March of 2012
My school took a group of students and parents on a trip to Italy where ancient history loomed. We all signed up on EF Tours and had an amazing guide named Rita. The tour schedules everything for you so all you have to do is pack and be at the airport on time. The tour will place you in different hotels and will schedule where you will go on what day.
All of us got on a late flight and arrived in Rome early in the afternoon. All of us were so tired from the eight hour plane ride, but we didn't stop to rest and went on exploring the city.
â–º QUARTER FINALIST 2012 TEEN TRAVEL WRITING SCHOLARSHIP
We saw amazing sites, the Tiber River, towering churches, ancient ruins, and beauty beyond belief. I always dreamed of going to Rome and to see the ruins we are taught in Latin class. It was breath taking to see the structures still standing after so long. We saw so many things, that it's hard to remember all of them. Bringing a camera helps a lot and captures any moment.
The tour was like any other tour, being taken around the city with some added history lessons. And naturally to take up time, they take us in a giant circle when we could have just walked in a relatively straight line saving time and our feet. The food was great, the tour allowed us to try different things every day. But, you must have gelato every day to be able to try most of the flavors.
Rome was great, it's kind of like New York, crowded with people and buildings. And if you want to go to a soccer game, you'll need your passport; we learned that the hard way. We also traveled to Ostia Antica, once a city now a necropolis. It is a beautiful place and our tour group took many pictures (mostly for our senior year of high school.) We visited the Vatican, too bad we didn't get to see the Pope. And just to let everyone know, taking pictures at the Sistine Chapel is forbidden. On our trip to Florence, we saw the rolling green hillside. It's just like you see in the movies. Florence also seemed to be my favorite place, I don't know why, but the city had an impression on me. We even lost one of our members because he seemed to blend in with the towns people with his new leather jacket, scarf, and sunglasses. Pompeii was just like Ostia. The only problem was that it was extremely windy the day we went and the dust and dirt stung our eyes. We took a bus ride to Sorrento it's another place just like Florence, but be forewarned, the streets are extremely narrow and passing other vehicles takes some time and trust the driver, if he's from around the area, he knows what to do. We then got on a ferry to travel to Capri, a very beautiful island where the water is a clear blue. It was also a shame because it was the off season and none of the shops were open. We made a brief stop to Naples and drove back to Rome to pack. The trip was over, but everyone still talks about the crazy amount of fun we had.
I would go back, but I wouldn't go on another tour, there are just some things that they don't show on tours. Sometimes it's better to go on your own and experience it your way.
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