In addition to shadowing in the schools, we learned a lot about the culture as well by taking Italian lessons, visiting a recycling center, and visiting a cheese factory! We also had free afternoons and weekends to visit different cities in Italy- we visited Modena, Florence, Parma, Cinque Terre, and Venice!
During our first week, we took a day trip to nearby Modena so the professors could show us how to ride the train. Modena was stunning and we had so much fun shopping, climbing up a tower to see the city, and, of course, getting gelato.
The program had a day trip to Florence planned for our first Saturday in Italy and since we had the afternoon before and the next day free, we decided to make a weekend out of it, which was so much fun! We had dinner in Florence on Friday and then walked around the Duomo, which is seriously stunning and you can't help but be amazed by it!
On Saturday, we grabbed breakfast before meeting up with the rest of the group for a tour of the city. Afterwards, we hit up the leather market and grabbed lunch before going on a wine tour. The wine tour was so much fun and we went to two different wineries with a stop at a stunning castle in between!
We went to the same breakfast spot Sunday morning and walked around for a bit before going to the Gucci Garden, which was such a cool museum. We then crossed the river and found a stunning rose garden with incredible views of Florence. We had truffle gnocchi for lunch, which was one of the best things I've ever eaten, and then did a cooking class where we learned how to make pizza and gelato before heading back home to Reggio!
We had the second weekend of the trip completely free so we went to Cinque Terre, which is one of the prettiest places I've ever been to! We stayed in La Spezia and took the train into the cities. We hiked, shopped around, had a beach afternoon, and took in all of the stunning sights!
During our last week, we took a day trip to Venice, which was absolutely stunning. We took a gondola ride around the city, took an elevator ride to the top of a building to see incredible views, and walked around and explored the city!
During our last full day in Reggio, we went to a parmesan cheese factory and it was so cool to see the process of how they make cheese! Plus, we got to sample some at the end of the tour!
We stayed with host families for the length of the trip and on our last day, my host sister took my roommates and I out for coffee and macaroons, which was such a fun way to end our time in Reggio!
Thanks for reading!
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