It has been roughly 35 hours since I left my house to head to the Pittsburgh Airport, and let me tell you, it’s been quite the day.
Our journey to Italy started with a quick flight to JFK Airport in New York. The flight was short and I slept the entire time.
We were at JFK for 7 hours during our layover, which surprisingly wasn’t as terrible as it sounds. The time allowed me to get ahead on some work and emails, eat various foods and ride many a people mover.
After a long layover, we had an even longer flight ahead of us. I passed the time watching Black Panther, Lady Bird and sleeping in various weird positions, including face down on the tray-table in front of me.
When we finally landed (an hour ahead of schedule, I might add!), we practically hit the ground running. We collected our bags, met our guide Matteo, boarded our bus and headed out for a panoramic tour of the city.
Our first official stop was at the Trevi Fountain! As the tourists we are, Victoria and I threw coins over our shoulders (from right hand over left shoulder, as tradition goes, we learned) in hopes that there will be a return trip to Italy someday!
We then headed to the Pantheon, a former temple-turned-church. We spent about 15 or so minutes there before heading out individually for lunch.
Victoria and I split a sandwich and headed to spend the rest of our free time doing the “important” things… meaning getting gelato. With a recommendation from Matteo, we headed to Gelateria Della Palma, a little shop with a whole lot of flavor (more than 150 flavors, actually)!
We met back up with the group, briefly walked through Piazza Navona and went to board the bus again, this time heading back to the hotel. After getting room assignments, everyone went to freshen up and rest up before dinner.
After some really, really good Italian food and even better tiramisu, we’re finished for the night.
If today is setting the stage for what the rest of the trip is going to look like, I’m in for an amazing two weeks. I can’t wait to see what the coming days hold!