Florence was the next stop after Sorrento. Florence is noted for its culture, Renaissance art, architecture, and monuments. This city contains many different museums and art galleries. Florence reminded me a lot of Rome.

One of the art galleries that we visited was the Academia of Florence. The moment I saw Michelangelo’s statue of David, I gasped. The famous sculpture that I had seen all my life in history books, I was finally seeing in person. I loved studying how detailed the sculpture was from the veins in his biceps to his realistic toe nails. It was amazing. Our tour guide also explained to us how David’s stance and facial expression looked the way they did because it is displaying him debating whether or not he wants to throw the rock at Goliath. Something that I kept thinking about was how cool it would have been if Michelangelo would have created a sculpture of Goliath the Philistine giant as well.

One of the things I was sad about was not being able to try a Florentine steak, which is said to be a must have food when in Florence.

Overall, Florence was a great place. I would highly recommend it for those who are into art and architecture.

After Alberobello, we traveled to Sorrento. Sorrento is famous for its lemons and limoncello.

Sorrento was a fun city. This is where I did most of my shopping. There is a very wide variety of small shops that sell almost everything. The leather goods are what I went for. Sorrento also had a lot of bars/clubs to go to. One night I was very surprised to see a dancing pole and hear American hip hop music. This was nothing like what I expected an Italian club to be like.

One of my favorite experiences in Sorrento was going on a Capri Island boat tour. This island was one of the most beautiful places that I had ever seen. The water was a very pretty turquoise color. Although we did ride past the famous Blue Grotto cave that everyone dreams to swim in, we did not go inside.

Another one of my favorite experiences in Sorrento was going to the Olive Oil Factory. We taste tested over 20 different kinds of olive oil. I was so amazed because I was not even aware that there was more than 1 kind of olive oil. The flavors ranged from garlic and spicy to fruity. I did end up buying a lemon and orange flavored olive oil.

Overall, Sorrento is a great city and definitely recommend for visitors who are wondering where to go in Italy.

After Rome, Alberobello was the next stop. The city is Alberobello is best known for its trulli buildings and houses.

When I first got to Alberobello, I instantly fell in love. Starting with the hotel, which was a trulli. The white colored stone walls, the pyramid shape, and the conical rooftops were beautiful to me. Alberobello is definitely a place where I would love to live one day, if I were fluent in Italian. Everything gave me welcoming vibes, and the white stone walls made everything very bright looking which gave me a positive feeling.

What I enjoyed the most about Alberobello was the large variety of different foods. I was able to order things that I usually eat at home in America, which I think is what played a big part of me feeling so comfortable and at home. I also enjoyed how friendly the people were. From the waiters, to cashiers, to random families, everyone was very nice.

Alberobello will remain my favorite city of the overall trip.

The first stop of the trip was Rome. Rome is a very popular city I’d say. When you think of Italy, Rome is one of the first cities you think of. What makes Rome so popular is the architecture and the city’s modern history.

Rome in my opinion is very ancient looking. It was not something I would visually look at and think “Wow, this is beautiful.” However, taking tours and learning about Rome and it’s artifacts, was very interesting and informative. I think that this would be an ideal place for tourists to visit.

My favorite experience in Rome was seeing the Colosseum which was once used for gladiatorial combat. Although what took place at this location was unfortunate, I thought it was cool looking around and seeing what once use to hold 60,000 people, seeing where the seating used to be, where the official fighting floor was, and where the gladiators and animals would walk in from. I liked having to use my imagination to visualize how everything use to be before the Colosseum started falling apart.

Overall, I am pleased to be able to say that I have been to Rome.