Buongiorno or Good Afternoon!

The first week of Italy has officially ended, and it was a whirlwind. The moment I stepped off the plane I was immersed in Italian culture, language, and sights. I met the staff and some other students before going on our first tour of the Chigi palace itself, which is full of art and history. The major moments of this week, however, were spent in Rome and Albano Laziale.

First off, Albano is the cutest town right across the bridge from Ariccia, full of shops and restaurants. Like I said, after the first week the exhaustion sets in a bit, so I spent my Saturday night shopping and eating in Albano, which was fun and close to home. As a student I knew little to nothing about the geography of Italy, like navigating Rome, or even where Ariccia was in relation to other cities. Luckily, in this first week we had lectures on not only the geography, but also travel basics which includes safety and buying train tickets. To make the lecture stand out even more, we toured as an entire group Ariccia, Albano, and Rome.

For a bigger city feel, obviously it’s Rome. Luckily the metro system there is easy to figure out, and a bonus is that more people in the city speak English. The best learning experience was the scavenger hunt of Rome, which includes finding famous landmarks on a map. This forced me to navigate Rome alone, and eventually I began to recognize certain areas. . Walking twelve miles was a full, tiring day, but seeing the landmark of the Trevi Fountain made it all worth it. The fountain, which has been used for countless movies and even fashions shows, is as every bit as beautiful as people have said. Taking my Euro coin, giving it a kiss, and tossing it into the fountain has already made this study abroad experience special, so I cannot wait for what else is in store. I’m easily and quickly falling in love with Italy

~Katharine Pippen~