During the past two weeks, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to and explore Italy and Germany with a group of friends. Though I got back on Sunday night, I am still in shock over my experience and find it hard to write about everything I did and saw during my time overseas; however, I am going to try my absolute best because I really want to share my experience with you all! I'm going to start with our airport experience. . . (:
Okay, the flights to Milan, Italy literally suckedddddd. We flew up to Detroit on Saturday for a short layover, but when we got on the plane to Amsterdam, we sat on the ground for two hours due to freezing rain that was circulating in the sky. Because we were delayed for so long getting to Amsterdam, we missed our flight to Milan. Immediately after we landed in The Netherlands (oh, I also thought Amsterdam was in Germany, so it was a fun surprised to find out that it is in fact, not in Germany haha), we sprinted through two gates to make it to the Milan flight, but then we found out that we went to the WRONG gate and sprinted all the way back through the airport just to find out that yes, we did in fact still miss our flight. So, I ran all that way for nothing; it's fineeeeeeee lol. Even though we were able to catch another flight a few hours later, the first missed flight caused us to miss our train from Milan to Verona. In the end, we traveled for almost (or maybe more- I don't remember at this point haha) thirty hours (Saturday to Sunday night, with a five hour time change) without sleep or being able to shower. Gross, I know.
Thankfully, we made it to Verona in one piece, and our adventures began to look up after that! For a day (Monday), we freely explored on our own, wandering up and down the beautiful streets of Verona. It was interesting to see how different the architecture is from that found in American cities all over our country. Each building in Verona (and every other city in Italy) have this personalized character, a different style and beauty about each individual place that brings a uniqueness between the numerous cities. This aspect of the country alone made me immediately fall in love with the place, and I knew that this trip was going to be the adventure of a lifetime.
On Tuesday, we met up with the team coming from my school in the beautiful little city of Verona, so we could continue our travels with them for the next week. I had originally been a little nervous (though still excited) to meet up with the group from school because I wasn't really super close with any of them, but by the end of our trip, I could call so many of them my family. They were an absolute blast, and it was so cool getting to know people that I had never really considered as good friends before! After exploring Verona for a few hours, we immediately got a bus and headed to a hotel outside of Venice, our first official travel destination and city that we would tour. I cannot even begin to express how amazing seeing Venice in person was, and even when I think back on it, it is hard to explain in the extravagant detail that I wish I could share with everyone. The whole city is built on top of the water; there are no cars on the island, so everyone travels by boat or on foot. People can get everywhere by walking, and some of the side roads lead off into the smallest alleyways that are oftentimes the home to the best cafés, restaurants, and shops. Each section of buildings are unique in some way, and the overall elegance of Venice is breathtaking. This was my favorite city to visit during the whole trip, and if I can go back and visit it again someday, I totally will in a heartbeat. This first major city set my expectations for the whole trip very high, and wow, I was not disappointed with Italy and Germany.
I took this beautiful photo on a bridge in Venice that overlooked one of the Gondola canals! So pretty! We ended up taking a Gondola ride through the city during the afternoon of our day spent in the city, and it was one of the highlights of the trip for me!
Though Venice was my favorite city to visit, the cities we visited after were in no way disappointing. We left our hotel in Venice really early on March 14th and made a pit stop in Bologna for a few hours of touring and free time. It is a rather large city and more modern in comparison to some of the other cities we visited. I ate a really good Hawaiian pizza for lunch. . .yes, Hawaiian pizza in Italy. It was amazing though!
From the 15th through the 20th, we took time to visit Florence, Assisi, Pompeii, and Rome- all beautiful cities, though I enjoyed the smaller ones better :). Only four of us from our team visited Pompeii, and it was a super cool city! We visited the ruins, and I learned a lot about Mount Vesuvius and the history of the lost city.
We only spent a few hours in each city every day, but boy oh boy, I could have spent days or weeks exploring each one. From the quaintness of Assisi to the romance of Verona to the nightlife of Rome, each city had a different atmosphere that made me feel as though I was in a new country every day. One of my absolute favorite things about the trip was getting closer with great people and learning more about Italian culture and architecture. I have always loved taking pictures of things and people, and I took over 2,000 on this trip alone (I was quite impressed with myself haha). Huge cathedrals, small shops, alleyways, and awesome people filled my camera roll, and sometimes I will go back through those photos with a big smile on my face as I think about the best memories I made with the best people in the best places in the world.
Ten days flew by so quickly, and I was so sad to say goodbye to my new family when they left for Ohio. We all talked about staying in Italy and attending a Gelato Academy so that we could just make gelato together in a shop somewhere for the rest of our lives, but. . . unfortunately, reality exists :( haha. After the team left, I sat in an airport for a few hours waiting for someone to pick us up and take our small group that was left in Rome on the next part of our adventure, coming to y'all soon ;)
Though Venice was my favorite city to visit, the cities we visited after were in no way disappointing. We left our hotel in Venice really early on March 14th and made a pit stop in Bologna for a few hours of touring and free time. It is a rather large city and more modern in comparison to some of the other cities we visited. I ate a really good Hawaiian pizza for lunch. . .yes, Hawaiian pizza in Italy. It was amazing though!
From the 15th through the 20th, we took time to visit Florence, Assisi, Pompeii, and Rome- all beautiful cities, though I enjoyed the smaller ones better :). Only four of us from our team visited Pompeii, and it was a super cool city! We visited the ruins, and I learned a lot about Mount Vesuvius and the history of the lost city.
We only spent a few hours in each city every day, but boy oh boy, I could have spent days or weeks exploring each one. From the quaintness of Assisi to the romance of Verona to the nightlife of Rome, each city had a different atmosphere that made me feel as though I was in a new country every day. One of my absolute favorite things about the trip was getting closer with great people and learning more about Italian culture and architecture. I have always loved taking pictures of things and people, and I took over 2,000 on this trip alone (I was quite impressed with myself haha). Huge cathedrals, small shops, alleyways, and awesome people filled my camera roll, and sometimes I will go back through those photos with a big smile on my face as I think about the best memories I made with the best people in the best places in the world.
Ten days flew by so quickly, and I was so sad to say goodbye to my new family when they left for Ohio. We all talked about staying in Italy and attending a Gelato Academy so that we could just make gelato together in a shop somewhere for the rest of our lives, but. . . unfortunately, reality exists :( haha. After the team left, I sat in an airport for a few hours waiting for someone to pick us up and take our small group that was left in Rome on the next part of our adventure, coming to y'all soon ;)
One of my favorite things about exploring the cities was finding pieces of art that are not as noticeable as the big churches and other buildings that can be found throughout the country. This bridge that held locks on its railings was so cute, and I stood to admire it for a few minutes and take some pictures. On most locks was a date and initials; a symbol of permanent, locked love between two people. Beauty is found in the smallest, most unnoticeable places, and I really enjoyed seeing small things like this during my time abroad!
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