Ciao!"I'm Anna ed io parlo italiano" (and I speak Italian). That's how I introduced myself to my fellow tour travelers at orientation our first night. This was my fourth(!) trip to Italy, but my first Rick Steves tour and I was so excited to share the experience with my fellow travelers. I love to travel and had been on several trips to Europe, but I was still nervous to travel solo on a tour, not knowing anyone - even my roommate! (And let me tell you I had ZERO things to be worried about.) But I was definitely excited to see more of Italy, especially Puglia and Matera, and indulge in some REAL Italian food. (Beware: Photos in this scrapbook may make you hungry!)
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Why Rick Steves' Best of South Italy?
Italy was my first love. It was the first country I ever traveled to in high school. And in college I majored in Italian and studied abroad in Ferrara, Italy (a great day trip from Venice or Bologna if you're looking for someplace close by). But aside from a trip to Sicily in college with my program, I had never really made it south of Rome. After seven years away from Italy, I was dreaming of going back, but I also wanted to explore some of the off-the-beaten-path locations I hadn't visited before.
Cue a rather serendipitous event. In 2017 I was in Europe celebrating finishing my master's degree and, in one of those stranger-than-life moments that are almost too hard to believe, I ran into one of my study abroad classmates in St. Pancras station in London while we were waiting for the same train to Paris. She was working for Rick Steves' at the time and assisting with tours that summer. I was curious about the company and did a quick Google search that night in my hotel room... And kept looking at that site when I got home. Finding a tour of Southern Italy ultimately decided it for me. I quickly bookmarked the page and spent the next year revisiting it, pouring over trip details, and dreaming of my next gelato. So thank goodness for small (or large!) miracles, because that unexpected run-in at a train station led me to this tour, great sights (and food), and some amazing new friends! |
Navigating this Scrapbook
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Trip Highlights
Pictured in header: Vieste & the Adriatic coast