Ciao America: My Italian summer begins (sort of)

I should be writing this from Italy but instead, I’m sitting at a table outside of my favorite cafe in Saint Paul.

My flight to Amsterdam was delayed one whole day because of a part needing to be repaired (so honestly I’m grateful, safety first). After much distress and chaos, it was announced that the same flight would go out the next day at the same time, and we would all be rebooked on our connections. I attempted to catch a different flight out—any route that would take me to Rome was fine with me—but there were no options (flights aren’t just fully booked right now, they’re overbooked).

So, I called my Mom (who had dropped me off at the airport five hours earlier) and asked her to come and get me. There’s really nothing like the disappointment of leaving the airport after not catching a flight. I’ve had the possibility before but in normal times (aka not a summer season of revenge travel after a pandemic) I’ve been able to be rerouted the same day. That’s just not always possible now.

I knew there might be issues with getting to Europe—it’s been all over the internet lately. Travel this summer is crazy, so it’s best to have a backup plan. But, I thought my manifestations and positive mindset would mean I was the exception to the rule. Once I got over the disappointment I realized I needed to reframe my mind. Everything happens for a reason, and I truly believe that. I’ll arrive in Roma tomorrow morning instead and all will be well! Plus, I’ll be flying during a full Cancer moon, which feels good haha.

Anyways, I got to have one more dinner with my Mom and sister, sleep in my bed one more time, visit this cafe one more time, walk around my neighborhood one more time, etc. You get the gist haha. I do have a couple friends who won’t be in Rome all summer that I was hoping to catch right when I arrived, but I have plans with both of them later in the summer so I can’t be too mad. Plus, when you’re going for a whole two months, it’s really okay if you’re delayed one day. People all around me were trying to get to cruise ships, meet family members, go to work. Thankfully, I didn’t have any hard deadlines!

Now, as I catch up on a little work and get ready to go to the airport again, I’m trying to maintain a calm and positive state of mind. In less than 24 hours I’ll be in Rome (Rome!!!!) again, so all I feel is extreme gratitude. Plus, I have my airport routine on lock and today I have $30 from Delta to spend before my flight lol.

So, I’ll catch up with you all when I make it to the other side! And if you want to follow along more in the moment, catch me on Instagram. I’m almost always posting stories.