I'm not even sure if I want to go on this journey, but I know more certainly that I don't want to not go. It's an excitingly unpleasant feeling, the anticipation of entering the unknown. Will I die? Will I be bored? Will I feel lonely? Very much of this endeavor is up in the air, but I have managed to pinpoint a few key points. I will go to Italy, and I will visit Milan, Bologna, Rome, and Naples, and I will be gone for two weeks.
I think one of the biggest things for me about going on trips is gaining new perspective. Although the world feels increasingly interconnected, it still amazes me how different everything is in the details when you go somewhere else. As an entrepreneur, this can be very valuable in challenging established truths about situations back home, and to get new ideas. On a broader scale it might make me look differently at how I live my life back home.
Originally I wanted to go and not really plan anything except my first destination, but as I would experience as the time of my departure approached, this can become very expensive fast. I wanted to really take things as they came on a daily basis, but alas I have booked a stay for my every night. Even with that though I still keep a fair bit of uncertainty, as the only thing I have really planned that I want to do is to watch a few films at the film festival in Bologna, visit the Vatican City, and try some pizzas in Naples.
If you pay attention to details, simply walking the streets of an unknown place can be quite interesting, at least for a few days. Add on top of that checking current events and finding places to eat, and taking a few rests with a good book, I think I should be all set even if I'm not so lucky that I happen to run into someone interesting to talk to, or stumble upon a remarkable encounter. Hell, even visiting some of the main tourist attractions might be worth it, but for some of them I'm not sure if standing in line is worth not replacing the actual visit with watching a video recording.
Given the cost, time, and anxiety that this trip surely will incur, I can't say for sure I know it will be worth it, but I don't have anything better to do so I might as well see what happens.