Traveling is always an adventure, literally and figuratively. There is self discovery that always happens, and usually enlightenment to follow. Growing up a motto stuck with me which was ‘Knowledge is Power’ and this is pure truth. As I’m growing and experiencing(and gaining knowledge) it’s very apparent that it’s always better to talk about things you know, and listen to those who talk about things you don’t.

On that note, here are 10 things I learned on my trip to Italy in 2018(no order in specific)!

1. How to live out of my suitcase when going to a different hotel every day – it can be easy, but make sure you have plenty of space for dirty laundry!

2. ‘Legs’ in a wine glass demonstrate the amount of alcohol content in the wine(difference between a 12% wine and a 14% wine) amongst other things, but we’ll get into wine posts on CaptivEATing

3. You can drive 140km/h safely on the autostrada – there are auto ticketing radars but, everyone’s going faster than you at 130kmph so more than likely you’ll be fine

4. Italians think I look like J.Lo

5. Make sure that no matter what, you ask if your living quarters have AC (!!!!!) – I can’t stress this enough, make sure you know exactly what kind of living situation you’ll be in before you get to your destination. Do you have AC? Do you have a kitchen? Do you have a shower? It may seem like all of these things would be listed but, sometimes they’re not! Just ask and there won’t be any surprises.

6. You can easily get lost driving 2 miles through the hills of Tuscany

7. Burrata is still my favorite of all time

8. The Alps are one of the most magnificent sights, even from the road

9. Traveling with strangers (in this case, being in a new place with new people for a solid 9 days) will open your heart and bring you to a new place, internally – one of the best things in life is sharing and learning from those around you. My dad used to say if you learn ONE thing a day, you’ve had a good day. I spent 9 days listening and partaking in French, Italian and German languages which all come kind of easily to me because of Spanish, however, languages require brain power, mine was tired after every day but it was beautiful being in touch with that part of my senses/brainwaves!

10. You can make progress with whatever you want if you really want to (speaking languages, for instance) – put your mind to it, you can do it.

Listen, absorb, learn, take it all in, be in the moment, be grateful, and live it up my friends!!!