I LOVE to travel! When I travel, I generally plan the trip.

Ahead of time, I join the travel groups, I do the research, and I plan it all out. I ensure we have restaurant options, an agenda, and are ready to hit the ground running. I want to dig into wherever we are and get the most out of our adventure.

This is not to say that every moment is planned out or that I’m not flexible, but there’s a strong game plan!

Rewind to nearly two years ago... I was asked to take over the group leader spot at our school to lead our international student and family trips. With a tad bit of hesitation, I accepted.

I generally never do a scripted tour in which you’re going to have to be stuck with a group, so this meant I was going to have to give up some control and accept someone else dictating what we’re doing and when.

With this understanding, I scoured the available tours for a destination I knew would attract students and families. I also wanted to go somewhere I had never been. Italy was the obvious choice!

Rewind to now nearly two months ago... we met at the airport in our matching shirts three hours early, according to international travel recommendations, and everyone was on time! I knew I had a great group! Little did I know how close we would all grow over the next nine days. Our group consisted of fifteen total people, nine adults and six students. My husband was the other chaperone, and all but one student had parents traveling with us.

Our first stop was supposed to be in Verona, on route to our hotel outside of Venice. However, we hit thick traffic which put us behind schedule. We were on a schedule to check into the hotel and have dinner at a restaurant at a specific time. Our group would have probably forfeited the scheduled dinner if it meant getting to visit Verona. Monkey wrench—we were paired with another group that would also have to agree to this! And so, the compromise began. At this point I reminded myself, whatever happens from here on out is perfect. It’s about the group, not me. I would focus on what I could control to ensure my group got the best experience possible.

Venice was AMAZING! We began with a water taxi ride to the island, followed by a guided tour by a local expert, then the iconic, absolutely necessary gondola ride. From there we took the water taxi to Murano for a glass blowing demonstration, then off to Burano to enjoy free time in this colorful fishing village, known for its lace work and leaning tower. Being a Florida girl that grew up on the beach, this jam-packed day on the glorious waterways of Venice was marvelous.

Next up was Florence and a visit to Pisa. The showstopper on this leg of the trip was our hotel location in Lido di Camaiore. We were blocks from the beach and happened to be there during their Welcome Summer festival. When you think of international travel, you think of being immersed in their culture. Well, this was it. There was music, singing, dancing, art, and beautiful opportunities to simply observe the locals. After a long day traveling and spending time in both Pisa and Florence, most of our group arrived back in Lido di Camaiore energetic and stoked to get down to the beach for the festival. As we walked along and listened to the music, I watched friendships between our students blossoming. I watched as once quiet, shy kids began to talk freely and dance with others to the music. This was what it was about. Earlier that day we had taken that iconic photo with the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We had marveled at the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and that majestic dome that was completed over a hundred years after the church was built. We had walked across the Ponte Vecchio, stared up at a couple replicas of the David statue, visited the oldest pharmacy in the world, and ate the Florentine steak. But this was it.  

We walked the beach one last time before heading to Assisi for the afternoon. We gathered some sand in a glass Coke bottle we kept, just for this purpose.

As a small, walkable medieval town, Assisi was another group favorite. We toured with a local guide, marveled our way through the Basilica di San Francesco, and ate traditional food with an exquisite view of the Italian countryside. We would have loved more time in Assisi, but remember, we’re on a schedule! Off to Rome we go!

While in Rome, we saw so much! We toured the Colosseum, visited the Roman Forum, toured the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, stopped at the Trevi Fountain. We covered so much ground, taking in all that history. There is so much to see and do in Rome, I feel we only scratched the surface and didn’t do some of it justice considering the speed at which we were consuming.

On our final full day, we made the trek down to Pompeii. The spectrum of experiences, seeing how the Romans lived so long ago, was just incredible. It ranged from seeing vivid frescos, to stoneware and how they cooked, to chilling reconstructions of the victims just as they were in their final moments. We were glad we added this optional excursion, as it was certainly impactful.

Back to Rome, but first, cheese! Our tour director was from outside of Rome and contacted a friend for a recommendation on a traditional mozzarella shop to take us to. For someone like me who loves cheese, this was heaven! We tried hard and soft mozzarellas, plain and marinated, enjoyed with some sliced tomatoes. This was quite a treat, again, digging into the culture!

Our hotel in Rome provided a pretty perfect setting for our last night in Italy. The sprawling grounds were set in the Roman countryside and also housed a church and a restaurant. After dinner in the hotel restaurant, we lingered among the grounds, enjoying fellowship, sitting, and talking, then later walking the grounds, checking out the various vegetation. After spending several days together, we had drawn close to one another and knew that our time together in this way was coming to an end.

Once we returned to the states, several of us adults were in regular text contact, holding onto those bonds we had developed. Our texts have dwindled but have not diminished. We talked about it on the trip and after getting back have planned to get together for a potluck in August after school starts. We have the date set and everyone knows what they’re bringing! In the meantime, I’m preparing for my informational session to promote our 2026 trip to.... JAPAN!! 

Priscilla Goodwin-Serra is a middle school science teacher and serves as department chair. She's been in education for nearly 20 years, serving in both K-12 and higher education. Priscilla flew for the first time at the age of 22, flying by herself from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, meeting friends at the airport in Frankfurt, Germany. During her trip, she traveled throughout southern Germany, and the group took the train to Paris. Priscilla and her husband, Carlos, honeymooned in Costa Rica. Priscilla has also traveled to Spain, Mexico, St. Thomas, the Bahamas, and Grand Turk. Carlos and Priscilla are looking forward to a romantic trip to Ireland later this year. In addition to her international travels, Priscilla enjoys visiting lighthouses throughout the United States, hiking, caving, water sports, and Yoga.