Italy: Perfect Place on Earth

The past 24 hours have been a rush of disappointment, excitement, stress and energy. After being told we were no longer going to Istanbul, we had a meeting in the union where dean Jill Wright told us that we were going to Alexandria, Egypt. She got as far as "Alex" when the union erupted in screaming and cheering. A lot of students are still disappointed about missing out on Istanbul, but excited for Egypt. The biggest downer is that we lost another day in port because we needed it to travel the 1000 miles to Egypt. Administrative offices definitely needed the extra day as well to arrange the field program options and put together a logistical and cultural pre-port.

Today we had to decide on our field trips, figure out what we wanted to see in Egypt, find what students we were traveling with, and make hotel reservations if necessary. To make the situation more complicated, we have limited internet (most students used all of their minutes a long time ago) and there are maybe three books on Egypt in the library (nobody bought travel guides for Egypt, thinking we were staying in Europe). So, this should be an interesting port stay. I decided to travel with Sam again- we are doing a camel and jeep safari tomorrow to Cairo, where we will leave the group and head to our hotel near Giza. Before I get too carried with Egypt, I'll backtrack to Italy. But I do have to give credit to SAS - the sudden change of plans showed that they were able to pull together a small but decent list of field programs and successfully align the many other measures needed to dock in Egypt.

Anyways, Italy was amazing and definitely my favorite port. To make a long description short, Italy has it all - great weather, good public transportation, great food, and unbelievably friendly people. Shortly after docking, Deb, Chris and Mike (both from Pitt) and I headed to Rome. I learned the hard way to pack lightly! After checking in at our hotel (where a ton of SAS kids were staying), we saw a good bit of Rome including the Forum and the Parthenon. At night, we walked by the Coliseum which was lit up and quite awesome to see.

On the second day, Deb left and met up with some other friends. Chris, Mike and I went to see the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. It took an entire half a day to see but was worth the time it took. We met up with a bunch of SAS students at the Spanish Steps who were going out, but Chris and I were too tired and decided to head back early after seeing Trevi fountain, which was awesome albeit touristy.

On our third day, we left Rome early and came back to the ship just for a few minutes to drop off our bags and grab some new clothes. We got on a late afternoon ferry to Sorrento and the ride there was breathtaking. When arriving in Sorrento, we ran into Steph and her friends. We went to the beach for an hour or so which was one of the best memories I have from SAS so far. To stand in the Mediterranean, look down and be able to see your feet because the water is so clear is an amazing feeling. Later that night, we all went out to dinner, which in Italy, is a several hour ordeal, and we had a fantastic time. Sorrento is one of my favorite places and I wish I spent more time there. In a way, I wish I hadn't gone to Rome. There is so much to see and do there and is such a phenomenal place, it takes at least a week if not two to see everything in its entirety. I loved it, but I wish I had spent my 4 days there seeing Sorrento and Capri fully instead of just spending a few hours there.

On Saturday, I had a SAS trip to Pompeii but it left the ship at 8:30 a.m. I stayed overnight in Sorrento and thought I could just meet up with the trip at the entrance to Pompeii around 9. I left Sorrento really early and hopped on a train to Pompeii. It was an awesome feeling to be sitting on a train going through the hills, overlooking the gorgeous Italian coastline, drinking a cappuccino which was the most amazing drink I've ever had. I got to Pompeii and found the entrance to the ruins at just about 9. After waiting an hour for the SAS trip to show up (and talking to many Pompeii employees who assured me the group hadn't yet arrived), I figured they had to have entered the ruins by that point and was able to get in without paying by showing them my SAS Pompeii ticket. Luckily, I ran into some SAS kids I recognized and was able to see the last part of the tour of Pompeii. It was remarkable to see and I wish I was able to see the entire city - another reason I wish I hadn't spent so much time in Rome. I got on the SAS tour bus back to the ship, luckily. I loved Italy and can't wait to go back for longer than 4 days. It may well be the most perfect place on earth.