ITALY: THE SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE
Program Blog for July 14 - July 23, 2023
JULY 14, 2023
Benvenuto in Italia!
The staff for the Italy: The Signature Experience program are very thrilled to welcome 12 students. Everyone has arrived safely and with great spirits. We are eager to explore this beautiful country, eat local food, learn some Italian and give our students the experience of a lifetime! We are also looking forward to engaging students in meaningful conversations regarding what it means to be a global citizen. Students will immerse in Italian culture, explore Italian history, travel like locals and navigate a new environment.
Once all students arrived we let them relax for a bit before heading to our first Italian meal which consisted of pizza and lasagna. We explored our surroundings and did a quick introduction game to learn our names. For dinner we ate at an authentic Italian restaurant and dove into our student orientation to ensure a successful program. We ended the night with gratitude and went to bed early due to jet lag. It was a successful first day and we cannot wait to continue exploring this beautiful country!
The TTN Team,
Rudy and Esther
JULY 15, 2023
Written by Ian
Buongiorno! Hello from Rome, Italy!
Today we had such a beautiful day. We started with breakfast at the hotel which consisted of some fruits, Italian breads and spreads, eggs and some very strong coffee. We ate a lot because we were going to be walking all day. Our adventure started at Vatican City where we explored the holiest site of the Catholic religion. We explored the Sistine Chapel and walked up a dome to see aerial views of Rome and the Vatican City. It was breathtaking!
Then we went to one of Rome’s most famous landmarks, the Colosseum! We were very shocked at how immense this structure is and how it has managed to survive for so long. Everyone felt a sense of nostalgia walking around this structure from 80 AD. The views were stunning and we took a lot of pictures. We ended the tour with a visit to Castel Sant’angelo to get more aerial views of Rome for another historical lesson. Even though there is a current heat wave, we have been taking advantage of all sites. We are drinking the best tasting water because Rome has fountains with clean water. We also ate gelato to cool us down. We ended the night with a group dinner and had a variety of pasta. Everyone is exhausted but we cannot wait for tomorrow. Arrivederci!
JULY 18, 2023
Written by Haruna and Alexa
Hi all, it’s Haruna and Alexa! We all had an early morning since we packed up our stuff from the hotel in Rome. We then ate some breakfast from the hotel buffet before heading out to the train. The train had some issues and delays, but thanks to our talented Italian expert, Esther, we made it on time! The train to Pisa took about 3.5 hours and we took a taxi to our new hotel in Pisa. We dropped our stuff off and had a quick lunch, before heading to the city center to meet our tour guide named David and we walked around the city, got some gelato and smoothies from Amarino, and then we went to the leaning tower of Pisa. We all took some silly photos and climbed only 300 steps (in comparison to the 550 we did at the Vatican) to get to the top of the leaning tower and have an overlooking view of the city. Finally, we got some dinner where we all ate pasta dishes. We are back at the hotel writing this and laughing very loudly about our memories from today. We cannot wait to explore more of Italy! Peace!
JULY 20, 2023
Written by Kelsey
Hello everyone! We arrived in Pisa and after checking in, we went straight to a city tour. It was magical to see so much history and the architecture was so beautiful. After many pictures we finally arrived at one of my favorite spots, The Leaning Tower Of Pisa. It was so cool to see this in person and we walked to the top to get incredible views. We ended the day with a delicious dinner and tiramisu. We got back to the hotel super tired but it was worth it!
JULY 22, 2023
Written by Santiago
Hello. I cannot believe we are almost done with the program! Today was super special because we were able to swim in Cinque Terre and see these beautiful villages. We took a tour by foot with an awesome guide. We had some free time to explore the villages and we all bought some awesome souvenirs. We had a tasty lunch and then we finished the tour by boat. We saw divers and the villages from the ocean which gave us a unique perspective. Everyone was exhausted and fell asleep on the train back to Pisa. Everyone is in great spirits and our final stop will be Venice!
