Harrison Davis: Italy

Harrison Davis: Italy

St. Peter’s Basilica on Bus Tour

Vittorio Manuelle

Vespa Scooter

Italian Gelato

On the very first night of my trip, we started right off the bat with a bus tour of Rome. We rode on an open air double-decker tour bus that provided audio recordings that told the history and importance of monuments as you drove past them. Highlights of our tour included seeing St. Peter’s Basilica (See Image 1) and the Vittorio Manuelle (See Image 2), which was a center monument that helped me to orient myself over the course of the following three weeks of the program. I loved experiencing the exciting night life of Rome. There are people chatting, music playing, and Vespa scooters buzzing by (See Image 3). There is nothing more beautiful than Rome at sunset. This bus tour was a great way to get an overview of what was to come throughout the rest of the program. Sure enough, the very next evening we were out walking through the streets of Rome, stopping to see the famous Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. I got to take part in the local tradition of throwing one coin into the fountain and keeping the other coin in your back pocket. By taking part in this tradition, you are guaranteed that you will return to Rome someday. We concluded our night with our routine treating to gelato (See Image 4). Every evening activity was adjourned with a gelato run. Oftentimes I would end up having gelato two to three times a day. What a life!

View from the top of the Duomo in Florence

The Pantheon

One of my favorite site visits happened on one of our weekend excursions to Florence. We were given a choice whether we wanted to go shopping or if we wanted to climb up 463 stairs to the top of Brunelleschi’s Dome, or the Duomo as it is commonly called. For me, there was never a moment of hesitation; I knew from the start I was going to the top. Of the 35 people in our group, however, only 5 of us braved the daunting challenge. I will be the first one to tell you that the people who went shopping really missed out. The view was absolutely extraordinary (See Image 5). The climb to the top of the Duomo will definitely be on my list of places to go the next time I go to Italy. Another one of my favorite monuments was the Pantheon (See Image 6). It turned out to be way bigger than I expected it to be. The oculus itself in the middle of the ceiling is thirty feet across; yet, when compared to the rest of the structure, the thirty foot diameter looks tiny. The sheer size and attention to detail in this structure was amazing -- a true architectural phenomenon.

Inside St. Peter’s Basilica

           On one of the last days of the program, we took a trip to the Vatican Museum. It seemed like every single room in the entire museum was filled with world famous sculptures and works of art. There was not a single piece of art less than world famous to be found. They say there are countless other famous pieces of art that the Vatican simply does not have room for in their displays, so they just store the artwork in massive underground basements. Local legend says these basements are so big that if you were locked in one of them without a map and a guide, you may never find your way out. When walking through the exhibit, you become so intrigued with all of the artwork that you find yourself just walking and staring, and then, just when you start to think it couldn’t possibly get more beautiful, you look up and you’re in the Sistine Chapel. You stand corrected. Then the Vatican Museum exhibit concludes at the base of St. Peter’s Basilica. Once again, just when you thought things more beautiful could not exist, you look around in awe of the brilliant detail and architecture of St. Peter’s dome (See Image 7). The entire experience was breathtaking; there is simply no other way to put it.

            This was an amazing experience for me all around. I cannot thank the Wilson family enough for providing me with such a special opportunity. I realize how lucky I am to have been given such a gift, and I made certain to take advantage of every moment while studying abroad. From navigating through an airport alone, to making new friends, to learning a new language and adapting to a foreign culture – all of these are important lessons that I will need later in life, and all of these I learned on this trip alone. The St. Stephens program really does a nice job giving you the most out of your trip. There was not much down time, and I was constantly on the go, but it was nothing MBA’s rigorous schedule has not prepared me for. I learned so much in my classes; there’s something about being in Rome that makes you eager to learn everything about it. My teacher was absolutely amazing; she was so passionate about her subject that oftentimes she would get goose-bumps just from talking about the history of Rome. It was 95 degrees outside, so I know for a fact that there is no way those goose-bumps were because she was cold. Everything I learned from this experience really helped to put a face on what I have learned in the classroom. For example, I have read and talked about the Forum Romanum and Palatine Hill for so long in class, and now I finally got to go out and see them in real life. Now that I have seen the city and have a better sense of its size and layout, I will definitely be able to relate to it better when back in the classroom at MBA. Now I can bring what I have learned on my trip back with me to the classroom and share it with others. I developed some really special relationships with the people on this trip. Everyone ended up in the program for a reason, and I found it so interesting to hear how everyone heard about the program. Whatever the reason, all of our paths crossed for a single span of three weeks, and, now that it’s over, we may never meet again. It saddens me to think that way, but I know it is probably true. After living with this special group of people – after laughing, learning, and interacting together – I feel like I have known everyone on this trip for my entire life. This has been the trip of a lifetime, and I will miss my classmates like brothers and sisters.