How Can You Go To Italy And Not Drink Wine? Alcohol Free Living

My First “Not Drinking” Trip to Italy

I woke up just before my alarm was set to go off at 3:45am. Ugh. Airport pickup in 45 minutes. Andiamo! 

Our group tour to Italy has been planned, booked and paid for since 2019 but for pandemic reasons has been delayed to June of 2022.

I can’t believe we are finally going!

To start my vacations in the past, my trip would begin with a double Titos Bloody Mary at the airport.

But after finding myself drinking too much during the pandemic, I had decided to remove alcohol from my life last September.

And before I quit drinking, my fiancé, Tom (now my husband), and I had splurged on business class seats. Shit!

Unlimited pinot grigio at my disposal en route to Roma and I will have none of it? How will I be able to say no?

Actually, it was pretty easy. Tom and I settled into our fancy digs – cocooning ourselves inside a cozy nest of books, iPads, iPhones, air pods and snacks.

The seat backs were designed to sit up in and binge watch Netflix comfortably. With the push of a button, they reclined into an extended “bed” giving humans (6′ and under!) a chance of getting a bit of sleep on their jaunt across the pond.

Not Drinking In Business Class (Who me?)

After warm nuts, two club sodas, veggie ravioli, vanilla ice cream, BBQ beef sandwich and a diet coke, the flight attendants finally left us alone.

Tom and I decided to share air pods and get started on the final season of Peaky Blinders. Two episodes in and I was so excited – Tommy Shelby quit drinking!

But my hubby was nodding off, so we both decided to try and get some sleep. Tom was in dreamland before I could get the plastic wrap off my five star blanket and pillow.

I snuggled under the comforter pulling it over my head in the hopes that my possible snoring would go unnoticed by my neighbors.

Minutes later the plane began to bounce and sway.

Ugh, turbulence. I do not like turbulence. I have never liked turbulence.

Fear Of Flying

My father was one of 26 survivors on a plane that crashed in dense fog just after midnight in Toledo, Ohio, in October of 1960.

The former WWII cargo plane was chartered to carry his college football team home to California after losing a tough game earlier that day.

The aircraft had split apart in the air and my dad, the team’s starting quarterback, had literally fallen from the sky.

He landed on the edge of the runway still strapped in his seat, unable to move, his ankle mangled around his footrest.

Lying on the dark tarmac, he could hear the frantic screams of the injured passengers around him but was helpless to assist.

In the zero visibility night several ambulances shrieked toward the accident. One nearly ran him over just before he was dragged away from the burning wreckage by his fullback (to this day, a close friend).

Twenty two passengers were killed that night, sixteen of them my father’s teammates.

It was discovered later that left engine failure and overloading had caused the plane to disintegrate in mid air.

Witnesses also reported that the pilot, who perished that night, had been seen drinking prior to the team’s departure.

I have no actual memory of this catastrophic event since I hadn’t been born yet. My parents were a young married couple at the time with a 2-year old daughter, my older sister.

But the story of the accident has been a momentous one in my family, having been retold and remembered every October since then.

Looking back I can see that it has shaped my life in ways I am only just beginning to understand.

 

Not Drinking On Airplanes

So yes, alcohol has always been my friend on airplanes, especially ones over the ocean.

Because after 2 (or 5) glasses of wine, with my headphones firmly attached, I can usually sleep (numb) my way through the worst flights.

I have used this technique since I was a teenager. (The Sony walkman changed my life.)

For years, this method has worked nicely, although many of these flights I actually don’t remember very well so, hmmm.

Anyway, I’m not drinking booze anymore, so no solace available there. I switch on one of my favorite Spotify playlists, Grove BBQ, and start box breathing. This method for stress management often helps me relax my way into sleep if I’m having trouble.

Tom, of course, sleeps like a bear in winter.

Soon after, as the plane continues to careen along above the Atlantic, I hear the ping of a flight attendant call button.

The passenger next to me, who I have guessed to be a mom dropping her daughter off for Study Abroad in Rome, is reaching forward over the seats and clutching her daughter’s hands. They are both whispering anxiously about the bumpy ride to the flight attendant.

I can hear him reassuring them that this kind of turbulence is normal. He promises that the pilot is plotting a course to steer around this “bit of weather.”

Since most of the cabin is sleeping (thank you unlimited mimosas), I hear a few minutes of their murmured conversation and the attendant returns to his seat. 

The jet continues to bump and grind, and like my two uneasy neighbors, I don’t like it either.

I think to myself, damn, why didn’t I just have the wine? Then I would be sleeping through this shit.

But I know it’s just a thought and it soon passes.

Mom to Mom Connection

Suddenly we LURCH. Big.

Big enough to force the woman to let go of her daughter’s hands and sit back down in her seat, tightening her belt.

As she does this she glances over at me and we lock eyes. Mom to Mom. It is hazy in the cabin but we can see each other.

The plane goes rumble, chop, wobble and I can feel her fear humming right alongside mine. I keep breathing.

Then I mouth to her “It’s ok. It’s gonna be ok” still looking her in the eyes. She nods and we keep bouncing, holding our gaze a few more seconds until she reaches back up for her daughter’s hands.

Tom still slumbers peacefully.

After what feels like a lifetime, the plane settles enough for me to fall into a dream-filled sleep.

The next thing I know I am waking to the luscious aroma of coffee in the cabin and breakfast trays being passed.

I open my eyes, trying to adjust to the commotion and bright lights. Across the aisle, my neighbor is smiling at me and forking a chunk of melon.

“Good morning,” she says with a tentative smile. “Thank you so much for last night. I was really scared.” 

“Good Morning.” I respond, briefly overwhelmed by her kindness.

“I’m so glad I was awake and I could help. I hate turbulence too.”

I smiled back at her and then reached for one of the best cups of coffee I’ve ever tasted.

Not Drinking Wine in Roma!

I am sharing this story from my trip to Italy this summer in the hopes that it can help anyone else who may be thinking they are drinking more than they want to be.

Or anyone else who is realizing that drinking is taking more of a toll on them than it used to. Or anyone else who is just sick and tired of how booze is affecting their life and wants to make a change. I want you to know that you are not alone.

There is another way.

This Is A No Judgment Zone

Yes, removing alcohol from your daily life can be a scary prospect.

If you are like me, alcohol has been a friend for a long time – always “there for you” during life’s ups, downs and middles!

You may have even forgotten who you are without it.

But I can vouch for the fact that the changes you will discover in your mind, body and spirit after the booze is gone, are worth every bit of the effort.

There is FREEDOM and JOY and a LIFE WITH NO LIMITS on the other side.

You don’t have to hit a rock bottom of any kind to make the choice to live a healthier, more awake – and ALIVE – life!

Ask for help if you want or need it. Resources abound in the alcohol free world today.

I posted this story on my blog one year from the day I stopped drinking – September 7, 2021 – woohoo!

And I can confirm that going alcohol free is the BEST GIFT I HAVE EVER GIVEN MYSELF!

xoxo,

Tammy

P.S. Yes we had an AMAZING trip to Italy sans alcohol!

Full of joy, hilarious new friends, mouthwatering pasta, pizza and antipasti, lush scenery, breathtaking art, decadent gelato, an emotional mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, an exuberant audience with the Pope, scrumptious meal at a local winery (everyone on the tour wanted to sit by us to steal our tastings:), stunning medieval villages, awe inspiring tours through the Coliseum, Forum, the Vatican Museums and way too much shopping! (But not one hangover:)