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This blog post will cover my experience in the final days (1/19-1/21) on the IPDS Italy trip. We left Torremaggiore around 8:00am and headed towards Pompeii. Ancient stage and theater in Pompeii. This theater could hold up to 2,000 viewers at one time. Home of one of the wealthiest inhabitants living in Pompeii, close to the center of the city. An excavated body from the ruins of Pompeii. Image from the center of Pompeii, with Mt. Vesuvius looming over the city. After Pompeii, we drove past Naples and the Amalfi Coast before arriving in Sorrento where we stayed for two nights. Here are images of both cities. Naples approaching sunset. Amalfi Coast approaching sunset. We had to take these narrow, windy roads along the cliff side in order to get to this overlook. While driving along this was dangerous enough, many motorists sped around us and it was shocking how close they were to incoming vehicles. 1/20/20. Today we traveled to the Isle of Capri. We had to take a 30 minute ferry ride from Sorrento to the Capri harbor and left pretty early to do so. The Isle of Capri was one of the most beautiful place I have ever visited. Here are some picture from the experience. Sorrento at morning. On the right you can see Mt. Vesuvius, and to its left is Naples. Image of the Isle of Capri from our ferry boat. Faraglioni, Capri's three large rock structure that often is used as a symbol for the island. To get here, we had to walk down at least 500 steps, winding left and right down the face of the Island. Nick, on the rocks! At the base of Faraglioni. Behind me is the town of Capri. We had an hour and a half to ourselves in the afternoon, so I broke off from the group and went a direction our tour did not take us. Along this route, I found this sign that says "Via Arco Naturale" which I figured meant something along the lines of "Natural Arch." I started what turned out to be a 25 minute walk one way. Image of the natural arch. It was the most spectacular thing I have ever seen. The walk to get here was incredibly windy because it was along the water and the wind was hitting the trail directly. I found a bench here and sat for 40 minutes, reflecting on the trip and what life was going to be like when I got back home. I also reflected on how different my thoughts were in that moment versus how they were before I went abroad. This experience (IPDS + my Austrian excursion) helped me grow into a more reflective, thoughtful, and aware individual, and this growth was revealed to me when sitting at Arco Naturale. A restaurant, closed for the winter, along the trail towards Arco Naturale. Photo with fellow IPDS Italy participants Kelly + Karly Glowny. What made this trip so special, aside from the teaching experiences and incredible views/history, was the friendships that grew out of our time together. I grew to be incredibly close with Tanner, Lindsey, Alex, Mary, Kelly and Karly, and I truly hope that these friendships continue well past our time spent together in Italy. 1/21/20. Today we officially left Sorrento and traveled through Naples on route to Rome. Here are some pictures. Photo of Naples in the morning. Photo from inside of Naples Cathedral. Tambourine art! 1/21/20, last night in Rome. We got in around 6:00pm and broke off into small groups to wrap up our last things to do in Rome. After getting dinner, Tanner, Lindsey, Alex and I traveled to the Trevi Fountain and made our final wishes. The tradition is that 1 coin thrown means you will come back to Italy, 2 coins is an Italian fling, and 3 coins was that you will find true love. True love was quite tempting, but in the end I threw 1 coin. Italy was just incredible and there is so much more that I want to see someday, such as Florence, Milan, Venice, etc. I hope that my wish comes true!
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AuthorHello and welcome to my blog page! My name is Nicholas and I am a music education major with a minor in philosophy, my primary instrument is percussion, and my dream is to someday teach elementary general music. Through this program, I hope to increase my pedagogical repertoire and empathy when working with English language learners, to learn about myself as an individual, and to make an impact in the lives of the children in Torremaggiore, Italy. Feel free to browse through and return to my blog as I update it with my pedagogical and travel adventures! Archives
February 2020
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