The Humorous Side of Solo Travel

During my three-month solo travel in Italy, I discovered a freedom that came with taking a trip alone. I found that I enjoyed it, and actually preferred it, for many reasons. Numerous articles have been written by other solo travelers listing the pros and cons, so I will not repeat what you may already know.  

Instead I will relate a funny situation that I experienced while traveling solo in Italy two years ago. Not every day on a solo travel vacation is going to be perfect, and I had several that were far from that. The main idea for me was to accept it and consider it part of the adventure. And now I can turn a near-disaster into a topic for a blog. Enjoy.

One evening when I had enjoyed a wonderful day of single holidays in Italy in the Puglia region, I anticipated crawling into bed in my luxurious hotel room and getting a good night's sleep.  Just as I was pulling back the covers, I heard a sudden, loud, crashing sound from the bathroom. Before I even had time to figure out what it could be, suddenly, the bathroom floor was flooded with water, which had started to pour into the bedroom too. 


To my horror, a radiator pipe had come loose from the wall, and hot water was gushing out from it. With no one around to consult or help, I tried to look for a shut-off valve and found none. I shut the bathroom door and quickly called the front desk to inform them of this catastrophe, and then stuffed towels around the door to the bathroom to ebb the spewing water.

Soon the front desk manager appeared to find me standing in a room full of water. He was unable to help, except to call for the hotel engineer to come in from home.  The time was eleven thirty at night. He and his assistant brought more towels from their linen closet and gave them to me to sop up the water.

Luckily I did not have any items on the floor so nothing of mine was damaged. Knowing that it would take an hour or so for his engineer to arrive, he told me to collect my belongings and he would move me to another room. Within ten minutes I had everything I owned gathered together and moved to the room next door. Other than my feet getting wet, nothing had been ruined.

So much for going to sleep at a decent time, but the positive side of this for me was that a now I had a corner room with two windows and a view to die for.  Sometimes there is a good ending to a bad situation. The memory of that night still brings a smile to my face and makes me laugh. I will never forget the look of panic on the hotel manager's face as he arrived at my room, unable to enter once he saw the river inside. 

From my experience as a solo traveler I have learned that flexibility and patience can make the difference between an okay time and a great time. 

Memoirs of a Solo Traveler - My Love Affair with Italy is available on Amazon UK at http://amzn.to/11hqKKt both Kindle and paperback editions

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