As a student studying in Italy it was expected that I would travel. And I have. I’ve gone to Paris, visited many Italian cities through the school, and over Christmas break I hit five different countries in three weeks. But as with anywhere and any routine, it is easy to fall into a slump, get comfortable in the day to day grind. Because of my personality I find that I fall into slumps more often than not, especially after traveling for weeks on end with other people.
So this trip to Bari was rather unexpected, which are the best types of trips. On Wednesday I was talking to a classmate and she expressed a wish to go somewhere that weekend. I told her to look at Skyscanner and mentioned that Bari had cheap fare, being in southern Italy. She decided she would go and booked her ticket. Later, at dinner, she came up to me and whispered, “Come to Bari with me.” I was slightly hesitant to say yes because of the short warning, but I wanted to go: I was getting restless but didn’t know what to do or where to go. After about ten minutes of deliberation I agreed to go, and booked my tickets after dinner. We left on Friday.
After the usual airport stress and checking in and flights and layovers, we arrived around 5:30, a brooding sky over the south east sea. We found the AirBnB with the help of the host, he showed us around, then left us to ourselves.
The weekend passed quickly, as all weekends seem to do, and before long it was Sunday morning, and we were headed back to the airport. More drama occurred there due to a missed train, but we made it to the gate with time to spare and touched down in Florence that evening after the usual routine of flying, layovers, flying again.
It was such a trip as was spent doing nothing extraordinary. There wasn’t much by way of entertainment aside from walking in Bari, being the off season and cold; but my friend and I had a wonderful time just wandering the streets and getting lost. Bari is significantly smaller than one would think and in three hours we had traversed much of the town north of a bridge. We could have taken a train to somewhere in the vicinity, but we were content with following the whims of adventure.
To speak candidly it seems that few people appreciate the spontaneous. We fear the unknown, what could happen. The what-if’s scare us into a routine to be broken only when hours of planning has gone into the breach of the norm. After that weekend I am more inclined to go on random adventures that spring up out of the blue. The weekend following I booked a flight to London on a whim to see my brother on his way to Africa with our grandparents (but that is a story for another time).
My trip to Bari wasn’t so much a trip to see anything specific. It was an experience that I got to share with a friend, and the spontaneity made it all the better, even if it was cold and misty.
With three months left in Italy, and two major breaks and so many weekends in between, I hope and look forward to those trips that spring up out of the blue. I know for a fact that most of my remaining trips will be planned farther in advance, but I still can't wait to see what crops up, spur of the moment. Sometimes the best adventures begin when one steps out the door. Carpe Diem, as they say. Seize the moment, and I can assure you, it is a rare occasion that such trips that pop up unexpectedly are to be regretted.
