First of Many Adventures!

Written by apantuosco February 12, 2019

Bassano is beautiful.

Cloudy days.

Scenic.

The views!

Furman meets Bassano!

Same cappuccino, different place.

Cloudy days.

Scenic.

Same cappuccino, different place.

Bassano is beautiful.

Second Week: February 1, 2019

Hello again! I have now been in Italy for about two weeks, and everything is starting to become slightly more normal. A lot has happened since I posted last, so let’s go through it all!

FIRST TRAVEL DESTINATION

This past weekend, many of us took a bus to Bassano del Grappa, which is a neighboring city about 30 minutes away. Bassano has a train station as well, so this is an important place to keep in the back of your head when traveling.

Bassano is beautiful! It’s the closest city around Paderno, and it is super easy to navigate. There are lots of restaurants, stores, and coffee shops around to look at. Also, there is a giant sculpture of a rhino that has some sort of relevance that I’m not aware of. But it was cool!

Also, there is a castle that we walked through. The architecture was beautiful, and the views were amazing. I highly recommend exploring the various sights of Bassano.

I did run into one issue while in Bassano though-getting back to Paderno. It wouldn’t have been a problem any other day, but buses don’t run on Sundays. My group and I were all trying to figure out a way to get back, and the workers at the train station didn’t speak English. Also, it was very cold outside, and to add on top of that, most of us didn’t have any service on our phones. It was quite an experience.

BUT luckily for us, as we were trying to come up with a solution, a huge taxi pulled in front of the train station, rolled down the window, and said, “CIMBA?” It was CRAZY!

We may have taken someone else’s taxi, and we probably should have been a little less adamant about immediately hopping into an unknown taxi that somehow knew we were from CIMBA, but oh well! We made it! Happy endings!

LIFE

Following the Bassano trip, this week was busy with classes and with LIFE. What is LIFE? Good question. I went through three days of it and still cannot seem to put it into words. Also, I’m not allowed to give any details, so just know that it’s very intense leadership training, and if you’re deciding whether to do it or not, DO IT. It’s crazy and unlike anything you can imagine, but it is definitely a learning experience. You will be so proud of yourself once you finish it. And you’ll meet so many people through it, at a deeper level than you would if you decided against participating. Do LIFE! Do it! Seriously!

PLANNING TRIPS

The last topic I want to discuss is planning for travel. Sometimes, planning gets to be very stressful, especially since most CIMBA students travel every weekend. So here are some tips!

Don’t be like me-plan somewhat AHEAD. You get cheaper prices, and you save yourself from the stress.
Be open to exploring places you never thought about exploring, but also make sure you go places that you want to go! This is such an amazing opportunity to go to the places you dream of going to. Make sure you pencil in time for YOUR preferred travel destinations.
Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed! If you need a weekend off from travel, TAKE IT. Rest. Hike Monte Grappe on Saturday and go to the Crespano Market on Sunday! Paderno is little, but it has lots to offer.

That’s all for this week! Excited to share next week’s adventures with you all. Until then!

Ci vediamo!