Earlier this month, I had the unexpected opportunity to go to Italy. It was very spontaneous and luckily, my schedule worked out in my favor. I was able to leave school for a week to go abroad with my family.
On Oct. 2, we took a red-eye to Italy, arriving in Milan the following day. Struggling to stay awake after hours of travel, we left the airport and took a train to one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen. It was surreal.
Considered one of the world’s fashion and design capitals, Milan’s cobblestone streets are lined with every luxury and designer brand you could think of.
Walking with our bags to our Airbnb, we passed one of the most architecturally impressive buildings in history: the Duomo — a breathtaking cathedral located in the center of Milan with 600 years of rich history embedded in every column.
We took a moment to stop and take it all in, but looking back, I regret not going inside to see all of it.
Fighting the jet lag, we went to walk around and get food. With a six-hour time difference, I could feel my body was shutting down. At this point, we were up for 20 hours.
To pass the time, we went through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Italy’s oldest active shopping gallery. Because of the rain, it was full of tourists and people taking photos at every opportunity. It was beautiful to look at and fun to visit the shops we could get into.
The next day, we took two trains from Milan to Cinque Terre, a coastal area located in the province of La Spezia, Italy. Cinque Terre consists of five towns: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso.
Historically, these villages were medieval fortified settlements, each protected by a castle overlooking the sea and guard against Saracen raiders. Essentially, they are communities built into the mountains.
We stayed in Corniglia, located in the heart of Cinque Terre. It is the only village without direct sea access and exists 100 meters above the water. Corniglia is the smallest village in Cinque Terre and is known as a quieter, less accessible town with the fewest tourists.
Everything is within walking distance, including the town square, which was filled with local markets, restaurants and shops. We walked through tight passageways and alleys to reach stores hidden within the town walls. I bought homemade earrings for five euros to serve as my memory keepsake.
We explored and hiked to Vernazza, one of the most popular cities in Cinque Terre. Hiking trails connect the five villages and the Cinque Terre Express runs every 20 minutes between them.
On the way there, we stopped at a pit stop to grab some coffee. All of the views in Italy were amazing, but this particular spot was breathtaking. We were high up on the cliff overlooking the coast, with the two villages on either side.
Known for its picture-perfect views, Vernazza is tucked into a gorge that opens to a small cove. It is a traditional fishing village with pastel houses huddled together on the steep coast and boats bobbing in the harbor.
We wandered through shops and stopped for food. Some say Vernazza is the birthplace of pesto, so we made sure to try their pesto pasta. No surprise, it was amazing.
Throughout the trip, it rained almost every single day, and on the worst days, we chose to stay local and continue exploring Corniglia.
Taking shelter anywhere we could, we visited the Chiesa di San Pietro, an elegant Gothic church built in 1334. The ceiling was covered in a century-old painting by the Corniglia painter Prospero Luxardi. It consists of 18 panels depicting the Rosary and the Judgment mysteries, and it is insanely detailed and intricate.
When it wasn’t raining, we took advantage of the nearby swimming area. Taking steps from the town down to the water, we were led to a private swimming hole where we swam in the beautiful aqua waters of the Ligurian Sea.
During my time, I was fortunate to go out to eat in several restaurants. The experiences were very different from eating out in America. For one, the tipping culture is different. Servers are paid more per hour, so tipping is unnecessary.
Coming in at the end of the tourist season, it was understandable that some locals did not receive us well. We experienced some off-treatment.
One restaurant turned us away because we wanted to order appetizers and drinks at 3:00 p.m., not a full meal. When we were told we had to move on to another restaurant, a couple next to us shared that they were doing the same thing but weren’t asked to leave.
On one occasion, the language barrier was also a problem. People in Europe generally know more English than Americans do of other languages. A weak “Grazie” was all I could manage.
One of the first nights in Corniglia, we asked our waitress if she could box up our food at the end of the night. But she misunderstood and threw it out, which was disappointing because the food was one of the best parts of the trip.
I think I fully peaked as a person now that I can say I ate pasta and pizza in Italy. I could not get enough of the food. The coffee was so rich, and the bread was delicious. Gelato became a staple almost every day.
Throughout the trip, I kept reminding myself that I was in Italy and that everything was real; it was hard to believe.
In my short time, I wanted to make the most of it. I think that travel makes people modest. Or at least I notice how small I am in the world. Grateful to experience and understand other cultures and their customs, I feel a little more well-rounded every time I travel.
Even though I only saw a sliver of Italy, I am so thankful to have had the chance to go. I will definitely come back, this time maybe backpacking through all of Europe to experience everything I can.
