Un Giro D’Italia, Per Favore

Malta - Italy 2024

I've been enjoying my time in Malta this month. Aside from a trip and fall outside my flat that landed my shoulder in a stone wall, I'm having a great time. (I wouldn't be me if I didn't fall at least once a country.) I haven't yet seen all the sights, but I'll get there. I'll have no choice; my sister is coming to visit. That's her on the right. Yes, we look alike. We're sisters. Anyhoo...she'll get me off my ass and hitting the (quite steep) pavement from the moment she lands.

We have some rather big plans coming up. After 5 days here in Malta, we'll depart this adorable little apartment early as we head to Sicily, where we'll begin our "tour of Italy". Catania and Palermo up first. We're renting a cute little car and will be taking a road trip through the country. We'll load the car onto the ferry to the mainland and will follow a roughly planned itinerary to the key cities we want to visit. Salerno, Naples, Rome, Perugia, Florence, Bologna and Venice. What a dream. Although she keeps sending me reels on Instagram of additional places, so who knows how long we'll be there. I have to remind her that I'm not on vacation, this is my life now.

After wining and dining, walking and talking, laughing, and maybe even some dancing, we'll depart at Venice and head to my next destination of Dubrovnik, Croatia. The plan is for her to spend a week with me there, too. All in all, a great few weeks. Mary and I are a lot alike in some ways, quite different in others. But one thing is for sure, we both know how to have a good time.

I share this to emphasize a point (or two). Don't be afraid to be spontaneous or change your plans along the way. If you do, you'll miss out on some amazing things. And wouldn't that be a terrible shame? Also, get out there and live your lives. Take the trips. Eat the foods. Meet the people. Sing, laugh, dance, love! What good is this one wild and precious life if you're not going to actually live it?