Author: Ulises E. Hernandez

Location: Italy

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Italy, the land of wine, cheese, pasta, pizza, gelato, seafood, and most important, the birthplace of the supercar. For those that know me, I considered myself a car enthusiast that is always looking for cars everywhere I ago. During my study abroad experience, I have visited Ireland, Germany, France and many places in England that have allowed me to see many of my favorite European cars, but as my study abroad programs come to an end, there was one place that I absolutely needed to visit, and this place was Italy.

On November 8th, my best friend Ben and I departed from Stansted Airport in London and flew to Milan, Italy. From there, we took a bus to Venice where we spent most of our afternoon exploring the peninsula and witnessing the beautiful scenery. Ben and I had an amazing dinner right at the edge of a pier, and as we walked through the peninsula, we also had the opportunity to try the very famous Italian Gelato which is a very creamy and rich flavored type of ice cream.

After spending the night in Venice, we woke up early the next day and we headed to the city of Bologna. From Bologna, we took a train to the city of Modena in order to fulfill one of my all time lifetime dreams to visit the Ferrari Museum and factory located in Maranello, Italy. Once arriving in Modena, we took an official Ferrari bus shuttle from the train station that took us to the birthplace of Ferrari that was about 40 minutes away. Once arriving in the Maranello, we had the opportunity to visit the museum, walk around the factory grounds, and eat lunch at same café that many of the assembly employees of Ferrari eat lunch every day. Even though I had an amazing time at the museum and the factory, I couldn’t leave Maranello fully satisfied within getting my hands behind the wheel of a Ferrari. After signing my life away in a liability contract, I was handed the keys to a Ferrari F430 Speciale Edition. Right away, I open the car door and turned on the ignition to one of the most powerful cars I had ever driven. With overwhelming joy due to the sound and vibration of the engine, I put the car into first gear and started one of the most amazing driving experiences I have ever had. After cruising on the Italian roads and Hwy’s, we returned to the rental company and Ben and I took the Ferrari bus shuttle back to Modena. In Modena, we walked through the life and history museum of the founder and creator Enzo Ferrari. From Modena, we took a train to Pisa where we ate dinner and spent the night.

Early in the Morning, we walked to the leaning tower of Pisa located about a mile away from our Airbnb. For a few hours, we got the chance to take pictures and spend some time walking around the beautiful city before heading back to the Pisa central train station. From the train station, we took a train to Rome, Italy where we visited the Vatican City and the Colossal. We spent all of our afternoon sight-seeing and the experiencing the city of Rome before heading back to the airport early the next morning.