I HAVE LIVED IN EUROPE FOR ONE WHOLE MONTH HOW CRAZY IS THAT? It's still hard to believe that time has gone this fast. This past week was another tiring one as I took, yet again, another weekend trip. This one however was with the university and was very historical and educational and IT WAS AMAZING. So, my advice for the week is to take every optional educational field trip that your program offers. You get to travel around with people who know the area (which is a big time saver for people who are directionally challenged such as myself) and people who know all of the history. This field trip went south of Rome to Naples, Sorrento, Pompeii, and Herculaneum. Even if you aren't studying abroad in Italy, these are MUST SEE sights for anyone who loves history or the most beautiful views of the sea in the entire world. We started off in Naples and visited the archeological museum, which holds all of the objects and sculptures from ancient Rome, Pompeii, and Herculaneum. You can see the Farnese Bull and the statue of Hercules from the Temple of Hercules, and the original mosaics of Pompeii, which are both incredible works of art. Naples is really amazing for its food also because IT IS THE BIRTHPLACE OF PIZZA. I have high pizza standards and I seriously had the best pizza of my life. We then took a really cool hydrofoil across the bay of Napoli into Sorrento. Sorrento is SO beautiful. There are amazing restaurants and really cool shops with all sorts of handmade things. We got to go to an amazing restaurant and have a five course traditional Italian Meal. Our hostel was also a convent that was on the cliffside, and I got to wake up to amazing coffee and a view of Mount Vesuvius from the balcony. SERIOUSLY INCREDIBLE. We visited Herculaneum after breakfast (which is cooler than Pompeii from a design standpoint) and it was so surreal. It's hard to even fathom that you are looking at buildings, artwork, and even bodies that are over 2000 years old because of the way the lava preserved them. At the end of the trip we were given two days to freely travel around the area. In my opinion, the Amalfi Coast could quite possibly be the most beautiful place in the world, so you can't really go wrong with whatever town you visit. We chose to go to Positano- which I would highly recommend if you want some amazing cliffside views and somewhere that's not really touristy. The whole town is built into the cliffside and you can only get places via stairs. I CLIMBED OVER 300 FLIGHTS IN TWO DAYS AND I STILL HURT BUT IT WAS SO WORTH IT. The houses are really cute and colorful, the seafood is amazing (we actually attended a fish festival on the beach), and the views of the Mediterranean Sea are the best around. We splurged and rented a sailboat for the day to take us around the Amalfi coast. The water is so blue and warm, and we were able to see the Arch of Amalfi and swim in an explore all of the sea caves and the emerald grottos. I honestly can say it was probably the best day of my life. This trip was hands down my favorite so far, and I got to experience it with the coolest guide ever, discounted rates, and all of my friends. So if that isn't enough to convince someone to go on optional field trips, I don't know what is.
Next weekend is my first STAYCATION. The itinerary includes my first Roma soccer game, a makeshift hair salon in my apartment, McDonald's, and me pretending to be a chef- all very exciting things so stay tuned. Ciao, Liz Enjoy these pictures of Positano :)
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AuthorI'm Liz Bixenman, an interior design student living in Rome for the semester. When I'm not doing schoolwork, you can find me wearing a cat shirt, reading a book, and most likely eating more carbs than I'm proud of. Archives
December 2016
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