After the Taylor Swift extravaganza in Paris, I had a quiet solo week in Florence
It had been 15 years since I set foot in this magical historical treasure and when I last came, it was before I had a smartphone.
How did we get around? Paper maps.
How did we know where to eat? Personal recs.
How did we take pictures? With an actual camera.
I was certainly going to take pictures and certainly share them but also, not spend all my time curating the perfect IG-able library. I didn't really care if I looked perfect or made up or my body looked good or my hair looked right in the photos.
For me, first and foremost --when I stepped on the plane to head to Europe, I told myself I wanted to remember what I saw firsthand through my eyes and via what I felt in my cells, not secondhand through a camera lens or a social media post.
After all, travel is for me. Not anyone else. While I love sharing about it later, there’s nothing to prove, show, or tell.
Particular highlights included:
Soaking in the Roman baths
Climbing up along cascading fountains to overlook the city
Tapping into my inner Vivian Ward in Valentino and walking away with some amazing delights
Four course Italian dinners
Planting my feet in the grass and feeling the rhythms of the earth especially when surrounded by stone walls and streets as old as multiple millenia
Catching the most magical sunsets / rainbows, nightly opera, and live strings from my flat overlooking the Arno
Walking down streets filled with the smell of Italian leather
Stumbling upon the cutest Italian version of a Little Free Library
Watching the rowers scull on the river all day
Eating a picnic of strawberry pancakes from a perch high above the city, surrounded by ancient fountains
The public Iris and Rose Gardens with the nicest volunteers giving me a free poster
On this leg of my trip I went into zero museums or churches. I stood in zero lines. Nothing against anyone doing this (I love seeing beautiful historic places!) -- it just wasn't for me on this part of the trip.
I shopped at the grocery store. I had slow breakfasts with my journal at home. I read a book. I wandered. I put my feet in the grass. I went to bed by 9 pm.
I needed this reminder as it has taken me a long time to practice DEPTH, not breadth, while on holiday. No longer do I pack my days top to bottom with must see’s.
Still — despite fully living this practice, sometimes my brain screams “do more!” and "What will people say when you tell them you have been to Florence twice and still didn't see the David!?"-- and my belly is filled with restless angst and I find myself wondering "well, SHOULD I go?"
But just as the “no shoulds” rule applies to everyday life, it also applies when you’re on vacation.
You get to do + be in whatever rhythm suits you.
Even when you’ve traveled far & spent lots of money to get there. Even when "this is a once in a lifetime" opportunity knocks at the door.
You'll be surprised. You might get to come back another time. Or maybe it's just not aligned for you in that moment.
Bottomline -- You can be as dull and boring or action packed as you desire. You can check off the things on the proverbial societal bucket list, or you can remove yourself from being chained to the checkboxes.
But do yourself a favor — do you. Be you. For you. For your heart. Not for the ‘gram or for show and tell or because your friends, family, or TripAdvisor say you should. There is no right way to "vacation."
PS If you find yourself obsessing over posing for and wanting to take a billion perfectly aesthetic photos "for business/branding" -- AND at the same time you also write and brag about how you're SOOOO good at boundaries, unplugging, and letting your business run on autopilot while you're gone, perhaps it's time to examine your relationship with the word "unplug."
There is nothing wrong with not unplugging while on vacation, and there is also nothing wrong with wanting to look good in front of a beautiful place and share that beauty with the world -- yes even as part of your business or marketing.
But I'd be curious how beholden you feel that you MUST do either -- tell yourself (and others) you're not working because that's the type of lifestyle you are trying to sell (when you actually aren't living it yourself), or "take photos for your business" when it means you are preoccupied with that instead of fully and richly enjoying yourself.
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