Italy Archives - Weary Wanderer

2025: A Year in Review

Published on December 31, 2025December 31, 2025 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

A very, merry happy New Year to all you lovelies 😉

It’s that time again. An introduction. A blank slate. A chance to start over, continue being amazing, set new goals, or aim to keep the old ones. AND …. it’s reflect-on-the-past-year time, too. 2025 was a good travel year, for us, with lots of love, laughs, cuddles, and adventure. Here’s what we got up to.

January

In January, Chris and I booked it to Florida for a quick 48-hours so he could run his 10th marathon. We hadn’t been away from the girls overnight in about two years, so it was really quite fun to take that time <3

Chris ran his marathon in three hours and eight seconds. LEGEND.

February

In mid-February, Steph, Rosalie and Robert flew out for President’s Weekend to celebrate Valentine’s Day and Rosalie’s 6th birthday. We had such a blast!

We checked out the Bubble Planet Immersive Experience in Denver!

Lotte, Steph & Ro got their ears pierced!

Lotte sang the National Anthem at a CU basketball game with her school choir!

March

In March we headed off to Taos, New Mexico, for spring break! It was a new state for the girls, and we had such a blast.

Pottery at the Imagine Children’s Museum was an unexpected delight.

April

I posted an ode to winter at the end of April, with highlights including lots of Lotte choir singing at fun events, art exhibits, author events (both mine and other authors!), plays, fancy tea services, tons of skiing .. and lots more!

The Maurice Sendak exhibit at the Denver Art Museum!

Easter tea at The Brown Palace in Denver was delicious!

Lotte performed with her choir for a festival and we got to hang at Elitch Gardens!

June & July

You guys. June and July were epic. We met up with all three grandparents for a month in Europe that did. not. disappoint. There was the press trip at an insane resort in Portugal. All the culture and food in Barcelona. Italy. (More specifically the Dolomites and Venice. Enough said.) Driving from the Dolomites to Paris, with a stop at the city where I was born. Paris and the French countryside. The shocking adorableness of Brugges. The out-of-this-world salty attitude of Amsterdam. And the gorgeous, glorious greenery of Ireland. It was the trip of a lifetime, to say the least.

As if that weren’t enough, when Lotte and Grace had their horse camp canceled last-minute, I booked a quick trip back East for the week before Lotte’s birthday! Grace was meant to come, too, but after a month in Europe, girl needed some R&R at home, which was totally fine. She’ll catch NY next time round!

We had a lot of good food and drinks AND a lot of time to chat, which was so much fun and so different from how it usually is. My brother-in-law was a doll and watched the twins a bunch, and Lotte & Ro entertain themselves, which left my sis and myself to our own devices on several occasions. I do not take those times for granted.

August

I wrote a farewell to the Summer of 2025 covering the final few weeks of our break before we were back-to-school. It included a birthday, camp, a visit from our NY loves and one final out-of-town trip.

Phew. What a summer it was!

Just a couple’a cuties at the Denver Zoo.

Rainbows in the mountains? Can’t beat that.

You also can’t beat a National Park. This one — Rocky Mountain National Park — is near and dear to our hearts.

September

September started with a bang when we celebrated Labor Day in our own Colorado backyard. Sunshine. Hikes. Moose. Bear. Glaciers. Lakes.

Oh, Colorado. You beautiful beast, you.

November

In November we hopped on the earliest flight possible to high-tail it to New York for the Thanksgiving holiday! We saw Wicked, had tea at the American Girl Doll store, drank hot cocoa in an igloo in Bryant Park, hung out with Bluey, deep fried a turkey … and so much more <3

Hot cocoa and cocktails in a cozy igloo by the Bryant Park ice skating rink? YES PLEASE.

December

Less than one week after getting home from our New York Thanksgiving, we were back on a plane! This time, it was to Knoxville, for the AAU Youth Track & Field Championships, which Lotte ran with her team, the Colorado Coyotes. We were so stinkin’ proud of her, I could cry. Oh and also … how cute is Knoxville?!

Then we spent Christmas in Hawaii with Chris’ parents, and it was SO FRIGGIN’ WONDERFUL!

And that was our near in a nutshell, friends! We had pretty amazing travel experiences and I never stop being grateful for all of it for even just one second.

I hope you all had a wonderful year … and cheers to an even better new one!

European Summer Part V: Driving from the Dolomites to Paris

Published on June 29, 2025June 29, 2025 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

My babies in the Germany town where I was born. The absolute best.

Hi friends! Welcome to the insane drive portion of our summer in Europe. We left the Dolomites around 6 a.m. on Friday to begin our journey to Paris, which would take us two days and include several stops along the way.

Most of the time the drive was stunning.

Our first stop was Innsbruck, Austria, for a park runaround and some sugar to wake us up.

Rapoldi Park was so much fun! It was huge, had beautiful gardens, a cafe, duck pond, and two playgrounds.

Our second stop was the Chinese Beer Garden — located in the English Garden — in Munich. Chris and I had been here with his parents the last time we were in Munich, and Chris had such amazing memories of the food that we had to go back!

This girl truly came into her love of meat on this trip!

Then we were off to our final stop of the night: Nuremburg, where I was born! Hotel Victoria was so perfect. Right at the beginning of the town center, and with a beautiful breakfast included in the price.

I couldn’t believe I finally made it to my birthplace with my girls!

It meant so much to me to be in Nuremburg with my babies! I hadn’t been back since I lived there as a kid, either, so it was truly a special night.

We walked up to the Imperial Castle, which had amazing views of the city.

Emilia basically ate pretzels the whole time. Le sigh.

After a 6-hour road trip back in the car on Saturday, we arrived in Reims, France! Our Airbnb was super close to the town center, so we went exploring right away.

Grace is a bit over photos. No one tell her we have two weeks left …

Dinner at Brasserie Le Gaulois was SO GOOD.

Breakfast was obviously of the bread and pastry persuasion.

We toured a little bit around the Champagne region on our way out to Paris.

And then it was a little under two hours to our next stop … our Airbnb in France! But, that’s a story for another time 😉 Until then, bis bald, friends!

European Summer Part IV: Dolomites

Published on June 26, 2025June 26, 2025 by Cheryl Lock3 Comments

Hello friends … welcome to the gorgeous Dolomites, part of the Italian Alps in northeastern Italy.

It is stunning here.

The drive from Venice takes a little over three hours, and it was a gorgeous drive, but definitely mountain driving. And that’s coming from someone who lives in Colorado. Hairpin turns are frequent, and it was pouring when we drove in, but even so, we could tell that this place was special. By the time we arrived the rain had vanished and the sun welcomed us.

View from our front door. I mentioned on my instagram account that I don’t know how many countries we’re at that I’ve visited with my in-laws, but it’s been plenty! I feel so lucky that we all travel so well together. It’s so special for the girls, too.

We found the sweetest little spot to sit for lunch while we waited for the gondola to reopen on Tuesday.

On Wednesday we drove into Ortisei — about an hour from where we are staying in Valongia — which is just about the cutest town that ever existed in this world.

Have you ever in your life seen anything cuter?

Lunch at Four was so incredibly delicious.

This girl is soaking up her grandparents’ time <3

We took this adorable family walk into Anna Valley, which is easily accessible from the town center.

They had hammocks along the trail, as well as this adorable area where you could walk through fresh stream water piped into a little walkway. It was the most fun!

There were water fountains throughout the village that piped in fresh water, too!

Look at this gelato, but also LOOK AT THIS BACKGROUND.

We passed by this insane lake on our ride back. Incredible.

We spent approximately 12,000 hours in the cutest little mini golf place that ever existed.

They also had the best activities for the girls while the adults mini-golfed!

Em’s dairy and egg allergy has, at times, been hard while traveling. Good thing she loves bread :/

It’s a great spot for drinks with a view!

We spent the afternoon at Dolaondes Canazei, an indoor/outdoor spa that was about 20 minutes away from where we were staying and was incredible. They made everyone wear these caps. We thought it was hilarious.

And that, my friends, was our Dolomites trip in a nutshell! Chris & I don’t often say that we’d like to revisit places, only because our to-travel Bucket List is so long. But the Dolomites? I could come here over and over and over again.

Tomorrow morning we start our long journey from the Dolomites to Paris! We’re doing it in two days, stopping in Nuremburg (where I was born!) and the Moet valley region of France along the way. Our little (well, huge, really) van is chuggin’ some miles for us.

She’s a beast, and she’s been very good to us!

Until next time … bis bald, friends!

European Summer Part III: Venice

Published on June 23, 2025June 23, 2025 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

Hi friends — welcome to our 48 hours in Venice!

Look, here’s the thing about amazing Venice. Every single place is fantastic. So I literally took no notes of names. Not for restaurants. Not for shops. Not for drinks. Any and everywhere you eat or go here will be … fantastic.

Chris and I were so happy to have this time in Venice, not only because the grandparents were here to help give us some time alone, but because the last time we were here it was for one night, and our experience was very different. We had the best time this trip around. Here’s a bit of what we saw and did …

Taking a private water taxi from the airport to your Airbnb sets the bar pretty high.

Chris and I took pretty much the entire day by ourselves to explore and eat and drink while the grandparents took the girls to see …

Breakfast both mornings. YUM. We never got there early enough to try the pistachio croissant, but the honey, chocolate, and cream ones were a delight.

We had lunch and our first Aperol Spritz of the day at the fanciest restaurant with a live quartet playing. Who even are we??

Rooftop bar + second Aperol Spritz = Perfection.

There was a third Aperol Spritz in there somewhere, but I guess I didn’t deem it worthy of a photo 😉 We DID take an evening gondola ride, though, and that was so dreamy.

After an insane dinner, we capped the night off with gelato in the square. The best.

Even though it was only two nights, we truly packed it in.

Venice, thank you for putting on a show for us. We loved every second of it. (P.S. Can’t recommend our Airbnb enough. It was totally in the heart of things, but also so solitary and quiet. Perfect for both things.)

After we checked out of our Airbnb we took another water taxi to our rental car and drove three hours to .. the Dolomites! We’re here now, and it is so incredibly gorgeous. As I always say, I can’t wait to explore. Until then, friends … bis bald!

A Hop, Skip and Jump to Munich

Published on October 9, 2012May 18, 2013 by Cheryl Lock3 Comments

DSCN1102 — Hello, Munich. How I’ve missed you!

Hi friends,

So part deux of our European adventure story starts off in Munich, where we stayed at the Citadines, which are more small apartments than hotel rooms (meaning we had a little kitchen and a living room, but no one to clean the place up when we left for the day.)

The location was perfect for Oktoberfest–it was just a short walk to the grounds where the tents are. It’s not the best location if you’re in Munich mostly for the city center, though, like to visit Marienplatz or stroll through town. (For that type of trip, I’d highly recommend the hotels I stayed in during this trip to Munich a few years ago.)

Lucky for us, we were there for Oktoberfest, and our adventure began that Sunday night …

Continue reading “A Hop, Skip and Jump to Munich” →

Last Thursday, When We Were Berlin-Bound

Published on October 8, 2012October 8, 2012 by Cheryl Lock3 Comments

DSCN0868 — It’s hard to believe this wall ever divided Berlin. So sad.

Hey friends! So it’s Monday, October 8th, which can only mean one thing–Chris and I are back from Europe.

Cue the violins.

Seriously though, this was one stellar, awesome, amazing trip. In what amounts to 9 full days, we managed to cover Berlin (where Chris ran a marathon), Munich (where we had so much fun at Oktoberfest!), rent a car and drive from Munich to Salzburg to Venice for more than $700 (that story will come later), see Venice in less than 24 full hours and hit up Rome for all the classics.

That’s a lot.

But despite the fact that it was a whirlwind…it really didn’t feel that way. I felt like we were able to spend a good amount of time in each place, and I actually did end up feeling rested and relaxed when we arrived back last night.

So anyway, without further ado, how about I take you on back to last Friday, when Chris and I arrived in Berlin at around 8:30 a.m…

Continue reading “Last Thursday, When We Were Berlin-Bound” →

Home Swapping Sites on our Horizon

Published on September 25, 2012 by Cheryl Lock3 Comments

Hi friends!

So it’s t-minus two days before Chris and I jet off on our little European adventure…I am sososo excited!

Although, we did hit a minor bump in the European road yesterday when Chris emailed me to say that our pre-booked hotel in Rome had unceremoniously unbooked us. Apparently something with Chris’s payment information was incorrect, and he had missed the warning email.

Oops.

So there we were, three days before leaving without a place to stay in Rome.

Chris quickly booked a back-up hotel for us, but it wasn’t in an area of Rome that I thought would be central to all the lovely things we have planned. As I was searching hotels.com for something more adequate, a coworker of mine mentioned using home swap sites, like HomeAway, VRBO and Airbnb.

I’ll be honest–I’ve never actually used one of these sites before. I know plenty of people who have, and they’ve always been more than happy with the results, so I figured, why not give it a try! After about a half hour searching on Airbnb, I found a cute little studio apartment for rent in an area of Rome that seemed lovely, and that had received tons of good reviews on the site.

So…we booked it! This, my friends, will be our first forray into the world of booking through home swap sites.

Who knows, if all goes well, it might be our new norm.

Do any of you guys use sites like HomeAway, VRBO and Airbnb? Have you generally liked what you’ve found? Do you prefer one site over the others?

Bis bald, friends!

The Beautiful Lights of Italy

Published on September 14, 2012 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

DSCN0485 — How beautiful is this light fixture??

Hi friends,

Let’s take a quick step back for a moment, shall we? I’d like to go back to about three weeks ago when I was in Italy, surprising my family with a trip and having the time of my life. While there was so much there that I saw that I loved, one surprising thing that I noticed was how ornate and beautiful all of the light fixtures were. Nary a bathroom ceiling was left unadorned by a fabulous, sparkly, glowing chandelier.
So, my friends, I did what any aspiring photographer would do–I took as many photos of them as I possibly could.

Care to take a trip with me down memory lane?

Continue reading “The Beautiful Lights of Italy” →

My Trip to Calabria, Part Deux

Published on August 28, 2012June 30, 2015 by Cheryl Lock5 Comments

Welcome back friends! I’ve come to the part of my travel blogging that I always hate–the part where I write about the rest of the trip and then I’m done. It always feels so finite, like I’m actually finally done with the trip. There’s nothing left to do. The last word has been written. As long as I still have these blog posts to write, the trip is still alive in my mind, you know?

Anyway, as they say… all good things must come to an end, I guess.

So here we go, on with the final few days of my trip.

Continue reading “My Trip to Calabria, Part Deux” →

A Family Trip to Calabria, Italy

Published on August 27, 2012August 27, 2012 by Cheryl Lock4 Comments

Hi friends!

Well I’m back from my super-secret trip, and I can finally tell you where it was to: Roccella Jonica, in Calabria, Italy.

So why was this such a big secret? Well it was a surprise to my family who lives there (my grandfather’s sister and brother, as well as another sister who was visiting from Australia) that I was coming. It was a surprise that my aunt and uncle and two of my cousins were coming, as well.

Aren’t surprise visits just the best? This one totally took the cake.

Let me start at the beginning …

Continue reading “A Family Trip to Calabria, Italy” →

In the News: Pisa Bans Cheesy Souvenirs

Published on August 4, 2011 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

Leave it to Pisa to take all the fun out of the cheap trinkets, gadgets, and goodies that we all look for on vacation (well, look for, make fun of….pick your poison).

Anyway, looks like vendors selling offensive souvenirs will be charged up to 500 euro ($713!!!) now.

Sad.

Diary of a Traveling Friend: Tuscany

Published on March 7, 2011 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

Welcome my friend Amy, who just returned from a well-deserved trip to Italy.

Thanks for the post, darling!

I just got back from a five-day trip to Florence, and one of my favorite parts was a day trip to Tuscany. I booked the trip (Tuscany in One Day Sightseeing Tour) through Viator, and the tour guide, Becky, was awesome. We left Florence at about 8:30am and drove through the countryside.

Our first stop was in Siena, a beautiful medieval town. We walked through the town, first stopping to see the Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the oldest surviving bank in the world. We also ventured through the Siena Duomo, where four statues are attributed to Michelangelo. We also saw the Piazza del Campo, which our tour guide told us is the third most beautiful square in the world. (Piazza San Marco in Venice is supposed to be the second most beautiful, and I can’t remember what No. 1 is!) We got a bit of free time to walk around the city, and I bought a beautiful cutting board made of olive wood and some homemade doughnuts. Yum!

We then drove to an organic farm and vineyard called Poggio Alloro, in San Gimignano, another small Tuscan town. We did a wine tasting of four wines and had an amazing lunch of homemade pasta, cheeses, and salads. The food was so fresh, and we had a typical Tuscan dessert (almond biscotti dipped in dessert wine). After lunch, we drove to the town of San Gimignano and had some free time to walk around and view the amazing scenery.

Our last stop was Pisa, which is much more touristy than the other towns—but it was so much fun to see the Leaning Tower. All in all, the day was filled with great scenery and great food. I definitely recommend taking this tour if you have an extra day in Florence!

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (the oldest surviving bank in the world)

michelangelo statue — Michelangelo statue

It’s Almost Valentine’s Day—Are You Looking For Love?

Published on January 31, 2011January 31, 2011 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

If you are, these 10 cities are the World’s Most Romantic Cities, according to Frommer’s. There’s Paris, of course, and Florence, but a few of the others surprised me. Jaipur, India, and Bruges, Belgium? Really? Isn’t there a whole movie that basically centers around the idea that Bruges is boring?

Maybe not. If Frommer’s says it’s romantic, I’m sure there must be something romantic about it.

Also exciting? Sydney, Australia made the list. What didn’t make the list? Any city at all in the U.S. Ha.

As for my romantic Valentine’s day, I realized a few nights ago that this will be mine and Chris’s first Valentine’s day in four years in New York City.

For our first Valentine’s day, Chris was living here.

For our second Valentine’s day, we were here.

Last year, Chris was here.

So this will definitely be the first holiday in good ole’ NYC. Wonder where the night will find us.

Bis bald, friends! Where’s the most romantic city you’ve ever visited?

Photo via

I’m taking Italian—and man, it’s hard!

Published on January 28, 2011 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

At the ripe old age of 27, I’ve decided it’s time to embrace my heritage—my Italian heritage, that is. After an eye-opening trip to visit my Italian family in Melbourne last year, I realized how much a part that culture is in their every day lives, and I desperately want that. In fact, while we were there last Christmas, another of my grandfather’s sisters who still lives in Italy called. It would have been amazing to have been able to actually speak with her—but alas, she spoke no English, and my Italian was limited to ciao and grazie. Not very scintillating conversation.

Now I know—I will probably never, ever be able to speak fluent Italian (actually, according to my (adorable) Italian grandmother, if I don’t speak it every day I’ll just end up forgetting everything I learn anyway. Thanks nonna.) But I’m undeterred. It’s something I threw on my bucket list years ago, and so when the Groupon landed in my inbox offering five lessons for a pretty good price, I took the bait.

Yes, I know—five lessons isn’t much. I’ll probably end up signing on for more at the end of these five weeks. But last night was my first two-hour session at the Rennert school (which just happens to be conveniently located across the street from my work. Seriously, it was meant to be), and it was pretty intense, but exciting. With only six students in the class (all girls, very interesting), I really feel like I could learn a lot in 10 hours. Luca, our teacher, seems to have the patience of a saint, so that’s always helpful as well.

I’m off to Brooklyn to dog sit again this weekend, which I always enjoy, and I’ve brought along my Italian homework as well. I’ll keep you updated as to my progress, and maybe (just maybe!) I’ll have an Italian-written post some time in my near future (it’s always good to shoot for the stars).

Bis bald my friends (and arrivedercci!)

In the News: Is Ancient Rome a Thing of the Past?

Published on July 10, 2010 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

100_6279 — What would Rome be without the ancient ruins?

As a person who has just recently arrived back in the United States after a trip abroad to the fantastic, magical ancient city of Rome, this recent article in the New York Times really struck a nerve with me.

“As Rome Modernizes, Its past Quietly Crumbles,” the article boldly pronounces in its title. Excuse me? What now? I was just there, I thought when I first saw this. I never want Rome’s past to quietly crumble. There are still far too many people out there who have yet to make the trek to this place that is unlike any other, still so many people who have yet to be changed by said trip, like I was.

According to the piece, collapses this past spring at ancient sites have caused archaeologists to warn about other “imminent calamities” that threaten Rome’s architectural birthright.

Unfortunately disasters like that— the natural degradation of architecture that has lasted for hundreds of years—seems unavoidable, if we are to keep these structures untouched by modern ways of preservation.

But there’s also the little problem of certain people who feel that Rome would be best served with upgrades, like modern art museums, and spruces to make the city appear more “presentable” for a potential bid as the site for the 2020 Olympics.

It’s all a bit much to comprehend. In my own humble opinion (you know, as a traveler, and not someone who has any more specific ties to Rome than that), Rome is perfect as is—sans modern museums and spruces. I love the fact that there is hardly a subway system in place in Rome for the simple fact that the Romans want to preserve their underground integrity and the “city” that lay beneath the streets. What a novel idea.

All I can say, really, is that if Rome is to advance towards a more modern age, I’m certainly happy that I had a chance to see it in all its current splendor.

Installment Four: An Unplanned Day 2 in Rome

Published on June 8, 2010June 9, 2010 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

Last Friday Steph and I started our day off with a blank slate.

Or, it was a blank slate in the fact that we didn’t have a tour planned or meals that would be fed to us at their specifically designated times. Other than that I had my map, and my list of suggested places to eat from my co-worker, and my own list of all the places we hadn’t hit yet on our tour from the previous day that I had decided we absolutely had to see before we left.

So I suppose it wasn’t totally blank.

100_6306 — Happiness is a new, gorgeous city with nothing but a map, yum food and all the time in the world.

Continue reading “Installment Four: An Unplanned Day 2 in Rome” →

Installment Three: When in Rome, day 1

Published on June 6, 2010June 9, 2010 by Cheryl Lock5 Comments

100_6460 — A little Italian countryside on the train from Rome to Florence

Last Thursday, at around 11 p.m., Steph and I had made it to our final European destination—romantic, wonderful, beautiful Rome, and as tired (and sweaty and dirty) as we were, we were really excited to be there.

So remember that backpack that I mentioned back in Paris? The one that had all the travel documents in it? It also had detailed directions of which train to take from the airport into Rome, and walking directions from the Termini to our hotel, hotel Le Petit, which was only about an alleged 7 minute walk.

But the thing was, had our flight left on time, we were supposed to have arrived in Rome around 7:30 instead of 11 p.m., which would have made it a bit less sketchy for us to fumble our way around a foreign country, and find our way from the train station to our hotel (I can now tell you, having lived through this trip already, that it’s laughable how close our hotel was to the train station. Make a right, walk five minutes, make another right and you literally walk right into the train station. But at 11:30 p.m. on Thursday, after picking up our luggage, we had no way of knowing how easy it would be).

So as we entered the main part of the airport (no customs, no luggage check, no passport stamp. What’s up, Italy?!), I started to wonder if taking the train was really the best idea, still (despite my detailed notes….thanks to you, Chris!).

Turns out, I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it before we were approached.

“Need a ride?” a man with a thick Italian accent approach myself and my sister.

Continue reading “Installment Three: When in Rome, day 1” →

Last Minute Touches on a European Adventure

Published on May 21, 2010 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

My sister and I finally set off into the sunset on our Euro-Adventure this Sunday—although I feel like we should have been there and back about a thousand times already, with all the planning.

From back in February, when we really started searching for flights and hotel reviews and travel plans, our itinerary has morphed into something that we’re pretty happy with—but planning certainly didn’t come without its stresses.

Continue reading “Last Minute Touches on a European Adventure” →

We’re Almost There!

Published on February 14, 2010September 15, 2010 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

Let this be a lesson to you ladies and gentlemen, have your ducks in a row before you sit down to plan your trip, or else it will DRIVE YOU CRAZY!

On this Valentines day, as my boyfriend traipses around Japan with his best friend, I’m sitting at my mom’s house planning out my trip to London and Italy with my sister for her graduation. Let me tell you- this is not easy. First, there’s the timing aspect. It has to be after graduation (and possibly after a graduation party to pay for it), but before she starts grad school in the fall. All of these factors combined leaves us with only a short time period to plan the trip, which also, unfortunately, happens to coincide with the most expensive time to travel to Europe- the summer.

After a lot of back-and-forth (will we stay with a friend in London for a few days? Will it be too expensive to book two separate tickets from two separate places? Will a hostel really be that much cheaper than a hotel (that answer might surprise you)). After all of this back-and-forth, I think we have a plan we can get on board with (and, hopefully, afford). It goes a little something like this:

Fly into London, stay with friend for a few nights
Book a cheap(ish) sleeper train that will take us from London to Rome (with a short stop-over in Paris, which I see as a plus, my sister is on the fence about it)
Stay at a cheap(ish) hote that got decent reviews and apparently is in a decent area of Rome to get to sites and such (NOT a hostel, surprisingly. This hotel is actually cheaper than the decent/safe hostels we were looking at, and we get our own room. I guess we’ll have to let you know how it works out when we come back).
Book a couple of day trips around Italy
Fly out of Rome back to NYC

Overall, I think it will work. This is my sister’s first trip like this, certainly her first out of the country, and it’s our first alone together. So, I think it’s safe to say we’re still in the midst of figuring out our ‘travel relationship,’ but we’re coming along quite nicely. And soon, my friends (after we actually book this trip!), we’ll be here:

And here:

So, my friends, until we actually book the flight…bis bald…see you soon!

P.S. Does this intimidate anyone else?!

I mean, I thought the New York City subway map was scary, but this is what Chris had to deal with for his trip from the first airport to his hostel in Tokyo before he boards his second flight to where his friends live. Can’t wait for that update!