Samantha Hirschman | Blogger

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.” – Anais Nin

Travel is one of those things that everyone does; we all have somewhere to go. I’m currently traveling Europe, but I’m also traveling to discover who I truly am. We constantly discover new and exciting things about ourselves, and this week I had the opportunity to discover Casamari, Veroli and Pisa.

Friday morning rolled around and we took another bus ride to the school. Thirty some students piled into a charter bus and headed south, riding the bus an hur to Casamari. On our way there, I saw open fields of grass, cows, and horses. I also saw the mountains in the background and as we drove up the hills, houses covered the land. We arrived at the abbey. The details on the pillars and the greenery in each corner was stunning. While we were at the abbey, there was a wedding going on. The church was huge. We also met the recently-chosen head monk.

After the tour was finished, we got into the bus for another 10 minutes ride to Veroli. The large bus had to fit through narrow streets and cut sharp corners. The bus ride through the town felt like a rollercoaster. At one point, it even looked like the drop down after your reach the peak in a rollercoaster. We finally parked, and as we got out, we saw a breathtaking view walking through yet another archway into the city of Veroli.

While we were in Veroli, we visited a museum and had the rest of the day to ourselves. A few friends and I wandered and found a nice restaurant and had pasta. 

This trip was through my study abroad program, ISA (International Studies Abroad), and it was exciting to see a place that I normally wouldn’t, but I definitely would have enjoyed seeing something else a little more. (But that’s okay because Pisa was Sunday!)

Up at five, Kayla and I beat the sun in order to make our seven o’clock train ride to Pisa.

We got there early enough that we didn’t have to fight for a space to take pictures. We climbed the tower and saw the museum. By the way, the 18 euro to climb the tower is worth it. The view is phenomenal.

We spent the whole day walking around, looking at shops, and laying in the grass. Instead of being constantly rushed trying to do a bunch in a little bit of time, we spent all day enjoying and experiencing the area.  It was a wonderful view as we watched the sun set over Pisa, Italia.

Sam