thestudiojosie

narni, italy – the flight & our first day

If you didn’t know, this past July I had the opportunity to visit Narni, Italy for two weeks. It was a trip run by the Italian language company IACE and the Narnia Music Festival. In the spring, with the help of my Italian teacher, I created a video that I submitted to IACE. I won the scholarship contest and was one of the twenty other students selected to go.

While making the video, I didn’t think much of the trip. I was only a beginner in Italian, and I knew there were tons of other students entering who were ten times more advanced and qualified than I was. I didn’t think I would win, but I tried my best anyways and attempted staying positive about it. When I found out I won, I was shocked, confused, and excited; it didn’t really kick in that I was going to Italy again until I was at the airport.

I’ll talk more about this as I continue sharing photos, but the main reason why it has taken me so long to write about it is because of how special it was for me. The two weeks I spent in Narni changed my perspective on life and opened my eyes in so many ways. I met the most lovely, intelligent, and special friends there, and I laughed (and cried!) more than I had in a long while.

So, you see, the reason I haven’t been able to write about it is that I don’t think I can translate into words how much it meant to me. Also, I feel as though many of the memories are more personal, you-had-to-be-there memories, and I don’t want to over-explain them because I don’t know if they’ll make any sense.

Well, I’m going to try my best to give you an accurate taste of the incredible trip I went on this past July. I hope you enjoy… Andiamo!

My trip begins at JFK Airport in New York on Monday, July 16th. My dad, brother, and I left home at around 8:30 to get to the airport around noon. Once we got there, we had about an hour and a half to kill before I had to meet up with the rest of the group. I ate a snack in the food court area, and my dad got some airport sushi which wasn’t actually half bad. Then, around two p.m., we walked to the check-in counter and met up with the group.

I knew no one in this group, except for the other student from my school who won the scholarship as well. He happened to be in my class, too, so we had the same skill level in Italian, which made me feel a lot better. Other than him, the only known commonalities within our group were 1) we all live on the East Coast and 2) we all are learning Italian. I hadn’t spoken to anyone else before the airport, and this was my initial fear about going on the trip.

Once we checked our bags, it was time to say goodbye to our families and head to security. The line leading up to security was awkward, and no one really spoke to each other. I find it funny looking back at that moment; while going through security on our way home, everyone was talking or laughing their way through the line.

We made it past security and were given free time to wander around until we had to board. There were some students from the same school who paired up and wandered off, but many of us didn’t know anyone. When the group split up, I didn’t know what to do, so I put on my shoes and slowly began to wander. Immediately, I thought that the whole trip would be like this and I’d be alone and awkward the whole time. Horrible thoughts swirled around my brain, but then I remembered I brought four books and would have plenty of time to read (more on that later…), so maybe I would be okay after all.

I quickly exited my negative frame of mind when someone walked up next to me. She said, half-laughing, “I’m not really sure what to do…” and I replied, “yeah, me neither…” (or something like that). From there, we introduced ourselves, and I made my first new friend: Maia.

We talked for a while and made our way to the gate where we continued our conversation. My negative thoughts ceased for the time being, and I was just so happy to have made a friend that early on.

We continued talking until we had to board the plane. Our seats weren’t near each other, so I met two new girls who were my seatmates. I didn’t talk to them at all, which, again, I find funny because the girl who sat next to me ended up being one of my close friends by the end of the trip!

On the eight-hour ride to Germany (where our layover was), I watched Green Book and Can You Ever Forgive Me?, two of last year’s Oscar-winners that were on my to-watch list (both were fantastic, by the way!). I also tried to sleep on the plane because I knew we’d be getting into Rome with a whole day ahead of us, but I was not very successful in doing so.

The eight-hour flight ended eventually, and we landed in Germany at around seven a.m. The Germany airport was super cool. We had some time to explore, so Maia and I rode down the moving sidewalks and checked out the little kiosks and shops near our gate. After about an hour in the airport, we began boarding the flight to Rome.

This flight was only two hours long, but it may have been the worst flight of my life. There wasn’t turbulence or anything: I just felt sick the whole time. I was constipated (TMI?), I was hungry, I felt nauseous, I was exhausted, my back hurt like crazy, and I was stuck in between two smelly men. I have never felt worse in my life. It felt SO. GOOD. to get off of that plane!

Once we exited, we found our bags and got to change out of our sweaty and smelly clothes. We walked to the tour bus, loaded our luggage, and then we were off!

Our first stop was Ostia Antica, an ancient archeological site outside of Rome. I don’t think this will be surprising, but this part of the trip was not easy to enjoy and appreciate. We were given about an hour and a half of free time to explore the site, but everyone was exhausted, hot, and hungry, so there wasn’t much learning that went on.

Maia and I walked through the site and made it to the food court which was, oddly, in the center of the site. We bought some watermelon and a bag of Cheeto-like chip things called Crick Crok.

I LOVE these trees.

This is an original 7th-century mosaic.

Here’s the theater right within the site. Apparently, they still do shows here, which is really cool. It reminded me a lot of the Greek theater I saw in Taormina, Sicily!

I kept saying this as we roamed around: I truly wish we had come here another day. I’m sure I’d have appreciated it after a good night’s sleep while wearing some clothes that weren’t drenched in sweat!

From there, we drove for about an hour and a half to get to the hostel in Narni. I had a surprisingly good nap on the bus which energized me for the insanity that was about to occur…

Once we made it to Narni, the bus dropped us off in the town square (since the streets are far too narrow for it to drive down). We took our bags out of the bus and began the walk to the hostel.

If you didn’t know, Narni is a medieval town, meaning that basically everything is made from cobblestone. The ground is all cobblestone, too, which is lovely… when you’re not dragging a suitcase. Uphill. In 90-degree heat.

I feel like we all deserve medals for making it to the hostel that day. For real, though, I can’t complain… I was in ITALY, after all! And once we got to the hostel, we enjoyed this view from the balcony! It was completely worth it.

Just thinking about the balcony at the hostel makes me so happy. My friends and I would stay up late talking out there as bats flew around us and lizards climbed the walls. The view was breathtaking, and I can’t believe I got to wake up to that every single day.

This is what you saw looking behind the hostel: rows and rows of mix-matched houses, all of which fit perfectly together.

After showering and relaxing for a bit, we got to explore the town as we headed to dinner. Remembering these little things makes me so sad and happy. I remember the big memories, the ones that everyone reminisced about the most… but the little things don’t always cross my mind as much. When they do, though, they always bring a smile to my face. I hope the little moments of this trip never escape from my memory.

This picture, for example… I remember so vividly sitting on the street staring up at that building. We were waiting outside a theater for a presentation to begin, and everyone was (still) exhausted. I couldn’t believe I was in Italy at that moment; it took quite a while for that fact to settle in. All the time, my friends and I would remind each other that we were actually there, but it took a couple days for it to hit me.

And here we have a photo of my dream car. Whenever I see Fiats here in the US while I’m driving, I am instantly taken back to Italy 🙂

Here’s a photo I took while waiting for dinner. I am still in awe at how preserved these homes and buildings are. Being in Narni truly felt like we were in a different century.

Ahhhh, the cats! This is the first of many cat photos.

There were tons of stray cats throughout the town. It was glorious, and we all made friends with them. I find it interesting that in Sicily I only saw stray dogs, but here I only saw stray cats. There were many dogs here that were on leashes, but in Sicily I saw very few dogs. Weird!

Here’s a view from the balcony, again. I would do anything to be there right now.

Cotton candy skies…

Here’s a photo from the hostel lobby. Lots and lots of religious iconography, here and pretty much everywhere we went. The hostel was lovely. It is designed specifically for students and teachers, so there were only a couple of other students who joined us (they were there for the music festival).

It honestly felt like a hotel. Our beds would be made every day and the bathroom would be cleaned, too. The breakfast was delicious: there was espresso, juice, fresh fruit (apricots especially!), and a myriad of pastries. I still dream of the chocolate croissant I would eat almost every morning.

Ahhh. Gelato. This is one of the two gelato shops we would visit daily. I preferred this one 🙂

This was the very first gelato I got on that trip. It’s cannella (cinnamon) and oh, boy, was it delicious! I wanted to be more adventurous with my gelato flavors, so I began that streak right at the start.

Another kitty!

I think this was actually the second night, but there was an incredible red moon we watched rise up while sitting on the balcony. It was so hard to take a picture of it, but it was absolutely beautiful. This whole trip feels like a dream.

That’s all for today. I was there for two weeks, so there’s still a bit more to share! Stay tuned… arrivederci e buon weekend!

our last day

After a little over a month of blogging about this trip, my Sicily series is over. Today I’ll be taking you through my final day there. It was simple, but it was one of my favorites.

Instead of eating breakfast at the hotel, many of us waited until we got to Taormina to have some cannoli instead. That cannolo was the best I’ve ever had. They put the cream in the shell right in front of you so it doesn’t get soggy, and it’s topped with sweet almond pieces and powdered sugar. It was the flakiest, crunchiest, and most incredible dessert. If you ever find yourself in Taormina, be sure to hit up Roberto’s for a once-in-a-lifetime cannolo. Oh, what I would do to eat one right now! PS: Their torrone is crazy delicious, too.

This was outside the little bakery. Our tour guide, Nicole, translated a couple of them for us, and some are really funny.

A really cool staircase guarded by a face.

The only thing we had planned for this day was to visit a pottery shop called Made in Sicily. One of the owners told us about their products and how everything in the store is hand painted.

This woman did a demo in front of us. It blows my mind how much time is put into these.

I bought a couple things there for friends and family and a little owl for myself.

After the mini tour, we had about three hours to shop and get any last minute gifts to bring back home. My grandpa, uncle, aunt, and I got lunch, and then my aunt and I went on the hunt for the perfect scarf. Everyone I passed by on the street there always had the most elegant and beautiful scarves, so I couldn’t leave Sicily without getting one! I ended up buying two. They make me sad/happy when I wear them!

This was a cute display in one of the shops we went to.

I loved window shopping and going into all the designer shops. It was so fun admiring all of the beautiful clothes and other items with my aunt!

Ugh, and I wanted that sweater so bad! The store was closed, though 😦 I would have bought it in a heartbeat.

And now, my friends, I present to you… the last gelato. *sobs*

This is ginger and chocolate. See, I told you I only ever got chocolate! But, hey, at least I was adventurous with the opposite flavor! Ginger was actually really nice and unexpectedly good!

While it’s definitely a bit of a touristy area, Taormina is a really fun little town. There’s so much to look at, do, and eat there, and I had a blast roaming around that day.

Later in the afternoon, our group met up and we rode back down the hill to Letojanni. There had been a storm brewing all day, so my friends and I went down to the beach to watch the waves. These were the biggest and craziest waves I have seen. It’s almost as if Sicily was having a temper tantrum that we were about to leave…I sure was! 😉

These photos aren’t the greatest, so I posted a quick video on Youtube for you to watch if you’re interested. Here’s the link.

This one is the biggest of them all! I have a video of it, but all you can hear is my friends and me yelling, so I took a screenshot of it instead:

We hung out at the hotel after it began raining before we headed to dinner. The restaurant we went to was only a few minutes from the hotel, so we all braced ourselves for the rainstorm and made the treck.

For dinner, we each had a small pizza to ourselves. The weirdest thing happened at this restaurant, too: We were each handed our pizzas, but they weren’t cut into slices! So, we had to use our little butter knives and cut them ourselves. It was quite strange, and everyone was curious as to why they weren’t pre-cut. Despite that, it was so fun sitting down with our whole group on our final day in paradise, even if we were all in a pre-grieving state about leaving.

After dinner, my friends and I hung out for a few hours before bed, packing up our suitcases while singing songs and drinking Coca Cola. Then, when 11pm struck (our curfew), we said goodnight and headed to bed.

The next morning, the storm had calmed down and the ocean was still again.

We went down to breakfast and loaded our luggage onto the bus. And now for the fun part: the crazy traffic! It was supposed to be only about an hour to the airport from our hotel, but it took us way longer than expected because of the inexplicable traffic jam the entire way there. We all thought we’d miss our flight, but, thankfully, we made it! We even had some time to spare in the airport gift shops.

Our first flight to Germany was about two hours. Taking off from Sicily was so different from landing there ten days prior; my mindset was completely fresh and new. When we arrived, I was nervous and scared to be in a new country, and I didn’t know anyone too well in our group, either. I was a completely different person on the flight home, though: I had both new friends and new experiences under my belt, and I felt ready to conquer the world.

Hi, Mount Etna!

And thus, our journey back home began.

I arrived home at around 11pm-ish. I didn’t sleep on the flight back (instead, I watched 3.5 movies: A Star is Born, which is my new favorite movie; Bohemian Rhapsody, which I’d seen before but wanted to rewatch; Beautiful Boy; and half of Mamma Mia 2). Lufthansa has the best movie selections ever!

When I got home, I showered and went to bed immediately. I had school the next day (ugh) and had to wake up at 6:30. Sigh. Back to reality!

Well, that’s all! I hope you’ve enjoyed this series. It’s taken a while for me to get it up, so thanks for sticking with me and continuing to read. Sicily was the first place I’ve visited outside of the country. I think it will always hold a special place in my heart, not only because I’m 1/4 Sicilian myself, but because it was the first major travel experience I’ve had. I also got to go with my grandpa, aunt, and uncle, which was just the best. I hope to return someday and explore other areas of this special place.

I also have some exciting news: I will be going back to Italy in just a couple weeks! This time I’m going to a small town called Narni in the region of Umbria. I won a scholarship to go study the Italian language and culture for two weeks in July. I am so grateful for my Italian teacher for giving me this opportunity and for my Arizona aunt & uncle for helping with plane fare. I can’t believe I get to go back! I’m a bit nervous, but I cannot wait to share it all on here. I’ll post updates soon!

As always, thanks for following along.

mount etna

It was our second-to-last day when we traveled to Mount Etna. (And in case you didn’t know, Mount Etna is an active volcano on the east coast of Sicily!) We woke up kind of early, put on our most comfortable walking shoes, hopped on the bus, and began to drive.

This may be TMI, but the one thing I remember once we got to the side of the mountain was how badly I had to pee. There was no bathroom, so I had to hold it and wait almost two hours until we stopped for lunch. Now that I think about it, I guess I could’ve gone outside. “I once peed on an active volcano” would have been a good conversation starter.

Anyways, we didn’t walk up to the top; we just walked around the side and saw a couple of cool sites. We had two tour guides: one’s name was Pippo, and he didn’t speak English, so there was a translator as well.

Here’s one photo I took as we began our hike. It was quite colorless, but it’s still pretty neat.

It was insanely windy and cold up there! Thankfully we dressed for it and were able to stay warm, but it was quite the change of temperature compared to the rest of the week.

This is a crater we got to look down into. All I could think about while staring into it was the boys who got stuck in the Thailand cave. Ahh!

Here’s me posing with the funniest tree. They all looked like they had eyes, but this one was especially funny because of its lips.

After hiking, we stopped for lunch at a rifugio, which is a little restaurant/lodge they have on mountainsides in Italy. It was really cool, and the food was delicious. Plus, I got to pee!

We hung out in the rifugio for about two hours, sipping Coca Cola and drawing on paper placemats as we waited for food. After eating, we headed to a new area where we got to go underground into a cave! Here’s a selfie of me underground right after I hit my head on the top of the cave. Thank god for safety helmets!

After learning all about volcanoes with Pippo, we started to head back to the hotel. I’m so sad that I forgot to take a little lava rock home with me!

It’s really hard to see the letters in this photo, but it says “Benvenuti a Milo.” I took about 20 photos of signs in this town that said “Milo” because that’s my brother’s name! I sent him some of the photos, but he was not nearly as excited as I was. I’m not sure why, though; if there’s a town called Josie/Josephine, I would 100% want to go visit ASAP.

We stopped at a bakery to use the bathroom on the way back, and I got a few little pastries. My Italian teacher wanted to get us a cake since it was Easter and it was our second-to-last day there, but she didn’t realize that the one she bought was a semifreddo (like an ice cream cake)! So, we had to take our pistachio semifreddo and eat it outside the bakery. It was so funny and such a great memory. And, of course, it tasted amazing, too!

My friend and I wanted to hang out by the ocean that evening and collect rocks and try to find sea glass. The waves weren’t as calm as they were when I swam, but just wait until you see how big the waves were on our last day!

It was so nice to just sit on the beach and watch the waves with no crowds of people screaming around us.

I’ve been missing this trip so much lately. Relaxing on those gorgeous empty beaches is one of the things I miss the most!

Mmmmm. Another gelato. This one is coffee and chocolate. I got it at a little gelateria about two minutes from our hotel. I love how every place gives a different topping, whether it be a mini cone or a cute little waffle. Also, I need to branch out with my gelato flavors! I probably got chocolate (or some variation of it) almost every time.

This is all of the sea glass I found, and it’s all green!

I love this photo! I tried my best to find all the colors of the rainbow. And yes, I brought all of those rocks home with me. I know, I’m crazy for bringing rocks with me on the airplane. But they look great on my windowsill, and they remind me of Sicily every day, so it was totally worth the strain on my back.

Well… I’m almost done with my Sicily series. Only one more post to go! Writing this series has allowed me to relive the experience, sort of, so I’m going to be sad saying goodbye yet again!

See you tomorrow for the finale. Buonanotte!

taormina and letojanni

Our last hotel was in a small town on the ocean called Letojanni. It was near the hillside town of Taormina, which was a really cool place we spent two days shopping in and exploring.

Here is one of the views from our balcony at the final hotel. We spent a lot of time here, organizing shells and rocks and looking down into the hotel restaurant kitchen! Our whole group was on the same floor, and once we checked in, we all said hi and waved to each other from our windows/balconies.

Here’s the other side, looking right out to the ocean.

Outside of the hotel.

We headed up to Taormina that day for a guided tour. Our first stop (and basically the highlight of the tour) was the ancient Greek theater. Here’s a view on our way up. That’s Mount Etna (Sicily’s active volcano) in the background!

And this is the Greek theater. It was really cool, and apparently, they still have shows and concerts here once in a while!

It wasn’t too crowded, either, which was nice!

I love this one. I’ll be honest: I didn’t expect there to be as many cacti and palm trees as there were! I was pleasantly surprised once we arrived. It reminded me a bit of Arizona! 😀

I had never seen an ocean (in person) of that shade of blue before.

A really cool mosaic in the center of Taormina. It’s a bit of a tourist trap in some parts, and there are a lot of stores, but I love how there are still so many historic elements that are preserved despite the modernization.

OK, this photo looks kind of gross, but this was one of my favorite dishes! It’s gnocchi with a pistachio-pesto sauce. My mouth is watering just thinking about it again.

An adorable turquoise door outside of the restaurant.

We didn’t get a chance to swim in the pools at the other hotels, and since there wasn’t one at this hotel, a few of us wanted to go swimming in the ocean. The water was freezing when we got there, though, so I was hesitant to even go up to my knees. But I convinced myself to just do it so I can say I swam in the Mediterranean Sea! It warmed up after a while and was so lovely.

This picture is kind of haunting, but look how clear and beautiful the water looks!

Oh, but I wish I had water shoes that day! Those rocks were very very painful.

Here’s proof that I swam in the Mediterranian Sea. It was so calm that day; I had never seen anything like it!

I love this photo so much. Everything about it is just so pretty. I remember everything so vividly from this trip. Looking through photos makes me feel like I’m reliving it!

After swimming, my friends and I decided to order pizza on the dock next to the ocean. I was freezing from the twenty-minute swim (it really was that cold!), so I got some hot chocolate, too. Surprisingly, this was the first pizza I had the whole trip! One is Four Cheese and the other is Margherita.

And, of course, what’s a meal without gelato for dessert? This is pistachio with a chocolate cone.

Cute purple chairs and tables we admired while eating our gelato.

Some of the beach treasures I found! I gave some away to one of my friends but kept a few special ones for myself.

Here’s one last photo to wrap things up. There’s so much going on: the hillside houses, the trees, the VOLCANO in the background. So cool. I just can’t believe I got to see this view in person.

Tomorrow (I hope), I will share photos from our trip to Mount Etna! A presto.

enna and agrigento

The drive up to Enna was one of the more stressful experiences of this trip. Traveling in a tour bus had its benefits, but driving up tiny, winding roads up a mountainside was quite the struggle. The bus driver had to honk the horn each time we turned a corner in case of a car coming down the mountain!

Once we calmed down a bit from the ride, we hit the bathrooms (and spent one euro to use them) and met up with our tour guide for the day, Davide. Davide knew a lot about the history and architecture within the town of Enna. He also had a wonderful sense of style and fed my obsession for scarves and Oxford shoes.

We went to the Castello di Lombardia. This is a phenomenal view next to the castle.

I really love this geometric metal fence.

I snuck away from the tour group for a few minutes to take photos of this view with flowers in the foreground.

This is the Castello di Lombardia, or at least the ruins of it. From what I remember, there were a lot of different aspects that were added later on, so not every piece is from the original structure. Still, it’s very old, and the tower you can see in the middle of this picture is from the 13th century.

We climbed up so many stairs to reach the top of the tower. My grandpa climbed the stairs, too; I think he’s in better shape than I am as he did it with, seemingly, no problem! 😉

The next few photos are views from different sides of the tower.

The top of that little mountain is right where we were at the start!

After touring the castle and learning lots about who inhabited the surrounding areas (Sicily’s history is so very complicated but so very interesting!), we headed into town. Enna is a pretty religious city, and we were there the week of Easter, so there was a lot going on religiously.

I love this photo. USA, why can’t our mailboxes be this charming?!

There are so many churches in Enna. I can’t remember the name/find this church online, but it was so beautiful. I believe this ceiling is wood.

These hand-painted tiles are just fantastic. As I mentioned in one of my other posts, I’m totally going to have a kitchen someday with a Sicily-inspired backsplash!

This wooden wall is carved with Bible stories.

Here’s something kinda funny/unique I observed on this trip. Maybe it’s a European thing or just an Italian thing, but the exterior of each hotel always has the number of stars it is right next to the logo. In the US, you have to do a Google search to find that info, but in Sicily, it’s right there! I think it’s pretty interesting that they do this.

This is Chiesa Santa Chiara. You can’t really see from this photo, but there are little marble squares on the walls that hold bodies of Italians who died in WWII. I guess it’s more like a mausoleum!

After having lunch and walking through Enna for a while, we took the terrifying bus ride back down the hill and headed to Villa Romana del Casale. If you enjoy mosaics as much as I do, this is a place you must visit! It is an ancient palace that has been turned into a museum. The mosaics have been kept in wonderful condition, and each room has a totally different design on the floor.

This is the famous bikini girl mosaic! Davide said that bikinis supposedly originated in Sicily because of this mosaic. That’s something I didn’t think I’d learn on this trip!

The outdoor mosaics get very dusty as people walk over them all day, so Davide splashed some water on one of them, and we could see how shiny they are once clean.

I discovered this photo after I returned from Sicily (that always happens because I take so many pictures!). I took it on the bus and didn’t think it’d be a great shot, but I really like it.

We had left our beloved first hotel that morning, so by the end of the day, we ended up in Agrigento. This hotel was four-star, and it was quite fancy. Sadly we only stayed there for one night, so my friends and I enjoyed it by buying all the Kinder Bueno bars in the mini-fridge and drinking Coca Cola until our 11pm curfew.

This is the view from the tiny balcony in our room.

The next day, we headed to Velle dei Templi, or Valley of the Temples. They are ancient Greek temples located on the top of a little hill. As you drive by on the road below, you can see some of them, and it’s so pretty.

Some of them were preserved better than others, but I’ve never seen anything like them in person before.

The cutest little goats on the side of the hill!

LOL, no joke: I wandered off from the group to take this flower picture, too. I just can’t resist sometimes!

After the tour at the Valle dei Templi, we went out for lunch. I got a classic Sicilian pasta dish: Pasta alla Norma. It’s busiate (my new favorite pasta) with tomatoes, eggplants, basil, and cheese.

Excuse this unflattering picture, but this is another classic Sicilian treat: gelato in a sweet brioche bun! Mmmmm. One of the best things I ate.

After lunch, we took a little drive to Scala dei Turchi . Sadly, the walk was too far to reach them, and we couldn’t climb up or get a closer look, but they are still gorgeous from this view.

There was so much to explore at this beach. I found so many rocks and shells!

The water was insanely warm, too. I could have stayed there all day.

Another rare picture of me.

After about an hour on the beach, we drove three hours to our final hotel in Letojanni. We stopped at a convenience store along the way, and it was nothing like I’ve ever seen! It was basically a mini grocery store. Some of the chocolate treats I took home were from there 😉 lol.

Tomorrow I’ll share photos and stories from our first day in Taormina / Letojanni, and then Mount Etna. A domani!