My name is Valentina Ivan, an Italian who left her ordinary life and steady job to travel! Yeah, I’m one of those people who constantly says….
“I would like to work for 6 months and travel for the remaining 6!”
“I want to live in America, Asia, Africa, Great Britain! I want to travel all over the world! “
“Keep on dreaming!”, they say to me.
I grew up in a small town in the province of Treviso in the beautiful region of Veneto, with my mom, my dad and my little brother – I still like to call him “little brother” even though he is now bigger than me! I don’t remember exactly when my passion for travel began, however I do remember my fabulous family certainly did not support this “free spirit” that was (and still is) in me. After high school – I studied tourism and this was probably my very first approach to the “world of travel” – it was time to leave home so I executed the greatest idea of my life that allowed me to get away from home avoiding a real Italian family drama – “Mum, dad, I‘ve decided to go to university!”.
“Agreed!” The perfect excuse to leave the beloved home with the intention of “studying” …of course.
At Uni I made amazing friends and together we faced exams, parties, dissertations and parties again until finally we reached THE DAY of our qualification. Finally, I was “DOTTORE” (I think in English it’s simply called GRADUATE!) in “Tourism and International Trade”.During my university years there was never enough money to travel and sleeping on a friend’s sofa bed in an apartment by the sea during the summer was all I had to make me happy. Fifteen of us in an apartment for 4 … what fun!
In 2013, a year after my graduation I had another great idea! I managed to transform the “Italian financial crisis” into an opportunity for me! It was impossible to feel satisfied earning €600 per month for more than 40 hours of work per week, and the decision was made – I would move to London! And YES, this time I had to face a real Italian drama in my family home! “A girl abroad alone?? Not possible!” They said.
Yes, England!
I had less than €2,000 in my wallet, a hostel booked for 3 nights, 1 piece of luggage as per Ryanair policy, and no idea where to go or what to do. More importantly, I had infinite enthusiasm for this new adventure that I was about to face.
I have to be honest, more than a few times I asked myself “WHY AM I HERE?” “WHAT AM I DOING HERE?” Questions that came spontaneously while I was lying on the bunk of the hostel, looking at the underside of the mattress above, away from home, away from friends, from my bed.
But the curiosity of the NEW was BIGGER than the fear of the unknown. “So, don’t despair girl, there is a world waiting for you out there!” I kept telling myself.
Without reason to despair, a few months later I was already working as a receptionist in a large hotel chain with the possibility of “meeting the world” face to face. Meeting people from different countries, made me incredibly happy and going to work was a real pleasure.
Do you want to know what I did with my first pay packet? I booked my ticket to New York City! There I met two friends of mine, had great fun, visited amazing places including a quick tour of Toronto and the Niagara Falls (although it wasn’t quick as we faced 12 hours on the coach to reach Canada from NYC!) Do you know what I did once I come back to London? I ate plain rice and pasta with tomato sauce for weeks – practically up until my next pay day!
Believe me – with money or without money, I would do it another 1000 times!
Since that time, I have never stopped traveling and yes, even now I still have to settle sometimes for white rice and pasta with tomato sauce. I like to call it a “post-travel detox diet” because if I called it “eating rice and pasta because I ran out of money”, it wouldn’t sound as good, would it?
Professionally, after more than two years as a hotel receptionist, I decided that the time had come to change again push myself to do more. I started a new career in the booking department of a wholesaler in London. Being in contact with international people, chatting with clients in Spanish, English and Italian created even more passion and determination in what I really wanted to do. I’m sorry for my colleagues who constantly said to me “Valentina, when you’re in the office, we don’t work!” “We will all be fired because of you! Stop chatting!”. Fortunately, we were never fired!
As soon as I could – after paying my bills with the money that was left in my bank account (because there was no talk of saving!) – I logged into my fantasy world, Skyscanner! Without even noticing, I had a ticket in my hand, to ‘somewhere’, it didn’t matter where.
Soon afterwards, I found myself taking new paths to new countries, surrounded by people very different from me. Traveling alone became my healthy tonic – better than any vitamin.
When you travel alone you are reinvigorated, you become stronger and more confident. It is true, initially it’s scary, but there’s no better thing a person can do for themself.
Getting to know people is very easy and no matter where in the world I am, everyone will greet me with a “CIAO!” because you know, Italian is the most beautiful language in the world and everyone tries to impress you. Ok, I want to be nice, English is the second one!
No matter what corner of the earth I am in, that “Ciao Valentina” chases me! And so here it is, the name of my blog, in honour of all those people I’ve met on my travels!
I have always been considered a “City Girl”, I like the lights and vibes of the busy cities – there is a reason I chose London as my second home! Wearing high heels, short dresses and drinking Prosecco, Tequila and Margarita, while I dance with my friends until I no longer feel my feet … and my head! But I also love flip flops, comfortable shoes, slow walks and immersing myself in the greenery and silence of nature. Ciao Valentina will be exactly like that! A journey through the lights of busy cities but with an eye for the environment! Nowadays KNOWING HOW TO TRAVEL in the correct way is very important! Obviously, always with style!
One of my favourite authors, Dante wrote when he was 33 years old, “Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita mi ritrovai per una selva oscura ché la diritta via era smarrita” meaning, “Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself within a forest dark. For the straightforward pathway had been lost”. Although I’m not far from being 33, I don’t consider myself lost in a dark forest, or that the straightforward path has been lost – in fact, quite the opposite. I actually feel ready to start again and if you see me walking lost somewhere in the world, I probably am but don’t worry, when you travel you are never completely lost!
Here is another favourite quote, this time from JRR Tolkien – “Not all those who wander are lost!”
Now I have been living in London for 7 years, returning to Italy whenever I can to imbibe Spritz and Prosecco and to pamper myself with the affections of home that I miss every day more and more. I want to share my stories, adventures and misadventures, tips and advice accumulated in these years of travel. I want to feel like that girl who arrived in London 7 years ago with the fear of the unknown but with an infinite curiosity to find out what that next adventure has to offer me!
For me travel is exactly like this: The curiosity is bigger than the fear and the fear goes as soon as you are holding that flight ticket
So, remember: LIVE, TRAVEL, LAUGH AND REPEAT
in a responsible way
With Love
Valentina Ivan