In February, 3 of my friends (Loral, Jared, Lydia) and I went to Italy. We took the bus from Trujillo to Madrid, then a plane from Madrid to Rome, and then after a couple days in Rome we took a Train to Florence. We went to the Colosseum, the Roman Forums, Spanish, the Tiber river and the Trevi fountain. We also went over to Vatican City and saw the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. In Florence we saw the Boboli Gardens and the statue of David. We ate carbonara on the streets of Rome and gelato on a bridge in Florence. Like any good group of college students would, we stayed in hostels and went on guided tours. The girls did have to talk Jared out of riding the electric scooters through Rome because the traffic was terrible.

There were half a dozen more cities we wanted to see in Italy but budgeting time and money meant we had to pick. I’m so happy with our choices.

Those two cities were beautiful and historic, and so full of life. So many different languages and ages were all around us. There were people who were born and raised there, people who had moved there for opportunity or experience, and visitors like us. It was such an unforgettable experience. CofC students should 100% take the chance to study abroad, because it is a more safe and structured way to see places you never thought you’d see.

 

Myself, along with my study abroad friends Eliana and Lydia went to Lisboa and Sintra Portugal. We stayed in an Airbnb in Lisbon and spent a few days there exploring the city, seeing the beach, and then spent a few hours over in the neighboring town of Sintra. We explored the Palacio da Pena, which is a large former castle on a mountain. Portugal is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and this was my first trip out of Spain during my study abroad.