Traveling Tips

After spending seven weeks in Rome, here is some general advice I have for the fellow traveler (particularly those spending at least a couple of weeks in one location).
1. Develop Some Routine: cappuccino every morning, pasta from the same lunch place, dinner every Tuesday at Cave Canum. Having something you look forward to and having a sever who maybe knows your order is comforting when you are somewhere where everything else seems unpredictable.
2. Your Health Matters: drink plenty of water, you need to stay hydrated, and it helps keep you stay regular :) Eat your fruit and veggies, bring the allergy medicine you might need, sleep enough. In seven weeks, you'll need every trick in the book to stay healthy.
3. Travel Well: invest in a good map and buy a couple of bus tickets just in case it rains, or you shoe breaks, or there is some place far you want to visit. In my opinion, if you always have a good map and an emergency ticket you'll feel a lot better about taking risks and exploring someplace new or walking a little further than your usual destination.
4. Watch Your Money, But Try Not to Worry About It: do some budgeting before you leave or you might spend a lot more than you plan, but also realize that plans change and maybe a trip to Almafi is worth it even though it wasn't in the budget. In my opinion, try to do breakfast and lunch on the cheap side (or even at home) and maybe try to have a nicer dinner out a few nights a week, rather than a cheap meal every night. House wine is pretty good, especially the white, but maybe splurge on a good glass of red once in a while.
5. Be Safe, Not Scared: close your purse, keep your hand on your wallet in close quarters, pay attention to where you are. Rome is a safe city, but there's no need to test things..
6. One Bad Experience Won't Kill the Trip: something will go wrong, maybe something small, maybe something major. In the moment, it won't be fun, but maybe later it will seem like it was. Don't worry if something isn't perfect, you will have other experiences too.