PLANNING
At the beginning of my grade 12 year, an educational tour company visited my school to give a presentation for an upcoming tour to Italy. I already had an interest in traveling however, didn’t consider it seriously at the time because I was still a minor and I didn’t know there was such a thing as education school group tours. Although I was really interested in the trip as were a couple of close friends of mine, I was convinced that my parents wouldn’t allow me to go such a distance without their direct supervision. Surprise, surprise, they were all for it. Since it was a good price for everything you got to see and do, and I had a part time job and could contribute, we decided to go ahead with the trip the following spring. My friends decided to participate as well. I was very excited and nervous – I had never been away from home on my own for so long and I had also never flown before.
THE BIG TRIP BEGINS
We flew out of Montreal and arrived in our starting city of Milan. We stayed in a new place every night. We saw all the major attractions in the following cities: Verona, Bologna, Venice, Florence, Rome, Capri, ruins at Pompei.
POMPEI
I found the ruins in Pompei fascinating and was amazed at how much was preserved under the ash. The murals and mosaics were so impressive.
Florence was a great city for walking and seeing all sorts of beautiful architecture. The artistic significance of Florence can’t be overstated enough. It was an absolute treasure of art history.
VENICE
A surprise to me, Venice was also extremely walkable and was my favourite stop on the whole trip. It was such a romantic city with the water, stone bridges, and gondola rides. I had a portrait drawn by a street vendor in Venice that I have to this day.
The juxtaposition of historical treasures amongst a bustling city in Rome is something I still wonder at. The fountains and statuary were a sight for the eyes. The colosseum was so massive, and you could practically imagine it when at the pinnacle of its greatness. One of the funny moments of my trip was arriving at the Spanish steps and then in my most typical clumsy fashion, proceeded to trip while ascending the steps. No worries though, I was not injured, just mortified.
CAPRI AND THE BLUE GROTTO
One of the most surreal experiences was visiting the Blue Grotto on the coast of Capri. We set off in the morning on a largish boat which took us to the outside of the caves. I remember it was quite a long boat ride, and there was no bathroom, and I was concerned about how long it would be before we would get to use a restroom. It turns out it was a long time, but I digress. In the event, we waited in the larger boat until smaller row boats came and got a few passengers at a time. The rowers directed us to crouch down low in the boat as they rowed us into the cave. The colours of the grotto inside were indescribable, blue yes, but there are really no words to express the sight.
ITALIAN CUISINE
Since the trip was such a long time ago, there are things I have forgotten over the years such as the food, though most of it was chosen for us, except for lunch on most days. I am looking forward to being able to choose for myself when we go next year.
BACK TO ITALY IN 2026
I will be returning to Italy with my family in May of 2026 and I hope the weather and seas cooperate so my husband and daughter can have the amazing experiences that I had and of course I can’t wait to see these stunning places again and soak up the history and art. They aren’t too sure about the rowboat and the crouching down to visit the blue grotto, but they will know it was worth if they get to see inside.