Ever felt the urge to pack a bag, flip a coin, and set off into the unknown? Solo travel isn’t just a vacation; it’s a whirlwind of self-discovery, resilience-building, and an open invitation to rewrite your story. Buckle up for a ride through the exhilarating world of solo adventures, where science and wanderlust collide to create an unmissable journey.
The Scientific Scoop on Solo Bliss
Boosted Swagger
Picture this: conquering unfamiliar territory solo. It’s not just a boost in self-confidence; it’s a strut-your-stuff, shoulders-back confidence explosion. According to the “Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,” navigating the world solo can turn you into a bona fide confidence superhero.
Brainpower Overdrive
Solo travel isn’t just about sipping lattes in exotic locales; it’s a mental marathon. Science says dealing with unexpected curveballs during solo adventures amps up your problem-solving prowess. It’s like a gym for your brain, building those cognitive muscles for life’s grand obstacle course.
Culture Vulture Upgrade
Forget textbooks; solo travel is your crash course in world cultures. According to the “Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin,” immersing yourself in diverse cultures fuels cultural empathy and opens your mind wider than a Renaissance-era map.
Zen Zone Unlocked
Stress? Solo travel shows it the exit door. The “Annals of Tourism Research” spills the beans – wandering the world on your terms reduces stress and amps up your mental well-being. It’s not just a vacation; it’s a one-way ticket to your happy place.
I don’t like guidebooks. I don’t like self-help-style “you must do this to be happy” rhetoric. I really don’t like dogmatic, authoritative injunctions of any kind telling me how to live my life. And if my intuition about you, dear reader, is at all accurate, neither do you. So, don’t take anything written here as an imperative. I will be the last person to tell you what you “should” or “must” do. You’ll figure out your own path; I have no doubt about it. Consider this an interpretive roadmap. My roadmap, drawn with the advantage of hindsight and the lessons from over ten years of experience in being a solo female traveler. I hope it may be of benefit to you.
I found myself right next to the Promenade, a wide and shady street with a fresh sea breeze.
As you walk along, pay attention to the small yacht boats ️- they will offer to take you to Portovenere, one of the small villages nearby where you can only get by water. This is one of the destinations La Spezia hosts ⚓. 
Wandering around the city, you’ll find that some architectural ideas are quite unique and surprising, like this one-flat-wall house. You know what’s weird? It actually looks like someone is living there. To me, that’s some kind of magic.
There are upper levels with mostly private houses and apartment buildings. To get from bottom to top you can either walk – I found these gorgeous stairs that look like a park itself! It’s a block away from Piazza Garibaldi, and you can take an elevator. Yes, not a train, not a cable car, an elevator. It’s fun and it’s free. Locals use it all the time. You can find them at Via Prione, at Via Biassa and the Church of Santa Maria, and it only has up or down buttons so easy to operate.
As you get back to the center, there are still a lot of places to go to. Personally, I am willing to get lost in these tangled blooming shopping streets to end up in a local pizzeria at lunchtime. Pricy Stradivarius and Michael Kors boutiques next to the gorgeous Santa Maria Assunta ( definitely stop by!) are out of my salary range, but Skechers and Tezenis are the trademarks I adore and cherish, so give me half an hour, I’m coming in! 
I got a bit exhausted and sleepy from all this walking. Obviously, my personal battery was failing me, so I longed for my perfect Italian cappuccino and finally found it here at the railway station, next to the Burgery by Roadhouse. Maybe it’s just my quench speaking, but it was one of the best coffees in my life. One espresso shot, very little milk and the rest – gentle silky foam on top. You pick up the cup and you feel it’s very light. That’s the way, a-ha-a-ha, I like it, a-ha-a-ha only 1.30 Euro for a cup of liquid sunshine, well, and 1.20 for a chocolate croissant. 
It’s a splendid gothic-style church up on the hill by the sea, you couldn’t miss it for the world! Stand right next to them to get a beautiful background for your vacation’ pictures. Wait for the bubble man to blow a soapy rope nearby, and catch the moment to jump in the colorful bubble cloud! You want more? Tip him a bit and he will do his best!
But by all means, it’s worth it! So much space and so much sanity in there! Indescribable. I felt a bit overwhelmed and intimidated. You’ll just have to experience that by yourself, that’s it, cause no camera in the world would be able to depict this majestic beauty of colorful stained glass windows. 
When you exit the cafe, you’ll see a square – Plaza del Mercat, with a huge green tree that stretches all above it. Pay attention – on the other side of it you’ll see a 5-stories building in unusual architectural style. Looks like Gaudi was traveling to Palma and left his masterpiece behind as a reminder.
Walk a few blocks down and turn right to get lost into another shopping street (with more reasonable prices this time.) Cozy local cafes, family-owned stores, street art in all its possible variety – that is La Rambla. I was lucky to stop by the Lindt authentic store, where a lady greeted me with an awfully delicious mango chocolate candy. I have no idea how come she figured out, that mango is my favorite fruit! Never refuse any free stuff, even if you don’t end up buying anything. Although, in that store, it’s practically impossible. I came in for a reason. You see, my cousin loves this Lindt Passionfruit chocolate bars, she encountered them while traveling through Europe since then she wasn’t able to find them anywhere. But this store has an enormous selection of treats, and of course, it was there! I bought like 5 or 6 at once and took this picture for her to let her know what is on the way;) Naturally, I got one for myself as well, a 98% dark chocolate to savor.
Somewhere along the street you might hear church bells, that would most probably be Sant Francesc Church. Too many churches, you think? I’m not a religious person, however, I would always stop by a church or a cathedral for a couple of minutes. First, you get a break from exhausting summer heat diving under its medieval stone columns. Second, you can relax for a bit and sit down, exploring is most often a long-distance walking. And sometimes even enjoy an impromptu organ concert, as I did.
And so, you can drop by this little family cafe – For Des Teatre on Jaume Alemany Street.
I just couldn’t pass by the show-window – you stare at that mouthwatering stuff that looks like pizza but it’s not (the dough is different, it’s crunchy, tastes more like pastry,) and you can’t help yourself!
I ordered a slice of red pepper stew, and it was awesome! Unfortunately though, they don’t really have tables and chairs outside (and you would want to sit with your slice, as it’s delicate and easily falling apart,) but you can sit right next door and get some ice-cold beer to go with your snack. I paid about 8 Euros for both, including tip.
So that was one shopping- exploring-martini tasting-relaxing day! Hope to have more coming. I liked wandering among these mazy Palma streets with finding myself in unexpected but beautiful places. The city is very green and shady, a pure retreat. Next time I’ll probably try to get to Palma beach to be able to experience leisure on soft Spanish sand and to tell you all about it.
One way ticket is only 1.1 Euro. There is a small ticket office, but nobody is ever there (FYI, in Italy a lot of things work the other way, but we’ll get to this later. 
. The train itself departs every 10 min, and from bottom to top it takes about 10 min ride. To get to the very top you’ll have to exit on the last 4th station – Piazza Fuga. After that turn right, go up the street stairs, continue all the way up to the castle. If you feel you got lost, use this one “come faccio al castello?” (“how do I get to the castle?”), it should be handy, and then look for the directions from the locals.
, take the elevator to the upper floor and enjoy the stunning views! You go all around and see Napoli scattered down below, gorgeous in its sleeping glory Vesuvius volcano, the whole Amalfi coast with the Capri island on the horizon… In places like that time cannot be really measured, right?
, that is all the way down at the seaside, or at the park by Viable Anton Dohrn with a perfect bay view for your pictures and fresh marine wind for your retreat.
Noise will be your orientation – the louder it gets, the closer you are to the center;). 
It’s mainly a walking street with brand shops and exquisite ice-cream parlors, or gelaterias, that slowly disappears into Via Monteoliveto. 
Galleria Umberto is a place to stop by, at least to see the gentle summer sunshine beaming through the beautiful glass ceiling. It always amazed me, as it looks like a street, feels like a big train station when it’s neither. It’s just a state-of-the-art shopping mall.
(4 Cheese – well, it’s my #1 permanent choice), stop by Antica Trattoria e Pizzeria da Peppino. I guarantee you the best cheese pizza in town! Their secret is in adding chips of smoked cheese on top, that complements both taste and flavor in it. It will cost you about 7 Euro, and a glass of Peroni on the tab will be around 5. Yeah, food is way cheaper than booze;) So, if it’s a lunch for two with a pizza and couple of beers, with the tax and service charge that will go up to 20 Euros. For the wheat beer lovers – make sure you try Peroni Bianca, that’s mostly bottled though. 
You’ll be quite surprised to find out that Italians can brew on the level.