Welcome to Day 1 of Train Week. I want this series to be an intuition diary — not super formal, just a storytelling flow as I follow what’s unfolding in real time.
You can watch the video, for the full update, or read below for some key highlights.
The Day 1 Route
For those of you who love the logistics (or want to trace my slightly chaotic path), here’s a map overview of the travel path.
Menton → Ventimiglia → Genoa → Faenza
And here’s what the travel time looked like
Needless to say it was already not a casual day of travel, but then so many things went wrong.
When Everything Goes “Wrong” (and You Stay Grounded Anyway)
Day One did not go according to plan.
I had booked a stay in a tiny medieval town in Italy (Brisighella) and the only train that could get me there arrived too late for check-in. I messaged the hosts, asked if I could arrive later, and they said no. (Totally fair on their part- it’s a small family run spot, and they tried to message me before I just didn’t see it until day of.)
There’s a past version of me that would’ve been annoyed or frustrated by this.
Especially because travel days as a digital nomad can feel weirdly destabilizing when you’ve got all your earthly belonging in your suitcase with you and no real “home” that day.
But what I noticed this time was… I didn’t spiral.
But instead of getting derailed by the shift I just embraced the reroute and pivoted my plans. Without resistance. Without mind drama.
The plan changed, and I didn’t get dysregulated. I adjusted, moved on, and kept going.
The Travel Day (A Comedy of Errors)
I started out train week in Menton, France, and needed to cross the border into Italy. My plan was to take a local train to Ventimiglia, then continue on to Genoa and eventually Faenza.
But when I checked the app, I saw that the first train — the one that would get me to my connection — was cancelled. I was already in the Bolt on the way to the station, vibing with my driver, so I asked him if he could drive me across the border. In his Tesla.
He said “why not?”. We put in the new destination and carried on with the adventure.
But the mishaps kept piling up.
We hit gridlock traffic on the way to the station.
I forgot to download an E-sim for Italy, so had no data or wifi for 3 hours. (Which feels sketchy when you’re traveling alone)
I had no water with me for the entire 2 hr train ride (in the intense August heat)
The first train had no space for luggage so my seat ended up being a pile of suitcases and backpacks.
It was a bit chaotic, and yet through the chaos there were some beautiful moments.
Kindness of strangers and sugar packets
I messed up by not bringing any water with me on the train. But I didn’t realize that until too late.
It was only a 2 hour ride, nothing horrible would have happened if I didn’t get any water. But I felt so thirsty.
I looked over and saw this British girl in the seat across the aisle from me with this massive water bottle. So in my desperation, I got up the courage to ask her for help.
I tapped her and said “Can I ask you a ridiculous question? Would you mind giving me some water?”
She nodded immediately. She was even about to hand me her own bottle to drink out of, but I told her I had my own, so she poured some in for me.
It seems like such a small thing, but it really wasn’t. When you're solo traveling and everything feels a little chaotic, those small acts of kindness — like someone sharing their water — land in a big way. It’s this reminder that you’re not alone. We’re all just humans moving through the world together.
The next morning, after that long and chaotic travel day, I woke up in my BnB in Faenza. It wasn’t where I had originally planned to be, but I felt so genuinely happy. The fridge was fully stocked, the espresso machine was ready, and outside my door was a little box of pastries. I laid everything out for myself: the pastries, orange juice, sparkling water, espresso.
And then I opened the drawer and saw these adorable sugar packets.
These tiny Italian sugar packets with faces and emotions and little words printed on them. They were so cute. And for whatever reason, they just completely delighted me.
I realized: this is it.
This is what it feels like to be fully present in your life. To stop fixating on the need to arrive, but being fully present on the way to the destination.
And I just kept thinking:
How many sugar packet moments do we miss because we’re holding our breath trying to get to the next thing?
We’re trying so hard to arrive that we miss the actual experience we’re having.
The magic of train week
So that’s what Train Week is teaching me so far.
And that’s what I love about the way I’m living these days. It’s like I just show up and let life be my teacher. I let things unfold. I learn so many lessons. I participate in life and grow through the process.
It’s beautiful and messy and amazing.
And as it turns out… train week is also a space for transition.
It’s through train week that we will be moving the podcast from Life After Medicine into The Spiritually Ambitious. So that’s another fun aspect of what’s unfolding.
Thanks so much for being on the journey with me.
XO, Coach Chels
