ITALY

Prior to visiting Egypt in August 2021, I spent a week in Italy, a country I’d only visited once before for a few days. This time, I still stuck to some of the tried-and-true travel destinations in the country, and despite the intense heat and crowds, I loved every minute of it. We started in Rome before moving on to Naples, a city that tends to get overlooked but that I found to be beautiful, charming, and wonderfully authentic. While staying in Naples, we took day trips to the idyllic islands of Procida and Capri in the Bay of Naples. We then headed south to the Amalfi Coast by way of Pompeii, where we visited the towns of Amalfi and Positano, taking a day hike along the Path of the Gods. My takeaway from the trip is that Italy is popular for a reason, and I’ve found it almost unmatched in Europe when considering the combination of culture, food, and stunning natural locations.