Free Write: Italy

This past Mardi Gras break, 21 Latin Students and 12 parents hopped on a plane to Italy for the week! When I found out that I was going on the trip to Italy I was kind of excited, but kind of sad to miss my Mardi Gras break.  I quickly got over those feelings, and looked forward to my trip! Early on Saturday morning, everyone met up in the NOLA airport to start our voyage.  I cannot describe the excitement that I saw in my classmates' faces. Yes, most of us were tired, but we were going to one of the greatest cities on Earth: Rome! The anticipation was built up greatly on the 9 hour flight across the Atlantic ocean into Europe.  Avani, Cody Dillard, and I quickly found our seats in the very back of the plane, and were so excited that we didn't sleep at all! I felt bad for the guy we were sitting next to, he looked like the host of "Cash Cab", and was obviously very annoyed at our continuous comments on his striking resemblance. We finally found ourselves in Rome, and hopped on a bus and headed to our first location, Sorrento. A smaller version of Rome, Sorrento was a beautiful city with beautiful people.  Everybody was kind and helpful, happy to have some visitors from the USA. We made day trips to Capri and Anacapri (The two most beautiful places in Italy, in my opinion), Almafi, Pompeii, and other beautiful places along the coast of Italy.  I am proud to say that I drank the Mediterranean more than one time! Mid-week, we made our way to Rome, stopping in Naples, Cumae, and Ostia. We saw all the famous landmarks, some more than once. We went to the Trevi Fountain, the "Wedding Cake", the Colosseum, the Vatican (which is another country!), the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, Piazza del Nuova, and all of the famous Italian stores. The smell of authentic leather followed us around, which was definitely a good thing, and now we are all lucky to have it come home with us! Every night, there was a 3-course meal, consisting of pasta of some sort, an entree, and a delicious desert.  Needless to say, we definitely were well fed and did not go hungry! We also had gelato at least twice a day, every day. We didn't have to worry about gaining weight, however, because we walked pretty much everywhere! The very last thing that I did in Italy before we left was to pick up a copy of the new One Direction deluxe album, which hasn't even come out in the United States yet. Once I got that, I felt extremely satisfied with everything on our trip, it was kind of a moment of closure! Sadly, our trip had to come to an end. As I am sitting here now in the Atlanta airport, waiting for my plane to New Orleans, I can't help but look at all of my peers and am instantly reminded of the numerous memories that I obtained in these 10 days. I could not have asked for a better trip, with a better group of people. I made friends with people that I would have never expected.  I came into this trip as an individual, but am leaving as a group.  I am so lucky to have been blessed with the opportunity to go to Italy with amazing people, and am certainly grateful to have had this experience. It is definitely something that I will *never* forget.