Intro

I had the opportunity to study abroad in Italy during the month of May. I was the only Art major (Graphic Design) studying with Architecture and Engineering students who I had never met before. I'm glad that I didn't let that discourage me from going on the trip, because it was an experience I will never forget. We had a great time for 3 weeks, starting in Rome and traveling to Sicily, Milan, Genoa, Pisa, and Florence. If you ever have a chance to study abroad, I would strongly recommend it! Not only did I meet awesome people on the trip, but seeing ancient Italy in person was surreal.

After Pisa, we made our way to Florence. As an art major, Florence was one of the best places to visit. I went to see the David (shown) after I went to the Uffizi museum (one of the most famous museums in the world). Even though we waited in line for about an hour, it was definitely worth it. I have been a fan of Michelangelo and his work for some time, and this is one of his most famous works. The David is huge, probably about 15 feet tall.

Seeing the leaning tower of Pisa in person is like seeing the Eiffel Tower in person, it's so famous and you've seen it so many times but seeing it first hand is almost unreal. The leaning tower is next to the baptistry and the church. When you take a step back you can see how far off balance the tower is compared to the other buildings. Apparently the whole piazza is sinking, and even the church has had extra levels added on to make it straight. The tower was closed in 1989 because of safety reasons but has opened back up again to climb, definitely worth it!

When we were staying in Genoa, we took a train to Cinque Terra which is along the coast. Cinque Terra means "Five Lands" and is one of the most beautiful places! This is the first of five cities, and also had the best beach which we took full advantage of. The weather was great and water wasn't too cold so we got to go swimming in the Mediterranean. This was my favorite day of the whole trip because we got to relax on the beach and take our time doing whatever we wanted.

This is the coast of Genoa, which is in North West Italy. I'm not sure of what the poles sticking out are used for but you can see this almost anywhere in Genoa considering most of Genoa is located on a mountain.

While we were in Milan, we encountered soccer mania! Apparently, the day we got to Milan was the day of the soccer finals between the Inter-Milan and Munich soccer teams. On the way to the main piazza (shown) we kept seeing more and more fans and we had no idea what was going on until we arrived in the middle of it all! There were hundreds of fans with their air horns and fireworks...definitely a once in a lifetime experience!

This is the view from on top of the Milan Cathedral, 4th largest church in the world. This is probably one of my favorite pictures from the entire trip!