Over Spring break, I travelled to Italy as part of the RHS Latin Club. Having been on two international trips already (Greece and Japan), I knew the ins and outs of both airline travel and what being a tourist in a foreign country is like. The flight was uneventful, and we landed in Rome in the morning and went straight into our first day, which was quite new to me: on previous trips we usually arrived late in the evening and went straight to our hotel. However, the first day went smoothly, and we got the welcome opportunity to sleep on the bus. Our first stop was Sorrento, a beautiful city close to the water, where the weather is fabulous in the spring. We spent the day touring downtown Sorrento, and got the opportunity to shop at the local market before heading back to our hotel for the night.
The next day we visited the island of Capri, and took a boat tour of the famous landmarks, including the blue grotto, which had rather beautiful deep blue water. We walked uphill to see the Villa Jovis, an ancient Roman house built by the emperor Tiberius; the walk was difficult but the view from the villa was absolutely breathtaking. After returning to Sorrento, we took dance lessons to learn the Tarantella, a famous Italian dance mimicking the movements of someone bitten by a spider. We visited a mozzarella farm the next day, and sampled some fresh mozzarella; I am a fan of cheese so I definitely enjoyed this part of the trip! In the afternoon we visited the ancient city of Pompeii, which was an equally fascinating and dismal sight.
In the morning we travelled to Naples and got the opportunity to try the famous Neapolitan pizza, which everyone agreed was delicious. We subsequently drove to Rome, and got to make our own pizza for dinner, before spending the evening by touring the Spanish Steps, a center of Roman nightlife. The next day, we toured the Vatican and saw the Sistine chapel, which is a mesmerizing and influential work of art. That evening we got to eat on the Piazza Navona, another hub of Roman culture, and my friends and I also took some time to buy gelato and tour the Piazza; the gelato was amazing—worth every Euro. We flew back to the U.S. the next day, and everyone in our group seemed to have enjoyed the trip. Our tour guide was excellent, the chaperones were enjoyable and accommodating, and the sights we visited in Italy were both gorgeous as well as informative. Overall, being able to travel to such an amazing country was a rewarding and truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Garrett Goodman
staff writer
Photo: Mr. Pizzuto