On June 1st I left Morgan and Seth to meet my study abroad group at the hotel. After checking into our rooms and meeting our professors, we had the rest of the night to ourselves.
I was really nervous about making friends and adjusting to such a big group, but my roommates invited me to dinner with girls they met at the airport.
We roamed around and went to a random restaurant nearby. One of the girls, Hannah, introduced us to sarti spritz, which we are all obsessed with! During dinner we all chatted and got to know each other. My nerves went away quickly because everyone was so nice and inviting.
We ended the night exhausted, but got to see the sunset (featuring my new roommate, Brandi).
The next day we went on a walking tour with our professors of the Spanish Steps and Pantheon. Taking group tours was a new experience. When I was with Seth and Morgan, we saw things at our own pace and when we wanted. I was a little tired and overwhelmed by the experience, but I enjoyed learning the history of it all!
After our tour ended, we had the rest of the day to ourselves. Everyone in the group chose the same TikTok famous sandwich shop: All’Antico Vinaio. The line was out the door, and for good reason. This was the biggest (and best) sandwich I have ever eaten.
We wanted to explore, but everyone was exhausted. We found a restaurant to sit, get drinks and relax before walking around. The Rome heat is no joke!
The next day we had a group tour of the Coliseum and Forum. It was pouring rain so we bought ponchos from the street vendors. After a little complaining and soggy socks, we laughed about it!
Finally, it was time to head to Arezzo. Our bus was big enough that everyone got their own row. Everyone was napping or relaxing when we realized the time was not going down. Two hours into our three hour ride, we somehow still had two more to go?!
Some people were not happy with this. I was kind of excited for the extra downtime!
After finally getting to Arezzo, we hiked our bags up the hill (do not recommend) and went to the welcome dinner. The full day of tours, rainstorms and a five hour drive made for a very quiet dinner.
That night we were all very relieved to be in Arezzo, in our own dorms and stationary for the next few weeks. No more hauling around our checked bags!