Exploring In Italy

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a travel addict. There is nothing quite like the thrill of traveling to a new destination and experiencing something totally different! This past week I had the opportunity to fly to Rome and tour Italy. It was an amazing experience and definitely a trip of a lifetime.

My week started out in Rome, Italy, After flying into Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Fiumicino, a suburb of Rome, I quickly made my way up to Rome to check into my Airbnb and take a quick nap. It’s really important to take care of your body as much as possible when traveling, especially after flying for 15 hours! After resting up for a bit, it was time to explore!

I only had a couple of days in each city before moving on to the next one so my days were packed with activities. If you can name an attraction in Rome, I saw it! From the Vatican, to the Trevi Fountain, to the Colosseum, I saw it all! Rome Colosseum

Traveling with Chronic Disease can really take a toll on your body, especially when your days are long and packed with adventure. In order to combat fatigue and to make sure my body was being taken care of, I made sure to buy and drink lots of water whenever possible, ensure I was still taking all of  my medications and supplements and at the right times, and to make sure I ate as healthy as possible. Doing these relatively small things helped make sure my trip went as smoothly as possible!

After finishing in Rome, I took a high speed train to Venice. After exploring Venice it now makes sense to me why Marco Polo grew up to be an explorer! Venice is a beautiful city that is an absolute maze! Even the most savvy travelers get lost in Venice. Highlights of Venice included exploring the city by motorboat and visiting St. Mark’s Square. Venice is a city that everybody should visit at least once in their lifetime.Venice

Florence was the next city I visited by taking high speed train. Italy has an amazing network of high speed trains that are extremely easy and convenient to travel by. Florence in my opinion is the ‘hipster’ city of Italy. Florence is world-renowned for artwork and history. Visiting the Duomo and climbing the bell tower was a great way to get exercise and an amazing view of Florence!View of Florence

After Florence I made my way to Pisa again via high speed train. The train to Pisa is a quick 45 minute ride. I was so exhausted from exploring and jet lag, that I instantly fell asleep as soon as I sat down for the train ride. My nap was much needed, as I was able to actually go inside the Leaning Tower of Pisa and climb to the top! This was such a cool experience as the marble floors are worn from years of use, and you can really feel the tower lean as you climb to the top!Leaning Tower of Pisa

Naples was my next destination after visiting Pisa. I took a Frecciarossa high speed train that went 180 mph and got me to Naples in about three hours. Naples is a stunning coastal city that is close to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast, both of which I was able to visit. It’s a little bit eerie and somber visiting the ruins at Pompeii. The Amalfi Coast which includes Positano, Sorrento, and Amalfi, to name a few cities, is absolutely beautiful! Positano

Sadly, it was time for me to return to Fiumicino for my flight home. I took another high speed train and arrived back in Fiumicino in about an hour. I’m a huge beach lover so of course I had to visit Ostia Beach. Unfortunately, it was still a little too cold to really enjoy the beach, but it was still fun to walk along the shore and listen to artists playing music on the pier. Ostia Beach

My flight home was definitely challenging. My first flight departing Rome was delayed due to a late crew member and a late incoming flight. Consequently my flight was delayed about an hour. This delay made me miss my connecting flight in Dulles Airport in Washington DC. If you haven’t seen the news, United and Delta had hundreds of cancelled flights and delays this past weekend which resulted in there being no available flights home. Instead of arriving home Friday night, United wanted to fly me home Sunday evening. I’ll share another blog piece on how I was able to get a flight home on Friday instead of Sunday.

Overall, I had an amazing experience exploring Italy. Italy is such a vibrant country with a rich history. If you get the opportunity you definitely need to check it out!

Author: Dylan B Nelson

After being diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, Avascular Necrosis, Enteropathic Arthritis, and an Atrial Septal Defect, Dylan like so many other people with chronic conditions struggled to manage his health. Being frustrated with the current solutions, Dylan helped create mediswarm.com, a social health network where it's easy to meet other people with the same conditions. Users can ask questions and get real answers, see top solutions for their conditions, and get support from a community of people just like them. Dylan's ultimate goal for MEDI+SWARM is that it can become a resource for individuals who have chronic health conditions to get the help they need and to help improve their overall health outcomes.

30 thoughts on “Exploring In Italy”

  2. such a great post and awesome pictures. The post of the late arrival home will be interesting as that is kinda what happened to us. Yes traveling with a chronic condition its very important to make sure all medications are kept up and good food.

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    1. Thanks for the kind comments 🙂 Yes, the flight home was interesting to say the least! It was a crazy weekend for airlines. Yep, having enough medications and eating a well balanced diet is key especially with all of the changes your body is dealing with while you travel! Thanks for your comment 🙂

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    1. Thank you 🙂 Italy is such a beautiful country! Haha you were probably wise to do the three cities in three different trips as we pretty busy to say the least! I’ll have to check out Veronica and Assissi next time I go over! Hope you are doing well 🙂

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  5. IT sounds like you has an amazing time. Delayed flights can be such a pain but, while its tiring, at least it was on the way back and you didn’t miss any time out of your travelling in Italy.

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  8. Oh Dylan, isn’t Italy amazing? Everything about it, the people, the views, the food, the history – what an adventure you had! My hubby wants to go back and live in Positano but I’d move to the Liguria area if I had my wish. Part of my novel was set in Sorrento. So happy for you. One more thing, Rome wasn’t as much of a concrete jungle as I had envisioned. What did you think? It was incredible, so green and lush!!!

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    1. Italy was so amazing! Positano is absolutely stunning, but I’m not sure how I’d handle all of the traffic! Sorrento would make a great place to set a novel. I’ll have to visit the Liguria area next time I’m there! Yes! The outskirts of Rome were so green and lush! It totally wasn’t what I was expecting! Italy is definitely a must visit country 🙂 Such an amazing experience!

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      1. Yes, PLEASE let me know what you think if you ever do go to the Liguria/Genoa area, Dylan. 🙂 (It’d be great to have a valued outside opinion regarding livability, cost of living, crime, friendliness of people etc.) Sigh, if we ever moved again it wouldn’t be for a few years and who knows what the world will look like again. Perhaps they’ll be a place that looks like it in Heaven!

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      2. I’m planning on it! The Genoa area looks so beautiful! My opinion comes more from the tourist viewpoint so I’m not sure how much weight you can put on my opinion. It’d sure be nice to live in a place that looked like heaven–maybe Southwest Florida? 😉

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      3. So True! Lived in the Ft. Myers/ Naples area, Tampa and Orlando too. Love the Lake County area of central Florida also for its rolling hills and greenery. My handsome hubby and I enjoy traveling as much as you do, been to 39 countries and islands an 49 States. Got a lot of gypsy in our souls I guess. Take care my friend. Thanks for the input.

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      4. That’s my favorite area of Florida 🙂 I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! I love traveling and exploring new places so I definitely relate to you! You’ll have to let me know your favorite places to go 🙂 hope you are well!

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      6. Next time I’m in the area I’ll have to let you know! I’m horrible at golf but it is sure fun to play 🙂 I’ll probably stick to the football and rock and hall 🙂 stay awesome 🙂

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  11. This was such a wonderful post, it’s inspiring to see bloggers like you travelling and doing things which are just plain awesome-so many people lose faith due to such small matters and here we have you, an inspiration to look up to. Keep on writing, keep on blogging because the world needs less rants and complains and a little more of Dylan B Nelson!

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