When we first arrived in Ariccia we read letters that the previous ‘Chigi babies’ wrote about their experiences. Although every girls’ stories and advice varied from one to the next, one thing remained constant, which was this quote: “the days are long, but the weeks go by fast”. In that moment, I felt as if that was just too cliché to be true. It has been three weeks since then, and now I understand why each and every one of them wrote that – and why I will do the same.
I have been traveling since I was young, but I have never had an experience comparable to this trip. Life in Italy is beautiful, spontaneous, challenging, and sometimes even difficult. And it all goes by so fast – especially on the weekends. I am completely fascinated with the idea of taking spontaneous trips to new parts of the world, which is one of the aspects of this trip that I have been most excited about.
After searching the endless possibilities of places to go to, eleven of us packed up our backpacks, got our passports, and took the first flight to Paris. We arrived in the city early in the morning on Friday and began our adventure searching around the city. It was much different than I remembered- full of life, stunning architecture, and things to do. We spent the first morning getting brunch at Black Burn and walking around the city for a bit before we made our way over to the Eiffel Tower. Once we walked up to the lawn and saw the tower from a distance, it finally hit me that I was in Paris. I was absolutely blown away. We bought a few bottles of champagne, took too many pictures, and sat together on the lawn. We sipped on our champagne and talked for hours. As cliché as it is – this was definitely the moment that stood out to me the most, as I finally realized where I was and who I was with. The people I was surrounded with, a mixture of both old and new friends, have made this trip the most memorable so far. They are a combination of encouraging, supportive, attentive, curious, funny, beautiful, caring, and honestly crazy.
The rest of our weekend was spent with sight-seeing, exploring, and of course – brunch every morning. If I could relive this trip again, I would do it within a heartbeat, but I know that the weekends to come will be just the same. Being a part of this trip has not only given me the opportunity to check so many things off of my bucket list – but to do so alongside the best people.
It’s true that the days go by slowly, but the weeks do go by even faster – especially when you are traveling around the world with some of your best friends.
Ciao, bellas!
Rachel Samaras

Cheers to our day spent under the Eiffel Tower!