Wanderlust #5: Italy Week One

Travelling solo for the first time is the most exhilarating and scariest thing that one person can through. As someone who is quite shy and reserved, this was my big step in life to push myself out of my comfort zone and go for it. I got to my airport and flew out on a 7, almost 8, hour flight. I arrived in Madrid right at sunrise and that is probably the only good thing I can say about Madrid. The airport is an enormous space that has so many gates. I had to take the train from one terminal to another and walk really fast because passport control took longer than I was expecting.

I arrived in Rome on time and waited with all the other members of the program for any stragglers. We took a 5-hour bus ride and arrived around 5-6 pm. There was a huge reception from the small town and we had a nice dinner. I met my roommates for the first time and then we were off to our house.

This grapevine cluster was growing outside of the house and it hit me that I was in Italy! The week was a culmination of getting the costume shop ready, taking measurements, and sourcing costumes for performers. The shop consisted of a costume designer, costume shop manager, and two interns (me as one of them).

I think that the first week was just an adjustment to the fact that they have “reposo” which is when shop owners will close their shops from approx. 12:30-4:30. They just take a break and then come back to work. This week was a whirlwind of time adjusting and figuring out how to speak Italian without fumbling, still a struggle.

I was able to try legitimate gelato and it was life changing. I can honestly say that gelato became a recurring theme throughout the rest of my time in Italy. The flavor above was cremino.

Do you know the magic of apertivo? My first week in, I found out what apertivo was, essentially you buy a drink and you get food. This is a common custom all around Italy. I didn’t get an alcoholic beverage above but my friends did and it was delicious.

A very cute and interesting witch festival that happened. The themed was Orpheus and Eurydice. This was the stage being set up.

I got the chance to see the opera Carmen in Verona. The most amazing part, aside from the venue, was the fact that they were Italians singing in French and there were English and Italian subtitles.