Ciao!
My name is Haley Cleous and I have been studying abroad in
Torino, Italy this summer. As an engineering student, I choose internships over
studying abroad in the past. Now that I am about to graduate, I realized that
this is my last chance for a big trip to Europe and so here I am! You won’t
believe that I have only been here for two weeks. I have already traveled to
Venice, Prague, Nuremberg, Alba wine country, and of course spent time
exploring Torino. I came to Europe with hopes of seeing as much as possible,
and Torino is a great place to travel from.
In case you are not familiar with
Torino it is one of the largest cities in Italy, was the location of the 2006
winter Olympics, and is located in Northern Italy between the Alps and some
beautiful wine country. Italy, and really all of Europe, is full of castles and
churches that are thousands of years old.
We have had so much fun sightseeing. In
Venice we took a gondola ride (of course) and I fell in love with the canals
and picturesque alleys. At night we ended up making new friends while drinking
wine on the dock and watching boats pass.
Prague was an interesting trip, to
say the least. The city is a mix of old gothic buildings and very modern ones.
There is great nightlife and a lot of young travelers from all across Europe.
On the way home, I realized I booked a ticket for the wrong day back. What to
do with an extra day in Prague? How about a day trip to meet up with a friend
in Nuremberg, Germany!
The biggest lesson I have learned so far is to go with
the flow. When traveling, things will inevitably go wrong. The only thing you
can do is enjoy the journey. Some of the best moments in life are spontaneous.
Although there have been several challenges to overcome, my trip to Italy has
been amazing so far. Words and even photos cannot begin to describe the
experience. That’s all the advice I have time for at the moment. We are almost
to the Italian Rivera to spend 4 days on the beach!
Haley Cleous
