Pit Stop

Before heading to breathtaking Cinqueterre, my history class made a pit stop at the world war two memorial in Florence. It was overpowering the emotions that I felt while walking on the battle grounds of one of the most deadly wars. So see all the white crosses symbolizing the 4,102 people that laid down their lives for us, was indescribable. It was an amazing break from all the touristy things and the “Beaten path” of traveling. I loved taking a moment to pay respect to the thousands that laid down their lives for our freedom in Florence. 

 

Making Wishes!

            According to tradition, when you travel to Italy you must make a wish in the Trevi fountain and rub the boars nose in Florence. These both symbolize luck, a return to Italy, and helping your wish come true. The catch is, you must return in order for your wish to come true! Jordan and I both were privileged to return to Italy exactly 4 years later and make wishes again! This was such a fun experience to wish again at these amazing places! 

 

Sushi?!

Taylorae turned 20 here in Malta; to celebrate we went out to a nice sushi place. I have never been a fan but to my surprise… I loved it! After that great meal we went out to a gay bar! It was so fun! We danced and laughed and felt no pressure by anyone there (they were not interested in us!)! It was a great night! Our last day we walked around Valletta and tried a fresh made Cannoli it was amazing! 

Flight For Life

            Unfortunately our first day in Malta took a change for the worse when we reached the island of the Blue Lagoon. Within the few hours we were there we saw/heard about over 6 injuries from semester at sea kids alone. At the lagoon, there is a cliff about 80-90 feet high and intoxicated semester at sea kids thought it would be a good idea to cliff dive from it. Well, as you can imagine, this ended badly for a lot of them. One man knocked out his tooth, one broke her wrist, one hurt her leg, two broken backs, and we witnessed a fractured back. After all of these injuries we sought best to just get out of the water. While sitting we heard the flight for life helicopter over way. A man, not semester at sea, jumped off the cliff and never came up, flight for life then came and air lifted him off to the hospital. It was evident that we did not plan on seeing all those things but it made us appreciate the group we were in…with no alcohol involved. 

 

Movie Set!

Well it’s official… I am in a movie. We began our day in Malta watching the beautiful orange and blue sunrise and then we stepped onto our movie set. Following in the footsteps of James Bond and brad Pitt from Troy we made our way through Malta. After hiking 241 steps (straight up) we reached the city center. We then took a miserable hour and 45-minute bus ride to the other side of the set. We took a ferry to an island called Gozo and then another small boat to the blue lagoon. The history of Malta alone is amazing, but the movies filmed there are also amazing! James Bond, Troy, Gladiator, and so many others! 

France Take 2?

            After traveling to Paris with the family sophomore year, I was excited to give France another try. Personally when I visited, I was not a very big fan. After exploring Marseille for the past three days I am still unsure! It is an amazing place, gorgeous buildings and scenery, but it is a very quiet. This was a weird change for us because we are so used to going and cramming everything into the couple days that we are in places. We discovered July to August is when they take holiday here so a lot of stores were closed and very few people were around. We used this port to just indulge in the wandering aspect of travel. 

 

It’s A Small World After All!

While journeying across Italy we made a pit stop in Florence. While here we met with our group of girls to celebrate a friends birthday. Of all places, of all times, in all counties we walk into the same place as our good friend Kayla Brienza! We had a minor freak out and we had the privileged of traveling around Florence with her the following day! It was amazing to run into her- she just so happened to be studying in Florence at the same time we were there! 

 

Can’t Retire In Cinqueterre

 Sorry to be the bear of bad news, but you cannot retire in the gorgeous land of Cinqueterre- unless you are in prestige health. The cities built on hills are lust with vivid colors, nature, and picturesque scenery. However, ‘City built on a hill’ is the key to the dilemma. To reach the beauty you must first trek up numerous stairs and reach high altitudes in order to indulge in the beauty. During our field program here we were able to journey to all 4 major “nooks” to cinqueterre, each unique in their own way. On our field program one of my professors (who tore his Achilles early this summer) crutched his way through the island- such a trooper. So in sum, even though it would be an amazing, picturesque place to retire, it is not generated towards those who need assistance. However, there are numerous pictures here you can look at and pretend! 

 

Our possessed Cling on!

            Traveling through Italy is an amazing experience. Walking on the cobblestone roads that people like Julius Caesar once walked. Well this is all great and fun…. unless you have a suitcase. While in Cinqueterre, Jordan unfortunately ripped her backpack strap. Knowing we needed a suitcase eventually, we thought, why not by it now? In Florence we purchased the cheapest rolling suitcase we could find. We proceeded to then tour Rome with our new attachment. Aside from the heat, the weight of the suitcase, the constant catching on rocks and flipping over all led to a very stressful day. To make matters even better, when traveling back to our ship after a very long day, we proceeded to get lost at 1030 at night…with our suitcase. Did I mention the wheels on our fabulous suitcase broke off? This occurred at the Trevi Fountain and we proceeded to do a balancing act of the wheels and the occasional carrying of the awkward suitcase. Overall our advice to you is if you plan on traveling Italy do not bring your suitcase! 

 

Athens!