Welcome to Tyler Traveling! Let me tell you a little about me, how I'm about to move to Italy, and what I hope this blog will be!
Hello, and welcome to the very first installment on the Tyler Traveling blog! I’m Tyler and my husband Chris and I are about to move to Vicenza, Italy (thank you US and Italian governments!), which is less than an hour’s drive from Venice in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy. This is somehow our second time living in Italy (again, thank you US and Italian governments!). We previously spent three and a half years living much further south, just outside of Naples (Napoli). Living there was an absolute blast and we made some really fun, wonderful friends! But a great job opportunity for hubs lured us back to the States and we have spent the past 5 years enjoying life in Denver, CO. (We are originally from North Carolina and the majority of both our families are still there, just to give you a little background on us.) However, we immediately missed Italy so, so much and have had the idea in the back of our minds to try to get back over there pretty much ever since we left! It was like, “Oh yum, good Mexican food - finally! Oooooh central a/c is literally magical! But wait, this wine costs HOW much? Ummmmm, I’m sorry, this is NOT buffalo mozzarella! So wait, you’re saying I can’t just drive around someone who isn’t moving when it’s clear to go? Okay, I’m supposed to fly for four hours and still be in the same country, that is so messed up?!” Fortunately, another opportunity came along and we jumped on it as fast as we could. Of course, the pandemic has drug the whole moving process out a LOT longer than we had hoped, but now it’s finally actually happening!
Why a blog though, you may ask. Aren’t there enough bloggers in this world? (I mean, yes there definitely are, but I’m going for it anyway!) The last time we were in Italy I had quite a lot of friends, acquaintances, friends of friends, family, etc. reach out to me with questions about traveling. Most often about Italy specifically, but sometimes about other places they’d seen us travel to via social media. I loved it. Loved. It. I was often over-zealous in my responses. Sending long lists of recommendations on what to do, where to go, how to get around, basic language tips, what not to do, and anything else that came to mind. It occurred to me then that maybe I should start a blog or website of some sort to put all of that information in one easily accessible place. Then maybe intersperse it with anecdotes about daily life in a different country where, as amazing as it certainly was, we also had some trials and tribulations and learned a lot. I even started to build one out but where we lived at the time, which was an absolutely gorgeous setting and had the most stunning views of both the Mediterranean Sea and Roman ruins, also had really, really terrible internet (that was one of the trials!). You literally cannot have it all. So, after many rounds of trying to upload one photo at a time (because a blog is nothing without pictures) and walking away for 45 mins only to come back to errors or it only being 64% uploaded I just pretty much gave up and kept posting iPhone pics to FB via 3G.
When I found out we could possibly go back I was determined to do the damn thing this time around! So I’m starting now, before we even arrive, and crossing all my fingers that the internet is better in whatever home we end up moving into. I plan to use this little spot on the interwebs to share our travel adventures, traveling tips, dispense advice on living abroad, as well as fill you in on my observations of daily life outside of the US. Maybe sometimes I’ll get more personal and maybe I won’t. I’ll just have to feel it out as I go. I’m going to try not to say “journey” too often. I’m probably going to say “like” too much because I like to write how I talk and I definitely say “like” too much for a 40-something year old lady! I also really want to learn Italian this time around. I was super disappointed in myself for never getting past basically an 18 month old’s vocabulary level last time, so I imagine I’ll be sharing my language journey (uh oh, I already did it!) with you as well. There’s always fun to be had with learning a new language. Like last time, when I discovered that I had been wishing everyone a Happy Anus instead of a Happy New Year (ano vs. anno, how was I supposed to know?!)!!
Since we probably won’t be able to get out and start doing any major traveling right way, in addition to sharing the process of actually moving and getting settled, I’m going to write about some of my favorite memories from our previous go-round and as well as some of the times when things didn’t go exactly as planned. Because, let’s face it, those are actually the better stories to tell and also because… balance! It’s not all great and good and wonderful all the time, no matter what beautiful, romantic, historic place you may have the incredible fortune to live in. Speaking of historic, I’m also a huge History Nerd (yes, capitalized) and have already been reading up on the history of the Veneto region that includes both Vicenza and Venice, so you can expect a splash of the past thrown in too, for good measure. It can’t be all Anus jokes all the time, even if they are true!
Well, what better note to end an introductory blog post on than that? (One does not exist.) But I truly hope you’ll follow along and find some value in the experiences I share here, whether it helps or inspires you to plan your own trips or if it’s just to see how many inevitably embarrassing stories I decide to share, I’m here for you. Ciao for now friends!
