Having been abroad for a little over one month now, I have had some of the most incredible experiences through food, community, and blissful wandering. There are so many days that come to mind, but I’ll dive into the details of a few of my favorites:
- Lago di Como, Italia
On our second weekend of our program, a large group of CofC students & I traveled by train to Lago di Como (or Lake Como) to see some of the most beautiful sights, eat incredible food, and meet really amazing people. We stayed in a small town at the top of the lake called Colico where essentially no one spoke English. As we were just getting adjusted to hearing our language less frequently, what a shock we had when we arrived at the Colico Train station, unable to call a taxi and no one could help us in getting one. We finally figured out that we should have booked a taxi ahead of time, and we found a way to our AirBnB.
With these struggles, also came incredible food. With incredible food, also came incredible recommendations from new friends. We began to trek down the hill that our AirBnB was set upon to go to a restaurant. That initial restaurant was closed, but luckily a girl came out of her house when we walked by and said “hey, do I hear American voices?” Of course, this was kind of a scary thing to hear, but she explained to us that we were some of the first English speakers she had met since moving to Colico. She ended up recommending a restaurant that was open and we all ate the most incredible Italian Truffle Risotto – a dish we still talk about a month later! Our new friend joined us all for dinner as well as giving us a free yoga class the next morning, as she was a certified yoga instructor based out of Germany! What an unforgettable weekend, with great friends and great food!
2. Le Cinque Terre, Italia
This place truly transformed my entire abroad experience. Last weekend for only one day, two CofC students, accompanied by one CofC alum who lives abroad, visited three out of the five cities on Le Cinque Terre. We traveled by train to Corniglia, one of the smallest cities on the coast. We had a beautiful and quiet
breakfast at a family-run cafe and shopped around the area. We then jumped on the hopper train to visit Riomaggiore, a larger and more touristy city, for lunch and shopping. We walked around more and finished our day at a Michelin Star restaurant in the next town Manarola with a perfect view of the sunset. This day in Cinque Terre reminded me that I have such an incredible attachment to water – just like in Charleston, I could venture down to touch the water and watch the waves crash.
Both of these experiences not only taught me how to travel in Europe, but also what kind of places make me feel incredible joy. I can’t wait to share more of my favorite abroad experiences as we continue to finish out our time here in Florence, Italy and in other incredible parts of Europe.
Ciao!
Link to my youtube channel with vlogs of my experiences: www.youtube.com/c/juliathompson
Lots of instagram posts are up as well! www.instagram.com/howjujuin
