Finding Religion in Venice and Other Thoughts About My Trip to Italy

As most of you know, I was in Italy last week. I was sent there by Focus Features to promote the movie Book Club: The Next Chapter, but this is not a sponsored post! I just always like being up front about what’s happening. My contracted deliverables were two videos (one about the movie posted on both Tiktok and Instagram reels, and one about my flight on Lufthansa which was only posted on Tiktok). Actually, I’m going to post one of the videos below, because it’s a really good intro as to why I was there and what happened. Also, I feel like it will give you the context you need to understand the rest of this blog post which is more about how I felt being on the trip. I’m also going to share our full itinerary at the end, so if that’s what you came for, just skip all my babbling and scroll to the bottom.

@ilanawilesYou ever have one of those moments where you look around and think... how is this REAL LIFE?? In this case, it was 5 full days of disbelief. A huge thank you to @focusfeatures for flying me to Italy in celebration of their new movie #Book Club: The Next Chapter, now in theaters! #focusfeaturespartner #momsoftiktok #momsover40 #movietok #italianvacation #nycmom #travellife #contentcreator #CapCut

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The trip was awesome. Obviously. They really gave us the Italy experience of a lifetime. I have no complaints! On a personal level, I had a little trouble assimilating with the group at first because I didn’t know any of the other people there, and it was my first time being on a brand trip with mainly Tiktok influencers, as opposed to Instagrammers. This meant that everyone was very video focused and loved being on camera. I shoot mainly POV (I always have to try really hard to include myself in my videos) so this was all a bit out of my comfort zone. I immediately understood that this trip was not only an opportunity to see Italy and capture great content, but also an opportunity to collaborate with the other influencers in attendance. But since I am just not really spontaneous on camera like that, I wasn’t able to take advantage and felt a little like an outsider at first.

The second night, I decided to go out to dinner by myself. I wasn’t sure what the other people were doing and wasn’t comfortable enough yet to reach out, so I got a restaurant recommendation from the hotel and just ventured out for a nice evening alone. I facetimed friends and family to keep me company which worked out perfectly. And I had the best cone of gelato on my way home. I’ve always been one of those people that likes to take advantage of every possible opportunity when I travel (no spending a night in the hotel relaxing for me), but I’m not always the best at making fast friends. So, I guess it’s good that I’ve always felt comfortable going out by myself.

Throughout the next few days, I got to know the other content creators and started to feel more at ease. As everyone else was hamming it up for the camera, I reminded myself that my style was different and I was capturing what I needed for me. I think somewhere in the third day, I realized that most of my footage was scenery shots or me by myself, and if I was going to make this into a fun video that mimics the feeling of the movie (which is about traveling with good friends), I needed to get more video of the people around me.

So, I don’t know if it was life imitating art or the other way around, but I started mixing it up more, getting to know people and having a legitimately good time with everyone. Should I go out to the club with the 25yos after dinner? Well it will be good for the reel, so… It was like, once I realized I needed to film myself having fun with other people (for the video!), I truly started having fun. And then by the end, I bonded so hard with all of them and walked away with some friendships that I think will last for real. Maybe it’s really the quintessential version of “writing your own story.” Because of course, you can make a decision and put yourself out there to get the ending you want, even if it’s not a contracted deliverable.

As for Italy, I absolutely loved it. I’ve been to Rome a few times before but I’d only been to Venice once for a few hours while I was backpacking across Europe after college on a very slim budget and always wanted to go back to experience it as an adult. I think it’s one of the most beautiful and unique places in the world. You don’t have to spend too much time there, but if you travel to Italy, it is not to be missed.

The itinerary that Focus Features put together was top notch. The movie is about four well-off friends and everything was selected to mimic the scenes in the movie, so we’re talking five star restaurants and impeccably designed accommodations.

But before I get to the itinerary, I want to tell you about one thing that happened that was totally unplanned. On the last night, after saying goodbye to everyone and going upstairs to pack, I decided that I was not quite done with Venice. I went outside for a stroll and found myself back in St. Mark’s Square, where a live band was playing outside a cafe, tables spilling out into the plaza. I decided to sit down and order a gelato. Pistachio because so many of you told me that was your favorite flavor (I usually get hazelnut). When I sat down, the band was playing Moon River and I wondered if this was a good idea. I had to be up so early in the morning to catch my flight and did I really need one more gelato? Then, just as they served my bowl of pistachio (beautifully prepared, I might add), the band broke out into an instrumental version of a very familiar song.

Holy crap. Are they playing Hava Nagila???

Yes, yes, they were. I watched as a crowd gathered, so there were rows of people standing behind the patrons sitting at the tables. Everyone started clapping along, louder with each verse. I googled to see if the melody meant something different in Italian, but all evidence pointed to the tune being purely a Jewish folksong. The accordian player was fantastic, the setting was surreal, the pistachio was delicious and I swear it seemed like all those things culminated in a moment meant just for me. I cried.

To be clear, I know Italy has a rich Jewish history and I know that everyone, no matter where they are from, knows Hava Nagila, but I was still really surprised to see it played so joyfully in a public square, and with such great reception amongst so many international tourists. Especially with all the antisemitism in the world today. In New York, where it feels like there are more Jews than anywhere, you really only hear it at Jewish weddings and Bar/Bat Mitzvahs. It’s my favorite moment at those occasions though. It’s the one time where every single person comes to the dance floor, so that your whole community is dancing around the family celebrating their milestone event, surrounding them with joy and support. Hearing it in Venice, on my last night, by myself, felt like a religious experience. Like Venice surrounding me with joy. When it ended, I thought, okay, now, I am ready to leave Italy.

Here’s the itinerary— exactly what we did with times, locations and everything!

If you have any questions about Italy, feel free to ask me in the comments!

Day One: Arrive in Rome

Hotel: Leon’s Place

Wander, shop and lunch in area at the bottom of the Spanish Steps (there are both high end designers and smaller boutiques there, as well as lots of cafes in the side streets)

7:45PM: Dinner at Il Giardino Ristorante

Day Two:

9AM: Breakfast at the hotel, included with stay

10:30AM - 2:30PM: Cooking School with Chef Andrea Consoli, includes lunch

3:00PM: Book Club: The Next Chapter screening at Soho House

6:00PM: Dinner at Fuocolento (I recommend the tagliatelle with sea bass and pistachios)

7:45PM Gelato at Gelateria La Romana (I was told that the good gelato places serve it out of closed metal canisters, not the ones where you can see the gelato piled high with toppings)

Day Three:

8:00AM: Breakfast at hotel

9:00AM - 1:00PM: Golf Cart guided tour of Rome which included stops at the Coliseum, the Circus Maximus, Trevi Fountain, the Altara della Patria and St. Peter’s Square 

1:15PM: Lunch at Emma Pizzeria

3:30PM-5:30PM Tour of Museum Capitolini

8:30PM: Dinner at Mirabelle

11:00PM: After party at Jackie O’s

Day Four:

9:30AM: Van departs for train station

10:35AM-2:35PM Train ride to Venice (4-hours), lunch will be provided

Hotel: Splendid Venice - Starhotels Collezione

3:00PM: Wander and shop, check out the vendors in the Rialto Bridge

7:30PM: Sunset at rooftop bar on top of Splendid Venice hotel

8:00PM: Walk from hotel through St Mark’s Square to Hotel Danieli

8:30PM: Dinner at Restaurant Terrazza Danieli

Day Five:

8:00AM: Breakfast at hotel, included 

8:40AM: Boat ride to painting workshop

9:15AM-11:15AM: Painting Workshop with Nicola Tenderini alongside a canal

12:00PM-2:00PM Lunch at Bistrot de Venice

2:00PM-5:30PM: Cultural Walking Tour of Venice, stops include San Marcos Square/San Marcos Basilica, Bridge of Sighs (from outside) and ends with with a Grand Canal boat tour 

5:30PM-7:00PM Aperitivo at Harry’s Bar (creator of the Bellini)

7:00PM: Shopping and sunset at the Ponte di Rialto, dinner at your leisure 

9:30PM: Gelato nightcap at Caffe Lavena with live band in St. Mark’s Square

Day Six:

Depart Italy!