(Sober Firsts) Airports, Italian Trains and Discovering New Fears After 25 Years Sober(Sober Firsts) Airports, Italian Trains and Discovering New Fears After 25 Years Sober
Recovery Rocks
Lisa Smith and Anna David share candid stories about early sober travel and facing new fears decades into recovery, from airport bars to Italian trains. Their conversation mixes humour and vulnerability to show how new sober milestones keep appearing long after the drinking stops.
16:24•6 Nov 2026
Sober Firsts: Airports, Italian Trains and Hidden Fears After 25 Years Dry
Episode Overview
- Early sober travel can feel frightening, so practical tools like snacks, reading material and avoiding bars can help.
- Handing back a hotel minibar key and having a plan with a sponsor and recovery literature can reduce relapse risk on business trips.
- Even with decades of sobriety, previously hidden fears—like solo international travel—can surface and be worked through.
- Successfully managing complex logistics, such as foreign train systems, can become a powerful source of pride in recovery.
- Sober life continues to bring new firsts and challenges, showing that growth doesn’t stop after the early years of recovery.
“I thought of airports as bars with hallways.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? Recovery veterans Lisa Smith and Anna David swap stories about "sober firsts" that pop up even after decades without a drink, especially when travel and unexpected fears are involved. You'll hear Lisa recall her first solo business trip at around 60 days sober, heading to a notoriously boozy law firm retreat in San Francisco. She used to see airports as "bars with hallways," so flying without drinking felt terrifying.
Her survival kit? Candy, pretzels, trashy magazines, hiding away from the airport bars, handing the hotel minibar key straight back, and leaning hard on her sponsor and recovery literature. She admits it wasn’t fun, but she felt genuinely proud afterwards. Anna’s story is a different kind of sober milestone. With more than 25 years of sobriety, she realised she’d never truly handled international travel on her own.
A recent trip to Italy meant facing crowded train stations, last-minute track changes and language barriers without relying on someone else to organise everything. She talks about sweating through wrong trains and wrong cars, then the pure joy of finally arriving in Florence and waking up alone in a beautiful spot she’d booked herself. Along the way, the two reflect on how sobriety keeps offering new firsts and hidden fears, even long into recovery.
There’s also a funny, slightly “petty resentment” segment where they rant about people responding to texts with phone calls, joking that an unexpected call now feels like someone banging on your front door. This chat is aimed at people in recovery who might think they’ve seen it all, as well as anyone anxious about sober travel or trying new things. It’s honest, warm and a reminder that you can still surprise yourself years into sobriety.
What sober first might be waiting around the corner for you?
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