Submitted by George Wieber on the 2017 winter session program in Italy sponsored by the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Physics & Astronomy…
Going to various cities outside of Perugia on the weekends has been an interesting experience. Numerous people in the area have talked about the North-South cultural divide in Italy, but it wasn’t apparent until we traveled to Rome and Napoli this past weekend where the cities seem busier and more condensed. We toured around to the iconic sites of Rome like the Trevi Fountain, Colosseum and the Vatican. In Napoli, we got pizza at Da Michele, a restaurant that some consider to be the birthplace of pizza.
Last weekend, we were able to travel to Paris and Normandy. Paris was a beautiful city with an excellent metro that we took all over to see Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and a widely acclaimed macaroon shop. I was also able to try escargot for the first time, which was delicious. Normandy was an eye-opening experience where we were able to walk around many of the sites from the famous World War II battle on Omaha Beach.
Returning back to Perugia each week is almost like returning home, where I’m becoming more familiar with the local shops. Doing the laundry at a public self-service laundromat was a bit of an adventure in itself, but I’m getting accustomed to the culture more each day.