So, how did I take all of those photos if I was traveling solo?
I love to get great photos when traveling, but I am a little awkward and hate asking others to take my photo. A great solution? Make a friend on the tour and ask them to snap pictures of you when they want pictures of themselves. Or, you can be a bit more on the adventurous side and follow in my footsteps. I brought a small tripod the size of my hand on my trip and headed out early in the mornings to get the best photos when nobody else was around! But, this does take some dedication. You'll need to be up around 5AM to be one of the only people snapping photos, but the result is amazing!
What should you do with all the random postcards you brought home?
If you want an inexpensive way to remember your trip, a great way is to buy postcards from the different places you visit. I bought around 3-5 postcards in each city, and bought inexpensive frames online in different sizes - then I created a gallery wall showcasing all of my beautiful images from Italy!
What do I do with all the random business cards I collected from restaurants?
I likely collected over 20 business cards from the amazing places I went to eat while in Italy. They are free, fun to look at and showcase the amazing places you went to eat so you can make your way back someday! While I am still working on piecing together the cards from my trip to Italy (pictured on the left), my inspiration is from a trip my partner took a few years ago to Barcelona and Italy (pictured on the right). We have beautiful laminated placemats sitting on our kitchen table showcasing the cool places he ate at and visited on his trip. Now I just need to get around to getting mine laminated!
Need a few more words to convince you to take a Rick Steves tour?
A tour can be nerve wracking. What if you don't get along with someone or feel alone? What if there is nobody close to your age or has similar interests? Well, if you go on a Rick Steves tour, you already have one huge thing in common - you are looking for the experience of a lifetime in a beautiful place. I would recommend anyone who is interested in travel, history and culture - to take a Rick Steves tour. The great hotels, itinerary, free time, local guides, transportation and small group of amazing people are just a few of the things that make Rick Steves tours incredible - and I am positive that Venice, Florence and Rome in 10 Days will have been the first of many Rick Steves tours I plan to take!