I never went on wild spring break trips in high school. But my previous spring break was one for the books. I studied abroad for spring break on the coast of Italy. Although the trip was delayed two days because of a Nor’easter, it was still a once in a lifetime kind of getaway! My mother kept asking me if I was excited to go. I was! The whole idea of me being in Italy was such an unbelievable thought that I did not believe I was going until I got on the plane from Philly to Rome. Italia has been on my bucket list for many years… and since I am only nineteen that means that most of my life I have longed to explore the rich in history, unreal landscapes of the boot shaped country “across the pond” as they say.
The coast of Italia is unreal. The water is turquoise and when the sun shines the light dances on top of the sea as well as the rooftops of buildings with distinct character and earthy colors such as a toasted orange. My trip included a bus tour of the coast so as we stopped in each town my phone was pressed to the glass as I clicked rapidly trying to capture every inch of the fairytale backdrop. I took videos too but as great as my camera quality is, and I cannot stress this enough: no picture or video can truly capture how surreal of an experience it is to look out over the cliffs and see the Mediterranean sea glistening for as far as your eyes can see. I felt as if I was on the edge of the world. It was like a scene from Pirates of the Caribbean (any of them) the water was this deep piercing green and I could practically hear the widely known song feeding my imagination with the suspense that I was embarking on a grand adventure. I fell in love during my trip to Italy… but not with a guy, not the Lizzie McGuire movie ending where my doppelgänger and I belt out a catchy pop tune… I fell in love with the country Italy and cannot wait to go back.