Lake Como. A place that even my friends that have a fierce “been there, done that” attitude have proclaimed that they would gladly revisit someday. It’s a destination that couldn’t be more photogenic and succeeded at taking my breath away at every angle. I see why George Clooney likes it.

Even the train ride into the tiny town of Lierna, our Airbnb location, offered up incredible views, serving as both a means to get us excited for the upcoming weekend while also distracting us from the sweltering hot train cabin we were all crammed into.

The weekend wasn’t perfect because we saw all the sites the guide books insisted we must visit; the weekend was perfect because besides a short hike and eating a ton of great lake food, we didn’t really do much.

My favorite day was Easter Sunday where we spent much of the morning and afternoon soaking up the sun on Lierna’s pebble beach, taking a dip in the icy cold lake water whenever the heat became too much. We then had a great Easter dinner at a local restaurant, followed by a game night with friends.

Unlike a lot of places we’ve visited over the past eight months where we try to cram in as many sites as possible, we really just forgot about planning and enjoyed our surroundings in Lake Como. Perhaps it’s because we knew that we would return someday.

A three-hour walking tour of the communist history of Bucharest was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. Admittedly, I was pretty ignorant of Romanian history before visiting it’s capital city but I was completely enthralled throughout our tour.

We visited some spectacular sights but our guide also wasn’t afraid to show us some of the rougher parts of Bucharest, underscoring how much communism affects the country almost 30 years after its fall. I can’t recommend our tour guide, Marius, enough and you can check out his blog here.

It’s hard to believe that it’s already been two whole months since Evan and I last traveled outside of Italy (when we took a train to Vienna), and I’m excited to announce that we will be headed to yet another new country tomorrow. This country has kind of gone under my radar but after reading up on it a bit, I’m really looking forward to exploring this hipster paradise (I mean, check out that bookstore).

Unfortunately, this will be our last big trip together before I move back to the U.S. in May, which makes it even more special. We’re headed to one of the most affordable capitals in Europe, also known as the “Paris of the East”. Any guesses?

Image via poppylovesbookclub. 

Almost 40 meters below Napoli lies the historic underground, which was first excavated by the Greeks for water storage in the fourth century BC. These cisterns have provided water first for the Greeks, then for the Romans for an estimated 23 centuries.

For a mere €10, we were guided through these winding tunnels, an area that I admittedly had no idea existed before our trip. Most of the tour was relatively well-lit (except for the section where Evan accidentally stepped into an ankle-deep puddle), but my favorite part was when we were led by candlelight through a pitch-dark passageway, so narrow in places that I had to turn to the side just to squeeze through.

These ancient tunnels were used as bomb shelters during World War II and now serve as a greenhouse for a nearby restaurant, providing an environment that is much purer than the city above. Clearly, the value of this space didn’t end with the Roman times and it should be interesting to see how its use evolves in the future.

*Image via Naples Underground, the company that provided our tour. 

Most people know Napoli as the gateway to Capri and the Amalfi Coast, a trash-filled and overcrowded city, a place where you should closely guard your wallet. While these stereotypes are true to some degree, Italy’s third largest city also has so much more to offer.

When I first learned that we’d be moving to Italy, I knew that a trip to Napoli had to happen at some point during our nine months here. My grandpa’s family on my mom’s side is originally from Napoli (the details are a little fuzzy but we know they were leather glove makers) so I was determined to explore this city of my ancestors.

I’ve heard from several people that Napoli is dangerous, dirty, loud, and simply not worth the visit. Napoli is known by most people as “that place where they stole my friend’s wallet”. Although I would still encourage you to keep a close watch on your belongings while in Napoli (as you should in large cities throughout the world), there’s really no reason to avoid this culturally-rich and historical place. Here are my top three reasons to visit the city:

1. The food: Seafood, pasta, sweets (sfogliatella is incredible), cheese, and… oh yeah, Napoli is the birthplace of pizza – that’s reason alone to visit in my book.
2. The people-watching: We witnessed aggressive car honking, multiple children on a single Vespa speeding down the sidewalk, and a massive crowd taking part in a taxi strike. And that was just within the first hour of being in Napoli. One of my favorite moments was sitting at an outdoor cafe table and watching the city’s colorful people pass by.
3. The history: It is believed that the Greeks founded Napoli somewhere around the 7th century BC. I was overwhelmed by the amount of history thrown at me during our tour of underground Napoli, in which we saw the Greek-Roman aqueduct that is 40 meters below ground and the remains of an ancient Roman theater, plus so much more.