January 2023: Almost a years worth of planning, applications, and forms wondering when all the pre-departure work will end. When will the experience of a lifetime finally feel real? The answer to that question, at least from my experience, wasn’t until my parents and I went separate ways at the airport and I realized I wasn’t boarding my usual flight back to Tampa, Florida. In these types of moments you begin to remember every little detail. Flying out of Denver International my whole life, I’m use to taking the airport shuttle to concourse C. Instead, I exited the train at B, mind racing as to what I would experience over the next 4 1/2 months. I’ve been to Europe once before, but long ago to the point where the memories are fuzzy. I got my traditional airport Jamba Juice and began my journey through the long DIA terminal. While sitting at the gate, I had time to gather my final thoughts, expectations, and goals for this life changing journey. What more could a 21 year old ask for? Traveling Europe with your best friends is hard to beat. “B42, nonstop to Frankfurt is now beginning to board” filled the airport with noise. Hearing those words gave me the chills. I took one final glance outside, wondering what my life would look like when I step off the plane at DIA 4 months later. Those thoughts came and went as excitement began to take over. This was finally the moment I knew everything had come together. The planning? Worth it. The applications and forms? Worth it. The time and anticipation? Worth it. I was finally on my way to Europe.
Before we get deeper into the start, I want to backtrack quickly and give you some background information. I had began my journey a week earlier than most of my other friends traveling with me. When choosing my classes, one stood out and caught my eye immediately and I knew I had to snatch the opportunity. “Cultural Introduction to Italy: A Rome Experience.” I thought to myself, “I can’t pass this up.” A week long course beginning in Rome that would introduce me to hidden gems all across Rome and the Italian country side. All while learning the history, culture and traditions each city/town prides themselves on. Now that we have a little background to the beginning of my trip, lets get back on track. I arrived in Frankfurt, Germany after the grueling 10 1/2 hour flight, but I don’t consider this the beginning of my trip. Rather, I look at it as one of my many layovers, stops, and halts to the actual destination. Something I would soon become accustomed to while traveling every weekend. I could already sense the cultural change the second I stepped off the plane. “Why are there hotdog stands everywhere? We’re in an airport,” I thought to myself. Little did I know at the time Germany is known for their hotdogs and sausages. My time in Germany was short and sweet, and soon enough I would be boarding my final flight of the journey to Rome.
Italy: The country of pizza, gelato, romance, and of course, beautiful women. Arriving in Rome felt like a dream. I was exhausted, hungry and gross, but eager to start exploring this new city that has so much to offer. Over the next couple days, I would be exploring Rome and the Vatican City before embarking up the country side and eventually making it to my “home” city of Florence. After 14 hours of travel, I only managed to get a few hours of sleep my first night before starting my Rome sightseeing experience bright and early the next day. Depending on how you enjoy spending your time, my first day in Rome may look like the best day ever, or a nightmare you wish to never have again. Waking up at 7am while jet lagged isn’t hard, but it’s the crash later in the day you have to prepare for. It was cloudy, rainy, 50 degrees and windy. Not the ideal weather for an 8 mile planned walking day. Soaking wet and feet freezing, I made the most of the day and enjoyed all the beauty Rome has to offer, even when the weather’s not on your side. We began at the Colosseum before making our way to the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Roman Forum, and the Pantheon. So much history in so little time, but we still found time to mix in 3 course lunch consisting of fresh bruschetta, homemade lasagna, and Tiramisu for dessert. Now I’ve never been a fan of Aperol Spritz and that still reigns true to this day, but was still able to enjoy a refreshing Birra Moretti which is one of Italy’s most idolized native beers.
The Vatican, Bagnaia and Bomarzo: The following day, the sun managed to peak through the thick clouded sky and made for the perfect day to explore more of Rome and the Vatican City. I had expectations for St. Peter’s Basilica before visiting, but pictures don’t do the monumental creation justice. It was hands down the most impressive, mind blowing, and detail oriented structure I have ever stepped foot in. From the Michaelangelo mosaic covered walls to the gold platted ceiling, St Peter’s is truly the home of catholicism. It honors the time, care, and sacrifice the workers put forth into the 120 years it took to complete the most valued church in the world. Over the next 5 days, I visited numerous towns and cities as we trekked through the countryside and Tuscany. Bagnaia was our first stop with a specific visit to Villa Lante. Filled with colorful green hedges and sculpted water features, Villa Lante was home to two cardinals that lived in identical casinos. This was the most interesting fact I had learned all day. Casinos in Italy are not places to lose your money playing blackjack and craps, but rather small houses in which cardinals and popes use to reside in during their escape from the busy city. My favorite feature of this place was the water grotto at the top overlooking the beautiful Italian countryside. The following day, we transferred to Bomarzo which gave us a different look at Italian culture from centuries ago. More focused on humanism, mythology and magic, Bomarzo left me wondering what the true meaning of the structures and sculptures really were. Who came up with the idea to sculpt a 3 headed dog? A slanted house? Weird, but interesting. It amazed me that artists were able to chisel these objects out of the rocks that inhabited the area. Bomarzo was definitely a beautiful, sacred gem hidden in the middle of Italy.
Orvieto and Torgiano: The next 2 days of my Rome excursion took me to Orvieto and Torgiano. In Orvieto, we began our visit with a tour of St. Patricks Well. Beautifully lit with lights hanging down the walls, we began our journey down to the bottom which was followed by a much different, much longer journey up the 230+ step well. We ended the tour of Orvieto with a visit to the cathedral in the middle of the town. Inspired by the works of Michelangelo, both the inside and outside featured carvings, mosaic inspired art pieces and a large bronze door opening to the beauty of inside the cathedral. After an early morning start in Orvieto, we transferred to Torgiano to visit Cantine Lungarotti and the MUVIT/MOO museum in town. Now I will admit 10am was a little early for wine tasting, but it was one of the coolest and most interesting places I’d visited so far. I never knew the true roots wine had in Italy and the lengthy process of making wine. At the vineyard, we toured each step that wine went through in its process before it’s drinkable. Starting with picking grapes by hand to the destemming process and finally the aging process, wine itself goes through more than people think. Once inside the storing room, we were greeted with a massive french oak barrel holding red wine; some of which has been sitting for 4-5 years. The most interesting fact I learned was that the big barrels can fill up to 7000 bottles of wine. Wow. I need one of these for my house back home in the states. The smaller barrels, still made from french oak, were able to fill up to 300 bottles of wine. These smaller barrels resemble the ones from pirate ships and the Boston Tea Party that you see pirates and revolutionists carrying their rum in. I then was able to see the processing room where the wine was bottled, packed, sealed and boxed before it headed out the doors to be enjoyed by wine consumers around the world. We then toured the wine cellar in the basement where the wine went through its final aging periods. Flipped upside down and rotated daily, the wine bottles would sit for years before being frozen at the neck to remove all the excess sediment before receiving its final cork and making its way to the shelves. It was crazy to see bottles from before I was born still aging in the wine cellar with some bottles dating all the way back to the 1960s. During our tasting, we tried one white and two red blends while also enjoying some bread and house made olive oil. This tour made me realize that I would love to make wine some day in the future. We then visited the MUVIT/MOO museum in town where we learned about the history of wine, olive oil, and art from the area. Seeing how the Etruscans evolved their winemaking techniques over years of failures, practices and successes. The old crushing machine in the basement of the museum and the Pablo Picasso piece on display were my favorite displays.
Perugia and Assisi: The final two days brought us closer to our end destination of Florence with a visit to Perugia and Assisi. We took a detailed tour of the city center of Perugia and toured a chocolate factory. I knew right away that our chocolate factory tour guide was from New York City; that accent travels far and sticks with you forever. Now for someone like me who doesn’t enjoy chocolate and never has, I wasn’t very excited for it, but enjoyed the smells the factory had to offer. I took a small bite of the dark chocolate and hated it. I know that’s a harsh word, but I truly did not like it. My tastebuds are to blame for that, not me. It was bitter and hard to swallow, but I was surprised with the milk chocolate. I didn’t enjoy it, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as the dark. Also, caramel is one of my favorite sweets, and the slight taste of it made it more enjoyable. It was sweeter, less bitter, and much easier to get down. Again, I wasn’t a fan of the cake or the hot chocolate, but I’m proud of myself for trying each piece. If I did like chocolate, it would have been the best morning ever. After this, we received a tour of the town in more detail compared to walking on our own. We began at the town hall where Italian students of all ages gathered to join a zoom call with a 96 year old holocaust survivor in honor of the liberation of Jews in Auschwitz. This was a very neat experience. Next, we toured the town’s main Basilica which was covered in stained glass, sculptures and artwork. Perugia is built on very narrow streets and lots of turns, but I started to find my way around and even was able to navigate my way a mile back to the hotel. The city center offers 360 views on the edges of all the neighboring towns. Our final day took us to Assisi and home of St. Francis. We started with a visit to the basilica of St. Francis and it had a much different style than the other churches we had previously visited. Stained glass windows from the early 13th century lined the church walls and the ceiling was almost a resemblance of Van Gogh’s Starry Night. An interesting fact learned was that an earthquake ripped down part of the basilica in 1997. After it fell, shards were reserved to rebuild the ceiling that collapsed. Once we finished the tour of the basilica, we toured the rest of Assisi and visited the main square where we could see Perugia off in the distance.
After a long week of Jet lag, tours and transfers, the day had finally come to make our final push to Florence; the city that would become home for the next 4 months. I was nervous, but excited to begin this next chapter in my life. There would be lots of adjustments to come in the future, but we’ll get into those later down the road. I remember sitting on the final 2 hour bus ride excited to finally settle down, not pack up and transfer everyday and finally have time to explore myself in hopes of achieving my goals for the trip. My biggest goal being I wanted to leave with no regrets. Knowing that I took advantage of everyday, every travel opportunity and every experience possible. My mind was racing so fast that I didn’t even realize the bus had stopped and we arrived in Florence. The nerves dropped and my whole mood shifted. I stepped off the bus, took one glance down the river, did a 360 city view and a smile began to grow on my face. It was that exact moment that I knew I was “home.”
