The Italian Edition | Dutch Diaries Week Ten
When I first began planning this whole crazy study abroad thing, there was one place that seemed to pop up over and over on all the lists of “must see” destinations, Europe’s “hidden gems,” and really, just dominated my instagram feed in general. Italy. Since I lucked out to not have any in-person final exams, I didn’t have any obligations in Maastricht for a whole week. My friends and I took that opportunity to hop on one of those super spacious RyanAir flights Saturday afternoon, headed to that country that had eluded me for the two and a half months prior. Our ten days in Italy would be spent in as many destinations as we could manage, enjoying as many authentic Italian dishes and iconic cities and landscapes.
Milan
Our first taste of Italy was a brief stop in one of the fashion capitals of the world, Milan. While I felt a little out of place in my worn out vans and basic Tahoe kid attire among all the designer storefronts, I could not have asked for a better place to start our Italian adventure. In just the sixteen hours we spent in Milan, I got the first glimpse of what I would learn to be a rule of Italian cities: around every corner you turn is something else to stop you in your tracks to say, “wow.” Italy brings out the embarrassing has-to-take-a-picture-of-everything, amazed-by-an-apartment-building tourist in everyone, guaranteed.
And just like every great tourist city, Milan boasted a few one-of-a-kind landmarks and destinations.
… and a Starbucks store or two.
It’s week ten and you already know I’ve been craving a taste of home now and then, so we decided to stop into one of those Starbucks stores, only to find it to be one of the few Starbucks Reserve Roasteries in the world. I’m aware of my blatant American-ness when I say this, but it was pretty special.
Following our croissants and coffee, a combination known as the Italian breakfast and that would become our morning ritual for the remainder of the trip, we headed out to those one-of-a-kind landmarks and destinations, stumbling upon gorgeous churches, arches, and old ruins deemed “less notable” but equally as amazing along the way.
Once our brief time in Milan was up and our feet were sore from carrying our packs a good twenty thousand steps, we decided to move on to our second city. Since a good friend of mine told me that Italy only gets better the further South you travel, that’s where we headed.
Florence
On Sunday afternoon, we arrived in Florence, or as they call it in Italian, Firenze.
At this point in my travels, it’s been well established that I have a strong tendency to fall in love with each new place I visit. Florence was no exception. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever fallen in love with a place quite as quickly as I became completely smitten with Florence. It might have had something to do with the river (I have a thing for being near the water) or arriving during golden hour right after a rainstorm, but within the first hour we spent wandering those streets, I was sold. There was music in the air, the smell of fresh Pizza on every block, and no shortage of medieval bell towers to make you feel like you’re living in a fairytale. Once again, around every corner, I found myself confronted with another amazing landmark, cathedral, or gorgeous facade.
I truly could have stayed in Florence forever, and to make the most of my very limited time there, I decided to wake up early Monday morning, before we headed out on our favorite adventure of the whole trip (more about that later) to pick up croissants for the group and take a few pictures of the city before the streets were full of people.
Following my little field trip, we hopped on the bus to a small town in Tuscany in search of the little winery that would host us for our very first wine tasting. After some confusion driven by a strong language barrier, one wrong stop, and three buses later, we finally ended up at the Travignoli winery, where we found ourselves on a private wine tour. After one of my friends blew our cover, admitting that as new twenty-one year olds, we know next to nothing about wine, we got an in depth look into the wine making process, followed by a brief tasting accompanied by fresh bread and the winery’s house-made olive oil.
Looking out over the green hills, swapping our usual Charles Shaw fare for something a bit more sophisticated, none of us could hide our smiles, and all three of us decided this was one of our favorite experiences in Europe thus far. Maybe, we decided, one day when we aren’t hopping from hostel to budget AirBnB and have a little more than that college student’s budget, we might learn even more about how wine is made (maybe, but probably not).
Salerno & Amalfi
Monday night, following our wine tasting excursion, we ventured further South, to the famed Amalfi coast. Staying in the larger city of Salerno, we decided to venture out of the busy streets to spend our Tuesday somewhere a little more quaint and calm: the small beachside village of Amalfi, just an hour away by bus.
Greeted by the turquoise waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea (part of the Mediterranean), so clear that it might just rival Lake Tahoe, I immediately understood the hype surrounding the Amalfi coast. I could have laid on the beach, taking in the sun that had been so elusive for the past few weeks in Maastricht. Add a little limoncello, some gelato, and a short ferry ride back to Salerno at the end of the day, and it’s as close to paradise as you can get.
Rome
Turns out our relaxing day in Amalfi was just what we needed to regroup before the second half of our trip that would bring us to every history major’s favorite spot: Rome. I say that like I wasn’t nerding out at every amazing monument and didn’t google fun facts about all of the ruins, but trust me, I was. You can take the girl out of Berkeley, but you can’t take the Berkeley out of the girl.
With once again limited time and a city-sized museum to explore, we set out Thursday morning for our busiest day yet, visiting the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City before touring the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill.
After a day of seeing all of those things you only see in history textbooks growing up, the world’s most impressive artworks and exceptional feats of ancient engineering, we were equal parts exhausted and amazed. I headed back to the AirBnB to finish up that fifteen page final paper I had mostly been neglecting for the trip thus far (yeah, there’s a reason you’re just now hearing about it) while my friends found their way into a private pasta making class taught by an Italian chef, teaching me a little lesson about procrastination and the fear of missing out.
The next day, we woke up late, finally all having a good night’s sleep without having to share beds, grabbing a cappuccino and croissant on our way to our final Roman destination: the Trevi fountain.
Pictures truly don’t do it justice.
Tivoli
Due to a transportation strike, we didn’t get to spend Friday evening and Saturday morning exploring the canals of Venice. Instead, we found ourselves in a small village of Tivoli, just outside of Rome. While the town itself was a little on the sleepier side, the hilly landscape and amazing view over the rooftops made us feel like we were more than an hour outside the busy city of Rome.
With quiet streets and a much more authentic Italian ambiance, I got that feeling that struck me way back in Florence, the same kind of inspiration that can only come from a place so unique. If not for the mosquitos, I would have spent the entire twelve hours we had in Tivoli sitting out on the rooftop terrace of our AirBnB (turns out small villages are a bit more affordable than big cities).
Bologna
Unfortunately, Saturday afternoon marked time to leave that peaceful village of Tivoli and time to start our journey back home to Maastricht, with one final stop between us and the airport: Bologna. To our surprise, Bologna was more than just the city with the most affordable flight back home and its name wasn’t actually pronounced like the processed lunch meat. In fact, the city is home to a leaning tower taller than the one in Pisa and might just have been the busiest place we’d visited.
With only one short night there, we decided to treat ourselves to traditional Italian aperitivo (like happy hour, but sophisticated… and Italian) before a nice dinner. After all, we heard the best food in Italy could be found in Bologna. Being that we were turned away for not having a reservation at not one or two, but nearly seven restaurants in a row before settling for the first one to take us, those rumors about Bologna being a foodie center were probably correct.
In a food coma from our pasta and exhausted from galavanting all throughout Italy, we fell asleep as soon as we hit our pillows, awaking early Sunday morning to catch our flight back to the Netherlands.
