My nomadic office
Sep 01, 2022
Greetings from Venice! Or maybe Amsterdam. Hard to say where I’ll be when you’re actually reading this.
I’m writing this on the train from Milan to Venice. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve worked while traveling for a few weeks, and it feels great to be doing it again.
The first time I took the show on the road, it was also to Venice. I rented a tiny apartment in the Cannaregio neighborhood. Practically nothing in the apartment worked properly: I arrived in the middle of January to no heat, no hot water, spotty WiFi and an elderly toaster oven whose labeling was completely worn off.
It was GLORIOUS.
I had a little balcony that overlooked a little canal. Sleek seagulls flew silently all around, making me feel like I was in the middle of an aviary. Directly across the way was a tile factory, and I heard the tink tink tink of the workers cutting the beautiful tiles. I rented that same apartment two years in a row, and loved the feeling of becoming part of the neighborhood.
Thanks to technology, I worked every day. I’d wake up, have breakfast, then sit down to work for a few hours. Client appointments were later in the afternoon because of the time difference. Sometimes I stayed in the apartment, sometimes I visited my friend Gianni who managed a hotel and let me set up my laptop in the pretty little courtyard. Normally I’d have trouble focusing for 4 straight hours, but the promise of the rest of the day to explore the city made it easy.
I miss being in the middle of an Italian city, listening to the chatter and realizing that I actually understand quite a bit of it. Italians don’t typically drink without food, so every order of a glass of Prosecco includes an assortment of salty snacks (this is why it’s almost impossible for me to drink white wine and not crave potato chips). I miss exploring and connecting with new people and new places. I’m so happy to be back traveling.
This trip we’re on right now is practice for the future. Eventually, my husband will retire and when he does, we’re hitting the road. I don’t know where we’ll be, but I do know that I’ll bring my office with me so I can keep working.
