After a night of rest, I have been trying to find one word to explain Italy. The only one I can think of? Unexplainable. This country is more than anything I have ever seen. Our journey began after departure from the Toronto Pearson Airport. As we boarded the plane, friends were separated by the two-digit number on their boarding passes, and searched for their seats. The nervousness and shyness quickly wore off, as the strangers sitting next to one another engaged in conversations about their trip 8 hours away. Due to the harsh Toronto weather, our flight was delayed about 30 minutes. Anxious? Just a little bit. Finally, the flight took off. 8 hours and 26 minutes later, we arrived in Rome, 2pm due to the time change. Georgia Hardy Tours hunted for our luggage, and travelled swiftly to our coach bus. Decked in red, white and black leather interior, roomy seats and spacious windows, our 4-hour bus ride began. The sizzling Italian air waved outside the vehicle as we pulled into a common Rest Stop to grab a bite to eat about an hour into the drive. We were introduced to the words “Grazie” and “Prego”, which means thank you, and prego can be used for several things in Italian, such as “you’re welcome.” First, we were instructed that we must browse the food, then approach the cashier and state what we would like to purchase. We were then handed a ticket, which we were to bring back to the counter with the food, and choose the item once again. We were given a half hour to mingle and munch, then headed back onto the bus.
I awoke a few hours later to the beautiful, sunny coast of Sorrento. The group could not have seemed more like tourists as dozens of us grabbed our cameras in awe to take the perfect shot. The coast line was one of the most beautiful views I have seen, the sea was a brilliant blue, the cliffs towered over the water, the old apartments and houses lined perfectly with the water’s edge. As we drove further and further into Sorrento, the tiny street we were on became extremely busy, with abnormally sized cars and hundreds of Vespas. It was about 45 minutes until we reached an iron gate that read “Europa Palace Hotel”. The class scurried off the bus into the courtyard of the hotel, looking down the cobblestone pathway outlined with leafy foliage to see a historical statue centered between the last two trees, the blue sea shimmering in the distance. Unreal. We were assigned into our roommate groups, and given our room keys (which are real keys with a VERY heavy medallion attached), and raced to our rooms to get changed for dinner.
We met back at the courtyard at 8:30pm, where we walked to the terrace to sit down and relax for dinner. We were served a first course, which was a choice of about 8 unbelievable dishes (I enjoyed a pesto pasta!), and then were served another course, chosen from another 7 or 8 choices. The terrace was filled with a soft chatter and laughter, students and teachers getting to know each other and every single one of us enjoying the warm Mediterranean sun setting on the calm sea. The city lights of the island across the sea flickered brighter as the evening progressed, and dessert was served and finished up. Mr. Mastrandrea and one of our tour leaders Melina gave us the breakdown of some rules and what to expect within the next few days. The evening ended with a fun ‘ice breaker’ game, where we got to know each other a little bit more. We were sent off for a good night’s rest around 10:40pm. Exhausted and excited for our next day to begin, it was time to hit the hay. I cannot wait to see what else this beautiful place has in store for the members of Georgia Hardy Tours. It is sure to be an amazing July. We miss you all at home of course! Hope time doesn’t go by too fast though!
Ciao, Natalie Blake
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