Fox School of Business at Temple University

A vacation to Cinque Terre is a bit out of the ordinary. Cinque Terre is made up of five coastal villages in the providence of La Spezia. The villages are located on the side of a mountainous region with sloping coasts that impede into the water. The villages are littered with villas strait from a Hollywood movie. The towns seemingly crash into the Mediterranean Sea making a beautiful spectacle. Vineyards are carved into the mountains that seemingly stretch on forever.

I was lucky enough to travel with some friends to Cinque Terre for the weekend where I spent my time hiking between the villages, sampling the fine cuisine and vino, and swimming in the beautiful blue Mediterranean Sea. At night we joined the village at the local outdoor pub to watch and cheer on the Italian Futbol team in the Euro Cup. On our final night we dined high above Monterosso (the first village) and sampled the areas seafood and pasta.

Such a great weekend has little draw backs, although there were a few. The biggest draw back was the swimming area among Monterosso’s rocky shore (go to Riomaggiore or Manarola for swimming). I ended up stepping on a sea urchin the very first day of my Cinque Terre trip. My friends had the fun task of removing the spikes from my feet while I watched on in an unpleasant manner.

Cinque Terre is a beautiful location to visit and a must see for any American. My only thrift was that the area has become a hot spot tourist area. Tourist area’s have positive aspects, however, some of the Italian charm is lost. Still it would be pretty difficult to visit Cinque Terre and have a bad time!

Kyle Sawdey
The Fox Den

Posted by Kyle Sawdey at 4:27 AM | Permalink

Every four years the European Union comes together for a 16-team futbol tournament called the Euro Cup. I was lucky enough to buy a ticket in December and travel to Geneva, Switzerland to see Portugal vs. Turkey match up.

I must say, as a 21 year old, that the Euro Cup was the best experience of my life. I began my trip from Rome to Milan (never visit Milan unless you are traveling through or invading the city with the military). After two unfulfilling nights in Milan I made the trek up to Geneva. Geneva is a quaint town nestled on Lake Geneva. The town is very clean and nice.

The most thrilling part of the futbol match was my ticket, as I was able to get second row. The pictures display my proximity much better than I could ever explain. Imagine a crowd of more than 100,000 futbol fans (only 30,000 holding tickets). In person, I have never seen more energetic fans than the Portuguese and Turk fans. I did want to note, however, that the Turks are not the friendliest crowd and do not seem to like Americans.

I am very thankful to have experienced the Euro Cup and even more thankful that I survived. I would not recommend traveling to a match unless you are aware of the circumstances and possible dangers. However, if you are up for the challenge, the experience will be more rewarding than you can fathom.

Above is Cristiano Ronaldo considered to be the best player in the world and one of my favorites (Glory Glory Man United!).

Kyle Sawdey
The Fox Den

Posted by Kyle Sawdey at 11:14 AM | Permalink

Ciao! I am writing from the ancient city of Rome. I have been living here for one week and have already received more international exposure in one week than my entire life combined. Rome is a city built upon ancient traditions. The food and diet here is fantastic. The people are very nice and enjoy the American tourists; the Italian women are beautiful!

In one week I have seen the ruins of Rome, wined and dined in castles on the country side, climbed the ancient steps of the Duomo in Florence, survived an Italian futbol match, walked the magnificent canals of Venice, read in Vatican square, experienced Roman business, and even had time to attend class! Imagine what I will do with the next five weeks!

I find it a necessity for any Temple student to travel abroad. You will have personal stories that you can boast about your entire life. Maybe you will even get “Italinitus” and find yourself moving abroad permanently. Temple has created a great study abroad system that is helping to develop domestic students into true international students.

I am only giving you, the reader, the icing on the cake about my trip. In truth I have written much more and have taken hundreds of pictures. However, I am not one to make you sit here and read about my entire trip including every Gelati I ate or every landmark I visited. I will have much to write about in the next few weeks. This weekend I will be traveling to Switzerland to watch a Euro Cup game. Look for me on television as Portugal battles Turkey for the Euro Championship…I will be the American wearing neutral colors.

Until then Cheers!

Kyle Sawdey
The Fox Den

Posted by Kyle Sawdey at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)