First 6-Day Italy Tour: What I Learned About Pacing, Wonder and Travel Expectations

May 5
3 min read

DWO Journeys is built on one belief: one well-designed journey can feel like many — if you leave space for it to breathe. Italy confirmed that. In the most delightfully inconvenient way possible.

I design trips for a living. I obsess over itinerary rhythm, realistic walking distances, the difference between a 9am start and an 8am one. I talk to my travellers about pacing before they ever board a flight.

Then I went to Italy for the first time. And learned that I am not immune to any of it.

Six days. Naples to Lake Como. Pompeii, Rome, the Vatican, Assisi, Florence, Milan. A trip I did not design. A trip that taught me more about what I do than any research doc ever could.

"Via Vitani, Como. No agenda. Just a street that asked me to slow down — and I finally listened."

Streets of Como, March 2026

Meloncello at Milan — Meloncello is Italy’s creamy melon after-dinner liqueur — sweet, cold, silky, and very summery. It feels like limoncello’s softer, dessert-loving cousin.

Here is what actually happened on Italy trip's travel pacing — mapped across the three pillars I build DWO Journeys around.

Day	Location	What it taught me
Tue 12/3	Naples + Pompeii Royal Palace, Galleria Umberto I, Temple of Jupiter	Naples is loud and alive in a way photos never prepare you for. Pompeii is quieter than expected — and more devastating. I did not expect to feel grief. Mini Adventure
Wed 13/3	Rome — The Forum Colosseum, Arch of Constantine, Capitoline Hill, Altare della Patria	The Colosseum is more overwhelming in person than in any documentary. But the real surprise? Standing at the Altare della Patria and realising I knew nothing about unified Italy. That ignorance was the beginning of curiosity.
Fri 14/3	Vatican City St Peter's Dome, Bernini's Baldachin, Gallery of Maps, Sphere Within Sphere	The Gallery of Maps stopped me completely. I stood there longer than any other room. Cartography as devotion. I had not expected the Vatican to feel meditative. Mindful Recharge
Sat 15/3	Assisi + Florence Basilica of Saint Francis, Loggia at Piazza della Signoria	Assisi was the emotional reset I did not know I needed. Francis of Assisi was not a saint I grew up with — but the basilica held something quiet and serious that stilled the pace of the whole day. Chance Encounter
Sun 16/3	Florence + Milan Ponte Vecchio, Florence Cathedral, Guild of Merchants where da Vinci stayed	Florence is where I started to feel the fatigue. Beautiful, yes. But by day five, I was absorbing less. This is exactly what I warn my travellers about. I am not above it. Mini Adventure
Mon 17/3	Lake Como + Milan Via Vitani, Piazza San Fedele, Duomo di Como, Castello Sforzesco, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II	Como was the trip inside the trip. I roamed Via Vitani with no plan. Found a fresco I had not looked up. Sat at Piazza San Fedele doing nothing in particular. This was the day that felt like a full breath. Mindful Recharge

The irony is not lost on me. I came to Italy as a travel designer and left as a first-time traveller — humbled, recalibrated, and frankly a little grateful for the parts that did not go perfectly.

FOMO is real even when you know it is a trap. Fatigue accumulates. And the moments that stay with you are almost never the ones you queued the longest for.

For me it was the streets of Como. No museum. No long queues. Just a city going about its afternoon while I wandered with no agenda.

That is the trip inside the trip. That is what I am trying to design for you in Türkiye.