Day 7 - JHS Europe Trip - Winter 2025-2026

We started the day by checking out of our hotel and loading the bus to head to Salerno. We took a quick ferry (20 minutes) from Sicily back to the mainland and then continued our drive through the countryside of the Calabria region. It's important to note that our tour director, Pietro, is from Calabria and was very eager to regale us in how it's the best part of Italy. The constant view of the mountains did not disappoint. At the halfway point on our journey to Salerno, we stopped in the hillside town of Pizzo that overlooked the bay.

While in Pizzo, Pietro scheduled us for attend demonstration to see Tartufo, a truffle made from two types of gelato with a molten chocolate centered rolled in cocoa dust, made by the gentlemen known the world over who invented it. A large portion of our tour group indulged and it was amazing!

While in Pizzo, a small group of us visited a local pizzeria where the owner could not have been more excited to interact with Americans, because he proudly shared that he had "been to the states 13 times!" He showered our group with his specialties, and made sure everyone in the group was able to try everything. A few of the girls in the group ordered a margherita pizza and lo and behold walked away with two pizzas and some fried potato fritters for an absolute bargain. The owner announced the second pizza was "For the teacher!" Honestly, it was a humbling experience for everyone in the group, because the shop owner's excitement and enthusiasm was so genuine! After our delicious pizza and fritters, and a shared calzone, some of us wandered off to explore and came upon a local produce market where we were blown away by the freshness and flavor of some of the best strawberries we had ever had.

From Pizzo, we continued our journey to Salerno. Once we arrived at our hotel, we checked in and gathered for dinner at a local restaurant where we enjoyed a three course meal of salad, pasta, and tiramisu. 

After dinner a few of us stayed up and played cards, talked about the highlights of the trip, so far and called it a night.

More to come.