What a trip it has been! It has hardly felt like three weeks have passed! We had to get up extra early to say goodbye to the apartment and clean before meeting the group at the Piazza Risorgimento by 8 am. Everyone was pretty tired after an eventful last night. Many of us stayed up a lot later than we should have, trying to take in the last bits of Rome before we left. On the bus ride to the airport some people were pointing out the last views we’ll have of certain monuments like the Vatican, but also random places where we made our own little memories. Hopefully though, this is just our introduction of Rome.

The check-in at the airport took a while to get everyone through, but we still had about an hour to kill before boarding began. The departing plane rides went a lot better than the arriving ones. Many people were able to catch some Z’s on the long flight home. I think our group bought out Amsterdam’s supply of chocolate for the next year with the amount that people were trying to pack in their carry-ons. For dinner we had the option between the Dutch’s finest meatballs with mashed potatoes or some cheesy pasta. I had the meatballs, and it was definitely the better choice.

Once the plane landed, everyone was ready to get through customs so they could lie in their own bed. It was a bittersweet moment. Most people were ready to get a break from all the museums, but sad to know that our time as a group and our roman experience had ended. While we all waited for our rides to arrive, we talked about how we’d still stay in contact on how this wasn’t really the end, but the beginning of some great friendships.

On behalf of the entire group, I think we’d all like to give one last shoutout to Dr. Besser for all that she did for us on the trip. We’d have many exciting memories, and she worked her hardest to ensure that we could experience them. We know this isn’t goodbye, so…

Arrivederci

Nick