Don’t tell anyone, but I flew into Rome on my way to Siena for the annual Siena Awards photography festival and events and didn’t actually visit the Eternal City.

Terrible, right? Well, not really. It’s been an incredibly busy year with a packed work schedule, and I landed having felt like my arms really were exhausted from all that flapping. I just wanted collapse for a minute & soak up all that I love about Italy without the pressure to fill my schedule with must-see stops.

So I rented a sweet little (big for one person, actually) affordable flat in Focene, a beach community on the coast near Fuimicino, the town where the airport is actually located.

Since I had to return to the airport for a shuttle to Siena two days later, it made sense to chill at the coast. I literally saw maybe 10 people in two days. Now that school is back in session & fall storms are rolling in, the beach feels almost ghostly. And I love it that way. I walked, I read. I made friends with stray cats. I geeked out taking photos of all the funky details of my surroundings that I’m usually too busy to pay attention to. I ate my fill of amazing seafood pasta at a great beachfront restaurant recommended by my apartment host called Tre Nodi (three knots).

I walked the coast, watched the waves & safely took in a wild thunder & lightning storm from the comfortable perch of my balcony. I arrived in Siena refreshed and ready to hit the ground running with multiple days of events here already underway. I am grateful for a pause, for Italian graciousness, for church bells, ancient walls, slow life, slow food, kind hosts, and for the exhilaration that accompanies culturally rich adventures.

Yesterday, I met up with Siena Awards participants back at the airport for our ride together into Tuscany and it was great to connected and reconnect. We enjoyed a spectacular trip from Rome to Siena on the coastal road before heading up into the hills. NOW, it will be a packed schedule here and I’m ready for it…andiamo!