Back in November 2017, I decided to try solo travelling, and travelled to Milan by myself.

It all started from a post on Instagram, about a play of Cherry Orchard, performed by the actors of Maly Drama Theatre, from Saint Petersburg. When I went to Russia, in August 2016, all theaters were closed (they close from the end of July/beginning of August till September). Me and my best friend, due to quite a few problems emerging, couldn’t plan the trip, so we didn’t know that happened and we missed the chance to see a performance at Bolshoi or any other theatre. And seeing as my favorite actor performs in that play, I decided I wanted to go watch it.

There were also other factors to this choice. One being that in 2017, I hadn’t travelled anywhere by plane, and the urge was there and wouldn’t go away. Another one was that I had never been to Milan. I also wanted to do a daytrip at lake Como, but I never did that. (I will one day though.) Italy is my No.2 favorite destination (No.1 is Russia) and I do want to see all of it.

Usually, I travel with at least one person. But at the time, none of my friends could come with me, I didn’t have a boyfriend, going with my parents and having to do what they said and go at their pace was out of the question, so I decided to go alone. It was something that I had never done, but I wanted to test myself, see how things would go, and have one more experience.

My experience

Since women are usually easy targets (which is really unfair by the way 😡 ) I had to be extra careful. I also had to mind my stuff all the time, because pickpocketing is quite common in Italy.

Apart from all that safety anxiety, it was really nice to be able to go at my own pace and not have to chase after someone if I want to take more photos, or look around while walking, instead of where and how far my friends are. I was able to see most of the attractions I had planned to visit, even though I had lost a lot of time at the hotel, due to accumulated tiredness.

It was also nice to not have other people in mind during the play. Since it was in Russian, with Italian subtitles, I’m pretty sure if someone had accompanied me, wouldn’t have appreciated it. And if they chose to do something else while I was there, I would be concerned about them.

Sometimes, during trips, people often have arguments or there’s a lot of tension. Luckily, by travelling solo, I was able to avoid that and have a peaceful stay. True, at some point I did miss having some company, but I was also glad about the time I spent by myself.

Travelling solo became a problem when I wanted to have my photo taken. I took some selfies, but didn’t turn out really good (ok, they mostly sucked). It would have been nice to have someone with me, to help me with that, since I didn’t trust people with my camera or phone.

I think the worst part of my trip, was when I decided to buy some gelato, and at the same time I wanted to keep walking and seeing and photographing stuff.  I had my hands full, my bag didn’t want to stay on my shoulder and would fall all the time, but to add insult to the injury, some guy came to sell me a bracelet and decided to put it on top of my hand, which really pissed me off, because come on, when you see someone with their hands full, you don’t add more stuff. Yes, a companion would be useful in that situation.

My views

Travelling solo did help me be more independent and deal with stuff alone, without group effort. It was a very educating experience and if people can handle being on their own, they should give it a try.

Although I enjoyed going at my own pace and see everything the way I wanted to, I still prefer to travel with company. It makes me feel safer, it is more entertaining and more memories are created this way. Would I try this again? Probably…

If you want to try solo travelling, remember one thing “Safety first”. Just because you want to visit a place, doesn’t mean it is safe to do so alone. Read reviews, travel guides etc and get all the information, before making that choice.

There will be a post about that trip in the future.

Till next time! 😉

xoxo, Myrto