I'd been having lunch with a work colleague (this was during the fall of 2013) and she talked about some trips she'd gone on with some faculty we work with. Many of our faculty organize educational trips for students. I knew this but had no idea other faculty or staff could go. Curious, I picked her brain some more and found out that a trip was planned to go to Italy and Greece in May of 2014. I was intrigued so I emailed the professor in charge of the trip for more info and asked if I was allowed to join. The rest is history. I was finally going to be able to cross many cities and a couple countries off my travel bucket list!
The tour was through EF College Study Tours. Aside from a few minor hiccups (nothing that wasn't immediately fixable), I'm really pleased with how everything was planned and handled through this company. I would definitely travel through them again.
Our group consisted of 22 folks (3 faculty/staff and 19 students). We left Columbus airport on Wednesday, May 14 and traveled to JFK airport in New York and then to Amsterdam. I have to say, I was a bit scared to go through customs because I had never done it before and had heard many horror stories. Passport check and customs was a breeze in Amsterdam. Like 10 minutes tops. Maybe they aren't as harsh there because they don't deal with the terrorist threat other places like NY and Heathrow? I don't know, but I was expecting long lines and a luggage search at minimum.
We had a 6 hour layover in Amsterdam, which was the worst. We'd traveled overnight on a 6 1/2 hour flight, jumped a couple time zones and were basically ready to be done with planes. Luckily our flight from Amsterdam to Rome was only a couple hours and all our travelling thus far had been without incident, mostly. A funny thing occurred at the Columbus airport. One of the students was told his passport wasn't valid; what the TSA agent failed to relay was that it just needed signed. Thanks for basically making us all poop our pants sir. I swear, some TSA agents really hate their jobs and take some sort of twisted pleasure in making travelers uncomfortable (just my opinion!)
We finally arrived in Rome, Italy on Thursday, May 15. Our Tour Director (or TD), Gianluca (we called him Luca the whole time because he told us to), picked us up at the airport. We were in a tour group with folks from two other schools from Pennsylvania and North Carolina. I think there was close to 50 total in our group. We didn't get into Rome until about 4:30pm so all we really got to do that day was go to dinner, which was a-ok with me because I was like zombie.
Our first full day in Rome was spent visiting the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, and Vatican City. This was the day we got handed our Whisper device. What is a Whisper you ask? It is a radio//walkie talkie looking device that one wears on a lanyard around their neck. A headphone with attached. So basically, in case you didn't already look touristy enough... The device allows your tour guide to talk at a normal tone but everyone in the group can hear them. Needed, but so annoying. I'd had enough of the Whisper by the end of my trip.
But back to Rome...
Seeing the Coliseum, Forum, and Vatican City was a surreal experience. I don't think, in the moment, I full grasped that I was actually seeing it all in person.
The next day a group of us traveled by train to Florence. I think here is where most of us had our "wow" moment with the architecture. Walking from the train station to the Duomo cathedral, we couldn't see the structure at first. After rounding a corner, there it was in all it's splendor. No photograph will ever do this place justice; you really have to see it in person. It is a beautiful building of white, red, and green marble.
We got to walk around Florence a bit and see the famous bridge, the Ponte Vecchio.
After returning to Rome, two of my tour (and now lifelong) friends and I visited the Trevi fountain. We all threw a coin in and made a wish. When in Rome...
I would be remiss if I also didn't mention the gelato. Ice cream is my favorite dessert and Italian gelato did not disappoint. Anything sold in the states that calls itself gelato is a big fat lie. Also, I've never eaten so many carbs in my life. By the time we got to Greece, I was starving for some protein. Although the carbs were fantastic, not gonna lie.
Onto day three and the Mount Vesuvius climb! Yes, we climbed Mount Vesuvius (well, for the most part), the same one that buried Pompeii under all that volcanic ash. Side note, the weather was amazing that day and we got to see a great view of the Bay of Naples on our drive up the mountain. It was so beautiful!
It was a trek up to the peak of the crater; I'm talking probably almost a mile uphill. If you think you're in shape, you're not. My calves felt amazing afterward. But we made it and it was so worth it for the view and just to say that I was there.
Day four we visited Pompeii. I have to say that our tour guide for our Pompeii visit was the bees knees, my favorite. I mean, it certainly didn't hurt that he was really attractive (Dr. Summers would totally roll his eyes at that statement), but you could tell he knew so much about the site and really had an affinity for it. His knowledge and enthusiasm made the tour a stand-out of the trip for me. Definitely was one of my favorite spots.
That day marked our last in Italy and we traveled to the Port of Bari and boarded a night ferry that would take us to Greece. The term 'night ferry' is probably a bit misleading. It was basically like a small cruise ship, complete with staterooms. I think all of us were expecting communal showers and sleeping quarters, but it wasn't that bad at all. This was a pretty fun night. Luca tried to tell us that girls and soccer are not a thing in Italy and we tried to explain Greek Life to him...and also that probably all the Italian girls are just lying to the guys that they don't like soccer. If you want to know what Luca sounds like, watch Prince Naveen in Princess and the Frog, because he sounds just like that. :)
Our bus driver in Italy, Andrea, was so awesome. Every time we exited the bus, he helped all the ladies down. Ah, chivalry. It is not lost in all parts of the world it seems. I always thought he was angry at someone, but it turns out he just talked at a high volume, rapidly.
In an effort to not have a blog post go on forever, I'm dividing it into two parts. Part two will be coming soon!
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