{"id":1921,"date":"2012-02-23T20:51:32","date_gmt":"2012-02-23T20:51:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.studyabroad101.com\/?p=1921"},"modified":"2012-02-23T20:51:32","modified_gmt":"2012-02-23T20:51:32","slug":"road-traveled-sorrento","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.studyabroad101.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/road-traveled-sorrento\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking the Road Less Traveled in Sorrento"},"content":{"rendered":"

This past weekend, two of my classmates and I decided to explore the town we live in for the first time.\u00a0 It was our first month anniversary of being in Italy (as well as my anniversary of falling in love with Italy), and we hadn\u2019t yet had the chance to really experience and enjoy the small town we live in. Most of our time thus far has been spent walking the main town of Sorrento.<\/p>\n

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We decided to meet at our usual spot at the big tree on my road\u2014since we are the only three who live in home-stays in the same area, and therefore always walk together.\u00a0 Our adventure began when we realized how walking the same, main road in a different direction was like entering a new culture, a new world.\u00a0 The roads were busier, the cars were crazier, and the people looked unfamiliar.\u00a0 Maybe it was the time of day, but we could barely cross the street it was so busy!\u00a0 I figured walking towards the sea was our best bet at getting to know this side of town without getting run over, and I had remembered my Italian friend telling me that I must go to the Sant\u2019Agnello marina.<\/p>\n

Knowing nothing of this new area other than the direction of the ocean, we decided that it was the perfect time to go.\u00a0 Once we got onto the side roads, my friend challenged us to \u2018do as the Italians do\u2019 by walking slowly.\u00a0 That is exactly what I did.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t take long before I was settling into this new pace of life: stopping to smell the lemons (literally!), greeting the stray dogs, and crossing the streets as if that speeding Fiat or that Vespa driving on the wrong side of the road could not touch me.\u00a0 Na\u00efve, maybe\u2026but I felt like it took walking in the opposite direction than I\u2019m used to, onto unknown roads was what it took for me to realize fully what this past month has brought me, and more importantly, how it has changed me.\u00a0 To put it in less grammatical terms: \u201cI Robert Frost-ed my way to a new me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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While on my road less traveled<\/em>, with my two fellow musketeers, I walked slowly on the cobbled and wobbled sidewalks, choosing the way to go using only mere intuition.\u00a0 After walking the heels off of my boots, I turned the corner and my eyes began to sting at the sight of such beauty.\u00a0 I blinked, and the picture only became clearer.\u00a0 This was it, I found the marina.\u00a0 I walked closer, my two comrades just as in awe as I, and began to walk down the zigzagged, stone ramp.\u00a0 We walked through this castle-like structure that had windows looking down at the Mediterranean water crashing against the rocks.\u00a0 As we continued walking through this castle leading down to the marina, everything turned pitch black where there were no windows.\u00a0 I admit to being afraid of the dark, and I usually find myself quivering like Dante did while in the pits of Hell in La Divina Commedia<\/em>.\u00a0 However, here, I felt strong.\u00a0 Together with my friends, I made it down to the marina.<\/p>\n

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It began to rain, but that only made the whole \u2018\u2019feeling like Dante\u2019\u2019 theme more prominent.\u00a0 Umbrella, no umbrella it didn\u2019t matter.\u00a0 In that moment all that mattered was that I was in a foreign place, nearly on my own and yet, felt so at peace.\u00a0 The ocean was cerulean and clear, and peaceful.\u00a0 The three of us just walked on what little sand there was, skipped some rocks, and stood in the rain marveling, thinking, and seeing.\u00a0 When the rain became heavier, I began walking over to the dock and again, was blessed with an incredible sight: a rainbow!\u00a0 Had we not decided to venture out and see what else this part of Italy beholds, I would have missed out on something so profound and something that ended up bringing me closer to my friends, and definitely closer to nature.\u00a0 Plus, what better way to end a journey, than with a rainbow.<\/p>\n

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Submitted by Caitlin, Abroad101 Global Ambassador in Sorrento, Italy<\/address>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This past weekend, two of my classmates and I decided to explore the town we live in for the first time.\u00a0 It was our first month anniversary of being in Italy (as well as my anniversary of falling in love with Italy), and we hadn\u2019t yet had the chance to really experience and enjoy the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_ppma_block_editor_authors":""},"categories":[11,21],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[682],"class_list":["post-1921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-global-ambassador","category-stories-from-abroad","author-pwpadmin"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t