#1 Almost Stranded in Rome
It’s 2010. I’m twenty years old and about to take my first trip to Europe - my first trip without my parents - just me and my sister. We’d somehow found an amazing deal on a 14-day Mediterranean cruise that we could actually afford with our minimum wage jobs and a careful savings plan.
We booked most of our excursions through the cruse line, but there weren’t many options I liked for exploring Rome. I’m a history nerd and visiting the birthplace of Western civilization was my dream. What they offered wasn’t enough! So, for the first time, I planned a day completely on my own. Looking back, this was the beginning of discovering my personal travel style. (If I’m flying halfway across the world, I want to see EVERYTHING!) Naturally, I packed the day full - the Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel, real gelato! 20-year-old me was ready to conquer Rome!
The day finally arrived. It started off great, at least for me. I remember marveling at Renaissance art while my sister stood off to the side, clearly bored, as our first tour ran overtime. Still, I wasn’t worried. After the tour we made our way to the Trevi Fountain. Crowded, but a good opportunity to visit some shops and buy our oldest sister a cute pair of *Italian* shoes and grab gelato. Then we headed to our next destination: The Colosseum. The wonder of wonders!
We got on a Hop-On Hop-Off bus and went straight to the upper deck for the best view. Weirdly, there weren’t many people on board, and we were the only ones on the top deck. “No big deal,” we thought, “No one to block our view and pictures.” The bus stopped before we made it to the Colosseum and again, we figured it wasn’t a big deal, just a regular part of the Hop-On Hop-Off experience. We’d get going soon. So, we waited. And waited. And after about thirty minutes, panic set in.
Turns out, the driver had parked for the day – permanently. He never told us. Finally, we hopped off, realizing that our time in Rome was running out. (Pro tip: If your cruise says it stops in Rome, it doesn’t. It stops in Civitavecchia – an hour away by train.)
But I was 20, in Rome for the first time, and I HAD to see the Colosseum. I don’t even remember how we got there, but we finally made it – with just enough time to snap a quick photo before running to the train station nearby.
But everything was in Italian (forgot that’d be the case) and we had no idea which train to take. Time was ticking. My sister called our mom, asking about our travel insurance, how we’d catch up with the ship “just in case” and spreading our panic internationally. Things were not looking good.
We wandered through the station in confusion until I realized: this wasn’t working. I told my sister to stay put and took off running. I’m sure I looked crazy, but it worked. Eventually, I found the right platform and sprinted back to her.
“RUN!” I shouted. She took off after me.
We made it to the train – panting, exhausted, and still an hour from the port. When the train stopped, we took off running again, all the way to the dock. Miraculously, the ship was still there. They were waiting for four passengers. We were two of them.
Worse than the shame of walking the plank as a whole cruise ship of passengers and workers cheers or jeers as you arrive back late, is the notoriety this story has in my family as they will never let me live it down that we almost got stuck in Rome. But besides being a (now) funny story, it taught me a valuable lesson: Experiences are not the biggest factor to consider when planning a vacation. Though they may make the trip, logistics is what makes the plan truly great so you can enjoy all your fun activities stress free.
So, here’s my first Travel Tip: Always plan your travel time. How will you get from one place to another? How long will it take? Build in a cushion. It can save your entire trip.
