Contiki - Rome to Barcelona by Train

Dec 01, 2019

One of the best weeks of my life.

Watch the video recap here.

There are a lot of things I am grateful for; this Thanksgiving and every other day of the year. At the top of the list you'll almost always find a bunch of extraordinary people that stumbled into my life, the community I am surrounded by, or, simply put, my friends and family.

When I was in primary school, I had a little notebook which I'd pass around to anyone and everyone around me with the request of filling one page with a poem or any sort of words of wisdom (mind you, I was 7 years young).

My dad wrote, to love and to be loved is the greatest luck on earth.

Oh boy, isn't that the truth?!

When Contiki invited me at the very last minute on this Mediterranean train journey, I was hesitant to say yes at first. The truth is, I had no clue who any of these other creatives were and I wasn't sure whether I was ready to dive into the deep end.

Even though that's what I do ALL THE TIME?!

I was tired from a year of hectic travel and a bunch of personal up and downs. What's new, I know. But you get the point, I just wasn't sure whether I could open myself up and embark on this journey with nothing but an open heart, no expectations, no nothing. You know these three little words I live by, you've heard them before.

Appreciation over expectation.

Well, I listened to them and it was one of the best decisions of my career.

The group of people I got to jump on and off trains right throughout Italy and France with turned out to be some of the most kindhearted, extraordinary, creative and hilarious humans I've ever worked alongside.

We worked sunrise to sunset and beyond, but we didn't forget how to have a good time in-between. Add up the best Italian pasta, daily late night gelato runs [lemon sorbet + dark chocolate is the best combo, trust me], magical sunrises over the Colosseum, boat rides into Cinque Terre and a looot of deep and meaningful chat; and you've got yourself a pretty perfect Contiki adventure, sincere friendships ensue.

Personally, I have never much taken a liking in pre planned group travel; often associating it with frantic schedules, a ton of time on big buses mashed with a lack of free time.

This Contiki Rome to Barcelona by Train changed my mind. The train travel is super comfortable, much better for the environment and the locations are perfectly suited to travel photography. I hands down would recommend this trip to all of you.

Finally, if you do decide to take a leap of faith just like I did and jump aboard this adventure, follow this link below for an amazing 30% off all Contiki trips right now.

The trip is 9 days long, you will be with max 23 other people and you'll stop at 5 incredible places - Rome, La Spezia, Nice, Montpellier, Barcelona - all along the Mediterranean.