were a few experiences we couldn’t miss. We booked a couple of boat trips to see must-visit spots, but beyond that, we relied entirely on public transport and made plans as we went. Once we arrived somewhere, we’d ask locals for recommendations and do a quick online search to decide what to see. I think I can safely say we struck the perfect balance between budgeting and enjoying the experience. Neither of us ever felt like we were missing out on things we wanted to do, but at the same time, we were mindful not to overspend on experiences and risk running out of money before the end of our trip. :’)
What made this trip so special for me wasn’t just the big moments—it was the little ones. Singing Disney songs while packing, deliriously cackling in bed after a long day, or our never-ending laundry adventures. Even the challenges became funny memories because of how well we faced them together. I don’t think we could have balanced each other better on this trip. I have lots of favourite parts, but the part I cherish the most is all of the memories made along side Nat. Not to go all ‘Into The Wild’ here, but happiness is so much more real when it is shared.
And to answer the most popular question I received: while my search for a husband was unsuccessful (🙃), I experienced so much love on this trip. Italians are unmatched in their warmth and openness. Sweet grocery store owners, kind strangers on the beach, and waitstaff who spoke to us with curiosity—it was all so heartwarming. Coming home, the sense of isolation in Australia hit me hard. While I’m home, I think that connection and genuine openness from strangers is something I’ll always long for, I’ve been thinking a lot at how I can build that sense of community for myself here.
Writing this has taken me months, and I’ve been home for t̶w̶o̶ three now. The trip already feels like a dream. Looking at photos, I can’t believe we went to all those places. Adjusting back to life at home was tough at first—Italy’s culture just lights up my soul, and it’s hard to replicate that here. After another attempt at qualifying for my Italian passport, I realised it might not be possible (or would be extremely expensive), so I decided to surrender to the reality of staying in Australia.
And honestly? Life here is incredible in so many ways. The beaches are the best in the world (in my opinion), the weather is amazing, and there’s a lot of opportunity. I’ve relaxed into the idea of Australia as my home base, with the dream of spending a few months in Italy or Europe each year. I am not blind to how incredibly lucky I am to even be able to consider these options, and I am aware that being able to call Australia home is a massive privilege, even if Italy has a tight grip on my heart.
This trip was one of the best things I’ve ever done. Sharing it with my friends made it even more special. Nat’s lovely friends meeting us in Trapani, meeting Andrea for the first time in Tropea, sweet Jade (who was Nat’s friend and now I get to call her one of mine too) meeting us in Sardinia, Caitlan meeting us in Cinque Terre, and travelling through Tuscany with us for two weeks, Nicolo joining us in Tuscany and showing us places by car we would have never seen, and Nat being along side me the entire time, coming with me to see my family, and sharing my home away from home with her. There’s not a single year that I go see my family, that I’m not overwhelmed when I’m reminded how much I love them, and how loved I feel by them. It was so special this year visiting for the third time and being recognised by people at the local grocery store, cafes, or seeing the Italian people I’d now consider friends. Each morning I woke up I felt like I had to pinch myself, and I still do. I am so proud of Nat and I for what we achieved, I think often people surrender to the directions their heart pulls them in, and I am so proud of us for prioritising something we both felt passionately about doing, regardless of how big and scary the idea felt at the start.
Now that I am home, life is beautiful in different ways. There is so much beauty in having a place to call home, and finding my routine again. To being able to cook with my own utensils, sleep in my own bed, shower in my own shower, and have a washing machine ready to use whenever I need it. (🥲) The stability of home means being able to focus in on myself again - It’s taken two months but I have finally rediscovered my consistency at the gym, set some intentions for the coming months and new year, and have opened myself to dating a lil’ bit. I’m feeling optimistic about the future, but also very aware that nothing is ever set in stone. We never know what is around the next corner, but for now ill continue to do all I can to lead with gratitude, find happiness in the small things, and live a life I enjoy waking up to.
Trip Run Down
Little deets you might care about:
Travelled LIGHT with a 16kg small suitcase (the next size up from hang luggage), and a duffel bag as hand luggage. If you plan to do Italy via public transport, would not recommend a big suitcase, squeezing onto trains was difficult even for us sometimes, and the ground in most places is…how to best describe…NOT smooth, many hills, gravel, bumpy, get-your-strong-girl-muscles-ready madness.
Camera:
We all probably know this answer, but my trusty Fujifilm x100v is all I took and all I needed.
Daily Budget:
By the end of our trip we worked out that we averaged 45eur per day.
Nat and I spoke about creating a more comprehensive trip guide/break-down. i.e packing list, breakdown of budget, travel tips etc. Let us know if this is something you’d be interested in.
Itinerary:
*Top spots
Sicily
Palermo. (1 night) - Only stayed one night to rest after 27 hours of travel - Big city, neither of us loved it heaps, crazy CRAZY traffic - You have to play chicken with cars in order to cross the road as unless you go first, they will not stop even if you are standing at a pedestrian crossing. Have heard great things about Palermo, and that the city is super alive at night (Dancing in the street) so we definitely didn’t stay long enough for a true experience/to form a fair opinion.
*Trapani (4 nights) - Had an error with accommodation - don’t recommend booking 116 Grabaldi street - we had to last minute book a new accommodation at 8pm at night, as what we arrived to was not even close to what was shown in the photos. Host was also terrible to deal with. (Only mishap with accommodation the entire trip) - Trapani was gorgeous and coastal, really lovely locals, great restaurants, ate some of our best food here, and AMAZING for seafood, lots of shops & lovely beach. Would happily return.
Day Trip: *Favignana - Boat trip with Egadi tours - Highly recommend, incredible experience, lots of fun, one of our highlights of the entire trip.
Day Trip: Erice - Stunning, quaint old town on top of a hill (cable car to get to the town) very cute day trip, worth the trip if you visit Trapani.
*Cefalu (4 nights)- small, quaint and authentic - didn’t feel touristy, lots of cute little stores, had the best gelato of our lives here at Sapore di Sale Gelateria - one of our most challenging walks with our suitcases.
*Taormina (3 nights) - Arty vibes and so much to see, stunning beaches, stunning town, very friendly locals. Hard to pick a favourite spot in Sicily, but this might be it. PSA the train station and beach are at the bottom of the mountain so we booked our accommodation there for accessibility, and the town is up the top. We hiked it each day (30 mins - very difficult) and then found out on our last day there is a 1euro bus - lol 😅 you’re welcome.
Calabria
Tropea (5 nights) - beautiful but very aimed at tourists (lots of souvenir stores etc.) we felt like we had seen it all in a day or two and were a little underwhelmed. In photos it looks stunning, but it definitely wasn’t our favourite place. First time trying nduja here and I have craved it every day since. :’)
Puglia
Bari (5 nights) - huge contrast between old town and outskirts - good for a short visit, hard to access the beach and unsure if it was the area we stayed in but it was heavily populated by only men. (We were never made to feel unsafe, but it was weird.) It was about 3 days into our trip when we finally saw a woman walking around outside of old town. In old town, it was beautiful and normal :’) Seeing the pasta grannies is a highlight, definitely do not need 5 nights here in my opinion. I’d only do a couple if I went again.
*Alberobello (3 nights) - beautiful, unique and interesting but can see it in a day, very small.
Day Trip: Polignano Al Mare - Beautiful but perhaps a little overrated(?) both mine and Nat’s opinion.
Day Trip: *Monopoli - We both loved Monopoli and had a sandwich here that I would literally fly back to Italy for right now. (@Gustavos - Mortadella, striaciatella, pesto, pistacchio) You will never get Nat and I to shut up about it.
*Matera (2 nights) - Didn’t rate this accomm - Very little ventilation, musty smell that we both felt like was genuinely affecting our lungs :’) would have changed spots if it wasn’t such a small amount of time. Lucky though, as if there was any breeze, the bed would have collapsed as it was holding on by an incredibly squeaky thread - Matera itself was absolutely incredible, so much to see and do, Over 200 restaurants and very alive and authentic (people singing in the streets etc) a bit hard to get to with public transport but I can not stress enough that would be a crime to visit Italy and miss this spot. (2 nights wasn’t enough)
Campania
Ischia (4 nights) - We have heard so many people rave about it and we were a little underwhelmed - a little too touristy for us (restaurant owners by the port were quite pushy, etc.) In saying that, great beach and restaurant vibe in the area we stayed in and our host was so lovely. Had the best Aglio e Oglio here. I also think we stayed on the budget side of the island and if we weren’t on a 3 month travel budget may have had a different experience staying elsewhere.
*Procida (4 nights) - Our smallest accommodation 🤣 Had to rearrange furniture to fit our suitcases in. Procida was small, quaint, and super cute vibes, lots of lovely locals. Had a nutella icecream here that was what dreams are made of.
Sardinia (13 days)
Olbia (5 nights) - Incredible beaches accessible by bus, but v expenny town.
Day Trip: La Madalena - GORGEOUS. And didn’t get attacked by a wild boar so stoked about that.
*Alghero (5 nights) - Spanish/Italian vibes apparently the town is a large part Catalonian. Beautiful town, lots of culture and very alive at night (Salsa in the street, street performers, exhibitions etc.) Fav of Sardinia for me, lots to see and do.
Bosa (3 nights) - very very small town, if you’ve never experienced car sickness you absolutely will on the road trip there from Alghero, by bus we all almost died, and we took a taxi back and it was equally as difficult BUT it was a gorgeous little town, and we had the most incredible experience with the locals here. *potentially the hardest spot with our suitcases due to uneven roads
Liguria
Genoa (3 nights) - Big city vibes - Probs wouldn’t return alone, had to hold Nats hand 90% of the time 🤣 (kidding, sort of) GREAT for cheap food, and stunning architecture, but we saw police around often. (Which was not all bad because they looked like they were hand-carved by the gods.)
Day Trip: Positano & *Amalfi (Book this in advance if you are thinking of doing it, as booking last minute was incredibly difficult) We got a tour that did 3 hours at each town so we swam at Positano (first stop), and ate at Amalfi (second stop) as we read it would be cheaper for food.
*Cinque Terre/Vernazza (4 nights) - So beautiful, but so touristy when we went. (10-14 August) Very strongly suggest visiting off season as the place is incredibly beautiful, but incredibly small so it is not as enjoyable when it is extremely busy. Train ticket between towns was 35eur per day, Nat visited off season a few years prior and said it was around 5eur.
Tuscany
*San Gimignano (2 nights) - gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous - exactly what you’d expect Tuscany to be.
Siena (2 nights) - bigger city vibes, lots of great stores and restaurants.
Asciano (2 nights) - very quiet, could have given this one a miss.
Montepulciano (2 nights) - Gorgeous town, we stayed a little out of the town at a gorgeous hotel on a vineyard with a pool, there were only a few buses in/out of town a day so we had to be strategic about it as the hotel had a restaurant which was only open for dinner and not lunch and there were no local stores.
*Pienza (2 nights) - Incredible, similar vibes to San Gimignano but smaller - so lucky to have Nicolo show us around here as it would have been difficult/near impossible without a car.
*Florence (2 nights) - Big arty city, maybe my fav big city of the trip - so much to see, we should have stayed for more time and I would def visit again which is a big compliment from a non-big city girl.
Veneto (Remainder of Trip with the fam)
Staying with Family: After finishing my trip the main question was, where would you move to, if you were going to move to Italy, and my answer in the end didn’t surprise me. Near family. I saw so many places that I loved, but nothing compares to being with my fav Italians.
Day Trip: *Venice - Apparently they are starting to charge an entry fee into Venice upon arrival, we were not charged. Venice is unlike anywhere else in the world, and everywhere you go looks like a postcard. Incredible and an absolute must visit, even though it is always very busy and very touristy.
Bologna - Marco does the absolute best Bologna tour, and seeing it for the second time with him was just as good as the first. Big city, very arty, very young vibe, lots to see and lots of history.
See photos from each spot on instagram in chronological order ↓
(DM me to introduce yourself if I don’t accept your follow request after a day)
Italy prints coming soon!