The Tour of Italy

This past week has been a blur of tours, sights, food, culture, and so much more! We had our first travel break this past week which meant we had a week off of school to travel around Europe. Many CIMBA students traveled to places like Paris, Dublin, London, along with many others. However, for our travel break myself and five others decided to travel around Italy for the week so we could see everything Italy had to offer without trying to squeeze it in the few free weekends we have. I can’t even tell you how glad I am that we decided to do that because we saw so much and had the experience of a lifetime.

We started out our adventure leaving campus early on Saturday morning to catch a train to Florence, the first stop on our journey. While in Florence we climbed to the top of the Duomo, checked out the leather markets, spent time on the bridge known for its gold and silver shops, and wandered through the city. I loved Florence because it was beautiful and there was so much to see and do.

The next day we took a side trip to Pisa to see the infamous Leaning Tower. While there is not a lot else to see, we had a lot of fun at the tower and managed to take way too many of the typical tourist pictures (:

After spending another night in Florence we then took off on a bus for Siena. Siena is a small town in the Tuscan countryside and it was truly breathtaking. We walked through the town stopping at the most amazing cathedral I have seen yet, the piazza where they hold horse races around the square, as well as many of the small shops that filled the streets.

We had a delicious breakfast at our bed and breakfast in Siena before heading off to Rome! Upon arriving in Rome we found our hostel, got checked in, and decided to head to the Colosseum. At the Colosseum we took the tour and it was fascinating. To be standing in the same spot as thousands of people who came to watch the games and gladiator fights is hard to even imagine. When we finished at the colosseum it was too late to head to the other sites so we walked to see the capital building, the Pantheon, and the Trevi Fountain. It was an amazing day and we saw so much of what we wanted to see.

With our tickets we had two days to see the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palantine Hill, which meant we had to do it the next day. However, after checking online I found that the Pope would be at the Vatican and do a blessing for the crowd in St. Peter’s Square the next day, so we decided to go just to see if we could even get it. That meant waking up very early and standing in line for hours in the rain, but it was so worth it! The Pope arrived in the popemobile and drove through the crowds in St. Peter’s, kissing the children and waving to the people.

He eventually made his way to our side of the square and we were about 10 feet away from him, which was so incredible! He then gave a blessing which was for all of the people in attendance, as well as their families and anyone they know who is sick. Being blessed by the Pope is something I would have never thought possible, but it was definitely the highlight of my trip!

After the Papal Blessing we left and headed back to the Roman Forum and Palantine Hill. We strolled through these ruins and it is crazy to picture what it all looked like back when it was built and thriving. It really is like taking a step back in time. We then made our way back to the Trevi Fountain to make our wishes, and continued on to visit the Spanish Steps.

Making a wish 🙂

Our entire day on Thursday was spent discovering the Vatican (literally being there for over 9 hours!) We walked through the entire Vatican Museum, saw the Sistine Chapel, walked through St. Peter’s Basilica, and sat in St. Peter’s Square. I have never seen anything like the Vatican overall and there was just so much to see.

Also, that day we received a message from the staff at CIMBA stating that there would be a public transportation strike throughout Italy the following day. We had planned on taking a bus to Naples the following morning, but since that was going to be impossible we booked our hostel for another night and had another day to explore Rome. We spent the day shopping for souvenirs, people watching on the Spanish Steps, wandering around the streets of Rome. We received another message from CIMBA regarding massive protests that would be taking place the next day in Rome, and a statement from the US Embassy that Americans should avoid traveling in those areas. While walking around we saw so many law enforcement officers who were blocking off streets and taping off areas, it was crazy. By the time the day was over we were happy the public transportation strike was over and we would be leaving early for Naples.

So the next morning we took off for Naples but ended up going straight to Pompeii, where we explored for the entire day. Pompeii was definitely one of my favorite parts of the trip because it really is just a story you heard about in elementary school until you’re standing in the streets and seeing how those people lived since everything was so well preserved under the rock.

After a day at Pompeii we went back to Naples for the night and had pizza where it is claimed to have been born. We then got up early and headed back to Paderno which really felt like coming home. The trip was amazing, but after so much packing and unpacking, traveling, and visiting big cities, I really saw how much I enjoy our small little town and the safety you feel when you’re here.

This will be a trip that I will never forget and I feel like I can truly say I have seen Italy (: