Preface:. when my husband passed away last year, my younger daughter’s family wanted to complete anything left on my bucket list. Our plans for a Mother/Daughter trip to Europe sometime in the next five years were suddenly moved up to this year. She has young elementary age children so could only be gone 10 days total. I, of course, wanted to stay longer, so I planned to arrive ahead of time in case of any delays from my flights (which actually happened.)
Expenses: I covered the hotel expenses; otherwise we split everything equally. I used the Splitwise free app on a previous trip, and it worked well for us here. We traded off occasionally who was paying for meals and when it was lopsided on the app, we’d switch to the other person. We both had the Trenitalia app to purchase Regionale tickets when needed.
She was on-board for my two stipulations - packing carry on, only, and wearing a money belt. She successfully packed light and was able to bring back souvenirs, including a jacket from Milan. My daughter is a great travel partner. We discussed ahead of time that if either of us needed a breather, we could just request it with no hard feelings. She never threw me out - LOL! I did give her the room to herself, when possible, to enjoy her FaceTime with her family by herself. We found out on our departure day that when you put two organized early-birds together, you might show up ridiculously early to the airport! We had plenty of time to wait for lines to even open up.
Obviously I was excited when she chose Italy. Our itinerary was planned after discussing numerous options that could fit into a week. She wanted to see Venice - great choice! That starting point helped narrow our choices. Because of time constraints, we chose cities I knew & direct trains for almost all moves to simplify our precious time together. Our itinerary together was: Venice - 3, Verona - 2, Bergamo Citta Alta - 1, Milan - 1, moved our last evening to Malpensa hotel - 1.
On the other hand, I purposely chose some new cities for the two weeks leading up to our meet up in Venice as a nice contrast. Very “un-Jean-like” behavior was leaving itineraries in those cities to serendipitous moments. The only reservation in the four new cities was a Balsamic Vinegar Lunch & Cellar tour outside Modena. I also happily added a festival! This time it was the Asti Palio! My planned itinerary for the two weeks prior to my daughter’s arrival: Stresa - 3, Pavia - 2, Torino - 3, Asti - 2, Piacenza - 2, Modena - 2, Ferrara - 1. The cities new to me were Pavia, Asti, Piacenza & Modena.
My only purchases to get ready for this trip were just replacements for three travel favorites:
My navy Royal Robbins Women's Spotless Traveler Tank Dress has been through many European trips. I accessorize it with a scarf or necklace. I spotted the same dress in a few patterns at the mall near my sister’s home in Iowa - so excited to see it in a store & purchased the muted forest pattern of charcoal shades. This was the true workhorse of my clothing on this trip! I wore it 14 of the 21 days! Sink washed & dries in a few hours, it was extremely comfortable on the muggy weather days yet nice looking for any activity. I bought an inexpensive silver necklace for it in Torino.
Another replacement of a favorite standard was a new pair of Keen Rose style black sandals. If you saw photos from my trips for the last ten years, you’d think I was wearing the same pair of shoes although this is my fourth pair! They are my “Go To” for trips & warm weather months at home - always comfortable & protects my toes.
I also bought a replacement RS silk money belt when I was in Edmonds in July for a SketchFest. Yes, I always wear one when outside the hotel.