Over the past several years, I have fantasized and romanticized the idea of spending a month living with my family in an Italian villa. I’m not exactly sure why this idea was put on my heart, but I had heard stories of the Amalfi Coast for years and desperately wanted to not only see it, but live the life that I had seen portrayed in movies and through travel blogs.
In early 2019, I told Jenn that we would spend one month of the summer in Italy. It was a bold prediction given that we hadn’t necessarily budgeted the money or planned the time we were to be away from home. But there was something about THIS year that absolutely felt right to go. (Prescient given what transpired in Italy around COVID-19 in 2020.)
My wife brought up two issues. First, how much would this trip cost and was it “in the cards” to spend that much on this trip. Second, was one month too long to spend in one place? I reassured her that the money piece would be taken care of and we could discuss the length, but I was pretty sure we’d be able to slow down and enjoy life with one full month of staying put.
In the midst of our conversations around how long, how much, and where would we stay, I started doing some searching on VRBO and Airbnb to find the perfect getaway. Within 20 minutes, I found this listing:
The Planning Phase… Accelerated
In the midst of our conversations around how long, how much, and where would we stay, I started doing some searching on VRBO and Airbnb to find the perfect getaway. Within 20 minutes, I found this listing:
The pool, the view, the billiards and foosball tables, even the funky decor inside had me hooked. I immediately checked on the pricing for a month in this villa and the price tag was upwards of $15,000 Euro. A significant amount to be sure, and it caused me to rethink the one month solid in one place idea. But for two weeks during the end of June and beginning of July, we could snag this property for around $7,500 USD.
And in that moment, I had the thought — “okay, now I just need to manifest $7,500.”
The very next morning I received an email from a client of mine who generally does a strategic planning workshop with me every other year or so. It’s always a pleasant surprise when he reaches out and this time was no exception.
The email read:
Adam,
It’s about time for us to do another strategic planning session and you were a hit last time. Would you see if any of the below dates work, and would you honor your rate from last time?
Now candidly, I couldn’t remember what the rate was from the last time we’d worked together so I had to look that up. But as for the dates, ALL of them worked and all were within about 6 weeks of that email. When I looked at the previous rate, I realized what I had just manifested… more than enough to cover the rental on our villa in Italy.
I booked it that afternoon.
A Late Arrival in Sorrento
We arrived to the villa in Sorrento after a long and tiring day of travel where tempers were short and tensions were high. The town of Sorrento is about an hour drive away from the airport in Naples, and our driver (arranged by the villa operator) spoke ZERO english. Given the time of night and our readiness to be somewhere we could sleep, the chatter was non-existent. (And did I mention tensions were high?)
Once in Sorrento, we transferred from the Mercedez van that picked us up to a 15 year old minivan driven by a very animated Italian man, and a couple on a moped that were leading us up the hill. It was at this point my family was questioning every decision I’d made up to that moment. There was either a castle on the hill, or this was to be the part of our trip when our organs get harvested.
However, once up the hill, we were led into the villa that would be our home for the next two weeks. The pool was beautiful, the house was tidy, and we were all just ready to go to bed.
The next morning, I woke up before everyone else and walked out to this view:
Over the coming days we spent copious amounts of time in the pool, saw Mt Vesuvius, the Isle of Capri, drank wine and limoncello, ate pasta and pizza, and reveled in the fact that we were able to escape from life as we knew it to enjoy time in the Italian sunshine.
On To Paris
The next 7 days of our trip were spent in Paris. It was my 3rd time to Paris and I believe I’ve now experienced most of the weather the city has to offer. My first time it was bitter cold, the 2nd time rainy and overcast all week, and this trip was hotter than the rings of Hades. Apparently a “Saharan Wind” had blown 95-100 degree temps into the city, and if you’ve been to Paris you know that air conditioning is definitely a luxury and not something readily available. We made the most of it and took in as much as we possibly could while there.
London rounded out the last 4 days and we let no grass grow under our feet. Given this was the first trip for our kids, we did just about every touristy thing you are supposed to do in London. We even took a day on the train to visit Warwick Castle, a special highlight for my son who is very intrigued by knights and swordplay.
At the end of our trip, we discussed all of the things that we’d taken away from our time in these countries (as well as time together). All of their answers were different, but one recurring theme was resoundingly loud: it brought us closer together.
My hope for you in building a bigger life is that you are designing a life you can look back on with fondness and memories that will last a lifetime.