By David Kaptzan of Shanghai Community International School Hongqiao

I have traveled to many places, but one of my favorite trips was driving through Italy with my family and grandmother in the summer of 2007.

In Rome, we went to the Coliseum and took pictures with people dressed up as ancient gladiators. The Vatican was enormous, but the tour guide didn't have a first-rate sense of humor. Trevi Fountain was cool because we got to throw coins in and hang out.

As we drove along the winding Amalfi Drive, along the Mediterranean Sea, I asked myself "How on earth did they build this road into the mountainside?" We stayed at a remote little hotel, where the elevator was barely big enough for two people. The restaurant looked out at the sea and was wonderful! Behind it, you could walk down a flight of steps into the sea and swim, which was great.

In Florence, we climbed 414 agonizing steps to Duomo's bell tower. The Uffizi had amazing art. The Academia was my favorite place--we saw the Statue of David! It was so tall compared to the other statues in the Academia.

The boat rides on Venice's Grand Canal and small canals were enjoyable. St. Mark's Square had thousands of pigeons. It was really cool to visit Venice after reading about it. On our last night in Venice, we were adventurous and walked through alleyways and ate at a restaurant directly on a canal. It was the best meal I ate during the whole trip!