Tusker Travels Trip

Sienna DeMarinis, President 

This past April break Somers’ travel program Tusker Travels embarked on a ten-day journey abroad. Accompanied by six chaperones, 40 students went on the trip, me included. This trip began in Switzerland and ended in Rome, covering a few other Italian regions on the way. 

I am a veteran to the Tusker Travels program, having visited France and the Galapagos islands in my previous high school years, so I felt relatively prepared for this trip to Switzerland and northern Italy. The one issue that I always run into though, regardless of if I’m traveling with my family or with the school, is packing. While most of the trip was smooth sailing, the packing was definitely hectic for me. I, of course, waited until the day before to start (so it was mainly my fault), but this trip had a wide range of temperatures. We were warned that Switzerland would be cold, and that Italy would be hot—making the outfit planning quite difficult. I managed to fit everything in a 36lbs checked bag and a huge backpack / carry-on, plus a small purse for my day bag.  

Now, enough about my packing fiasco, let me jump onto the trip.  

The first two days were in Switzerland, where we toured Zurich and Lucerne. Lucerne was a beautiful city, which we had a lot of free time in. I would love to go back to visit the stores, because since we were there for Easter, everything was closed, but we still made the most of our time. Switzerland is known for their watches, and I was super bummed that I was unable to purchase one while on my trip, but I took advantage of the ample amount of chocolate stores! On our last day in Switzerland, we took a train to the top of the mountains where we saw the breathtaking Swiss Alps. They were definitely my favorite part of our time in Switzerland.   

We then traveled with our amazing and kind bus driver, Giovanni, to Lake Como in Italy. I was amazed by how when we entered Italy, we didn’t even have to pull out our passports. We took a boat ride around the lake, and I was awed by the homes lining the edge of the water. I couldn’t help but ask about the location where Padme and Anakin spoke in Star Wars, but unfortunately it was too far away for us to reach. Lake Como was the first place where I was able to use my Italian language skills because in Switzerland, Italian-Swiss is much different from the Italian I learn in school. It was exciting for me to order and ask questions in the native language, and everyone there was open to helping me out whenever I stumbled on a few words!  

We then traveled to Venice where we saw an amazing demonstration of the glass bending and making. Here, I bought nearly all of my gifts for my friends and family because the pieces were absolutely stunning. We also visited Burano in Venice, which is known for its fabrics and lace. I bought two dresses for myself here and I’m absolutely obsessed with them!  

We then traveled to Pisa, followed by Florence. Pisa was an amazing experience and I really enjoyed learning about the tower and its history. Florence was beautiful and my favorite part was sitting at the bridge, overlooking the water and the city. At the bridge, many people and/or couples had written their initials on the wall, and I thoroughly enjoyed finding my and my partner’s initials scribbled in a heart by someone else.  

Lastly, the group traveled to Assisi and Rome for our last two days of the trip. Assisi was a small town with a strong religious background, but the cobbled streets were so cute. It also had an amazing view of the landscape below it, which I sat by for about ten minutes, just soaking it in. Like the Alps, the colosseum was a truly breath-taking sight. I am super fascinated by the tales of the colosseum and one of my favorite movies is Gladiator, so I was all ears on our tour.  

Additionally, there are some things I want to touch upon pertaining to these types of trips. If you’re considering traveling with the school (which I totally recommend) then you may want to heed this warning. The food locations are sometimes… not the best, so I would advise you to A) bring a lot of snacks and to B) take advantage of your free time! I wish I could go back to really eat up during my free time so that I wouldn’t panic as much when we were given no options for dinner. Additionally, one thing that is great about these trips, is the opportunity to have some independence from your parents. During the week, I barely had the chance to speak to my family, and it was actually very refreshing—and when I came home, I had some much to share! Also to that point, it is a bit difficult to speak to your partner or friends, because of the time difference and action-packed days, which is something I personally struggled with, but my partner and I made it work to the best of our ability. If you’re nervous about traveling without your family, do not let these trips intimidate you. You will be surrounded by so many of your peers and it really is a great opportunity to make some new friends!  

Overall, this year’s Tusker Travels spring break trip was an amazing experience. I would definitely recommend going on one of the trips in the future if you have the chance!