Italy: My favorite place!

In the summer of 2014, I had the privilege of visiting Italy for a study abroad program. I spent an entire month in Europe & it was probably the best summer of my life. During my time in Italy, I stayed in Rome for 3 days and got to see most of the hot tourist spots. My favorite place to visit there was the Colosseum. It was really hot inside and it took a really long time to get around to see inside but every second was worth it. The sight was breath taking! Once inside, the size really set it. It is hard to tell from pictures but inside the Colosseum is massive!

(Personal photo; Outside the Colosseum, taken by me ~ June 2014)

(Personal photo; Me inside the Colosseum, taken by me ~ June 2014)

I highly recommend visiting the Colosseum if the opportunity ever comes about! However, you should keep an eye out for those that want to trick you! For instance, someone may walk up to you in costume and "generously" offer to take a fun picture with you as a keepsake, then after taking said picture demand $25! Although the pic below turned out pretty cute, in my opinion, I was upset that I got fooled into paying so much for a silly picture. Note; you CAN and SHOULD barter the price if you take any of these photo ops!

(Personal photo; Me outside the Colosseum, taken by me ~ June 2014)

I "lived" in Arezzo for the majority of my time in the country. At first, I had a really hard time there. There are a lot of hills in Arezzo and my apartment happened to be on one of the higher hills in town and also one of the furthest from the OU Arezzo (OUA) campus. I have knee problems because I did competitive gymnastics for several years, so this was hard for me.

(Personal photo; The dreaded walk to my apartment in Arezzo, taken by me ~ June 2014)

However, by the end of the month I was in much better shape, lost over 10 lbs, and knew my way around town pretty well. The OUA "campus" was pretty small, of course. I think it only has 10 rooms or so. There was a small computer lab, a small kitchen, and several small classrooms.

(Personal photo; OUA entrance, taken by me ~ June 2014)

I even had my own little study area in town, basically at the very top of the city. There is a big park that has a concrete ledge overlooking miles of land. I spent most of my free time sitting on that ledge studying and / or just soaking in the beauty. There was a small lizard that came up and sat with me on occasion too. It was almost as if he was watching the sunset with me. :)

(Personal photo; My favorite study spot in Arezzo, taken by me ~ June 2014)

The difference in culture in the area was incredible. I was shocked by some of their customs and surprised at the lack of some customs I'm used to living in the United States! For example, I visited Florence for a day and while I was there I learned that bartering is something that is still very much acceptable. I had a lot of fun shopping and bartering for things. There was a little street market that I spent literally hours walking around trying to get the best deal possible on things I wanted to bring home as souvenirs.

I was rather disappointed that I wasn't able to visit Sicily while I was there and I definitely intend to go back and see it one day. Although the island alone is beautiful, there was one thing in particular that intrigues me about Sicily and that is a 3 story water slide that goes from one pool to another until finally, it drops you straight into the Mediterranean Sea!

(Scenic water slide in Sicily: Awol, January 2015)

I promised myself that I will eventually make the time to go to Italy again and I WILL visit Sicily. I'd like to visit different places all around the country someday and there are many other places I imagine will become favorite places. For now though, Italy takes the cake, because not only do I think it's a beautiful place to visit; I know it is from first hand experience.