Participating in a study abroad program that is led by UA faculty has a lot of advantages. Not only do I get to know the professors I am taking classes with, but my program also allowed for extensive traveling and sightseeing. We traveled to Italy, Austria, Germany, and Slovenia, and we even had a five-day break in the middle of our trip.
During the break, I decided to go to London, Rome, and Florence during with two other people from the program. We were encouraged to make the most of our break and we certainly did. We flew from Venice to London using Ryanair. Initially, I was nervous about using a budget airline, but it turned out to be a great experience. Public transportation in London was very affordable and easy to navigate. We visited all the major tourist attractions, such as Big Ben, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Notting Hill, and Westminister Abbey.
From London, we flew to Rome. We allowed 5 hours to get to the airport, check in, and get through security, which proved useful due to train delays and long airport lines. For a while, we thought we might miss our flight, but luckily we got through in time. Although we only had 14 hours in Rome, we made the most of it. We saw the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Roman Forum and walked to Vatican City. Then, we took a train to Florence.
Our train arrived on time and our Airbnb was only 15 minutes from the train station. However, we had to wait about 45 minutes to get into the apartment due to a misscommunication with the owners. This was tough after a long day of travel, but we got some rest once we got in. We spent two more days in Florence before rejoining the group. We visited the leather markets and a few jewelry shops. The best part was exploring the city. My favorite thing about traveling is walking around, admiring the architecture, and seeing where the roads lead.
