To celebrate graduation coming up, my mom and I decided to take a girls’ trip to Italy over spring break. The first few days we spent in Rome, and while I was not a big fan of the 12 hours of flying it took to get there, I loved the city as soon as we got there. My first observation was that everything smelled nice: the taxi, the hotel, the stores filled with soaps and fragrances. We spent about three days wandering the city, and walked absolutely everywhere. I especiallyadored all of the beautiful ceilings at the Galleria Borghese and Vatican Museum.

Everywhere you walked throughout the city, you would find another historical site or stunning church. Without a doubt, the food lived up to the hype. We ate an assortment of pastas, margarita pizza (my favorite food), and tons of gelato. Every meal was followed by dessert and I had never experienced such joy. A personal highlight of Rome was walking around the streets at night finding something to eat and browsing local stores. Sorrento was a very different environment, despite only being a few hours away by train. Everything moved a bit slower, more relaxed, and there were gorgeous views of the water found all around. Shopping around, they had a lot of lemon-themed products, since they’re known for their Limoncello, lemon flavored liquor. There were also stores filled from floor to ceiling with leather bags, gloves, and belts, making it very difficult for my mom and I to leave with only a few. As I get ready to graduate and start making plans for college next year, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to get to spend a full week in Europe with my mother.