First Route: Rome, Italy - With Its Delicious Gastronomy and Culture of Solidarity

If you’d like to listen to the playlist we created, inspired by "Eat, Pray, Love" movie

(including its soundtrack) click here.

I talked about how I left everything behind in my previous post (click here to read). Summoning the courage to set out, fitting a life too vast for a house into a storage unit, and suddenly stepping away from the dreams I had built over the years—none of it was easy. Let me tell you a secret: it didn't get easier later, either.

No matter how much I see myself as a woman of boundless fortune, traveling is never easier than deciding to leave. But that’s not the real problem.

The real problem is expectations.

What was I expecting while turning my life upside down?

If my words inspire you to create the change you desire in your own life, consider this a fair warning: every journey is like life itself.

Just as life is a winding adventure full of highs and lows, so is every journey. Each is unique in its own way. Of course, my days of exploring Rome with a paper map in hand are different from today, when everything is at our fingertips through a smartphone.

Set your expectations clearly from the start—both in life and in your travels. Or, remember the poem by Jessie Belle Rittenhouse:

Expectations are self-fulfilling prophecies.

"Roma non basta una vita"

This article is about my gap year’s first stop: Rome. And as the Italians say, Roma non basta una vita—"A lifetime is not enough for Rome." Four months weren’t enough, either.

The dinners we prepared together around a shared table, the winding streets I got lost in… I fell in love with this city, just as I did with my pizza. And I never hesitated to have a full-blown relationship with it, right in front of you all.

Now that everyone has smartphones and access to guides prepared by locals on platforms like Mindtrip, offering exclusive services and tours for visitors, I won’t underestimate your intelligence by writing an article titled “How to Get to Rome” or “What to Do in Rome.” At least, I've been told that VAGMAG is not that kind of place. However, if you need a starting point, you can check out the free guides VAGMAG has prepared on Mindtrip. You can also receive tour services from our local Vagiés or Flâneurs and Flâneuses living in different cities.

If I were to offer just one piece of advice about Rome, Italy it would be this: walk.

The Italian proverb above, "Solo chi cammina conosce il cammino", meaning "Only those who walk know the way," invites you to set out and explore the place where you find yourself.

You also saw me walking many times in Eat, Pray, Love. As I admired Rome's history and art, I wasn't rushing anywhere. I wasn't caught up in a hustle, and sometimes I didn't even have a specific destination in mind.

VAGMAG's Mindtrip guides mostly focus on how to explore a place by walking. They encourage you to use the most primitive means of transportation, aiming to minimize your carbon footprint and benefit your heart health.

What better way could there be to start searching for myself on this journey than by walking in Rome, Italy?

Without worrying about your muffin top, surrender yourself to the warm embrace of Italian cuisine. You definitely won't regret it.

I say this as your Liz — the one who prefers to wear her watch on her right wrist, values good food, and treasures quality time with loved ones. We all have different priorities in life; these are mine. Nothing more, nothing less.

I don't have any medals in my closet. I can't recall ever being competitive in anything. Discovering the sweetness of doing nothing after those days when I filled my lunch breaks with business meetings, convinced that expanding my network was the best thing for me, was a transformative experience.

I'm Liz, coming from the city I can best describe as "Ambition" or "Slut"—New York. Dolce far niente was something I couldn't even imagine before learning it from my friends in Rome. In New York, stopping meant death; doing nothing meant losing. Traveling, making friends on the other side of the world, not only broadened my perspective but also shattered all my preconceived notions.

Ending this article dedicated to Rome with the Augusteum feels like paying a debt to this city. Remember, a lifetime is not enough for Rome. Of course, one article won't be enough either. I'm sure we'll return to Rome frequently in the future. For now, before reaching the end of this first piece, let me tell you a bit about the Augusteum.

The Augusteum, also known as Mausoleo di Augusto, is a mysterious structure in the heart of Rome, often overlooked by tourists who rush to consume and photograph famous spots, disregarding the locals. It is the mausoleum of Rome's first emperor, Augustus.

The mausoleum's purpose was to be the burial site for Augustus and his family, symbolizing Augustus's power and legacy. In 28 BC, Octavian Augustus built it as his own tomb. Augustus was the founder and one of the most powerful emperors of the Roman Empire. When the barbarians arrived, they destroyed much of it.

How could the great Augustus, the first emperor of Rome, imagine that he would be left as a mere remnant, as Rome and the whole world feared?

In the Middle Ages, someone came and took the emperor's ashes. In the 12th century, the structure was used as a fortress. Throughout Rome's political chaos, looting, and the ravages of time, the mausoleum was repurposed for various uses—arena, concert hall, even a bullfighting arena.

Perhaps these words sound familiar to you, but this place has become one of Rome's quietest and loneliest corners. As Rome underwent incredible change and growth over time, this place remained like an unhealed wound, a lingering heartbreak.

Yet visiting this now-ruined site can help you regain your courage and draw strength from its story. The Augusteum, with its ruins and rebirths, is a symbol of Rome's ever-renewing nature. It also symbolizes people's fear of change and the power born from it. We don't always have to take inspiration from beauty. Sometimes we can draw strength from ruins as well.

Finally, you know that my friends and I believe that every place and everyone has a word. Do you remember Rome's word? Would you like to share it with me in the comments?

My next article will be about Naples, out of respect for the pizzas I ate there after talking about Rome. If any of you are from Naples or have visited, and would like to contribute to my next piece, feel free to use the form on the site.

It seems we still have a long way to reach Bali.

Attraversiamo,

Liz