Catching up... - January 24th, 2008 to February 23rd, 2008

We’ve had a very busy few weeks!

January 31st

I guess I’ll start out in San Gimignano and Siena, which was our first trip outside of Florence. We took a day off from classes and went to these “medieval hilltowns” of Tuscany, each with their own charm and personality.

San Gimignano was misty grey when we got there, which will set it apart in my mind forever. We explored the small town, from the shops to the churches, to the medieval fountains down below that had a few fish in it.
After that we went to Siena, where the color for the crayon comes from. We visited a couple of churches there, but what sticks out the most in my mind is the sloping piazza. It was the very end of our tour, but when we got there the piazza was filled with children in Carnivale costumes, which is a holiday kind of like a mix between Halloween and Mardi Gras. The children dress up in the most amazing costumes, and the saying goes “Ogni scherzo vale a Carnivale,” or “Anything goes at Carnivale.”

February 7th, 2008 - February 11th, 2008

A week after our trip to the Tuscan hilltowns, we went to the urban side of Italian culture in Rome. Just before the trip we watched “Roman Holiday,” with Audrey Hepburn. It helped to recognize the different parts of the “eternal city.” Part of one of our classes was to present a different item in Rome, whether it be a church, a ruin, or a monument. We visited everything, from the Circus of Maxentius

to the Pantheon

to the Trevi Fountain to the Colosseum

to the Roman Forum to the Vatican

to the Villa Borghese
(which was one of my favorite places, but we were not allowed to take pictures here!)
and the Mouth of Truth, my favorite Audrey Hepburn spot

February 12th, 2008 - February 14th, 2008

A few days after Rome, the group had an optional ski trip to Abetone. In order to save money for later, I opted not to ski or travel extensively, but stayed at the hotel and relaxed. I made it up to the top via the ski lift and had a hot chocolate (more like a melted candy bar) while sitting by a fire looking out the window of the ski lodge and intermittently reading. It was just what I needed to do.
February 19th, 2008

Again, less than a week later, we had another trip. This was the major trip of the semester, where we spent an extensive amount of time touring Italy and learning more of its history and culture. This time we went to Southern Italy, including Sicily. We took a night train down to Reggio Calabria, where we spent some time on the beach before going into a museum.

After the museum, we boarded a ferry that took us through the Straits of Messina to Sicily. The next day we went to Taormina, but spent the night in Mazzarro. The ruins of an old amphitheater are there in Taormina, as well as some simply gorgeous views.

February 20th, 2008

In Mazzarro, a friend and I woke up early the first morning to go watch the sunrise. We were not disappointed.

The rest of the day was free, so a few of us went down the beach to “La Isola Bella” to enjoy the quiet. There we found great beauty, but also a few interesting creatures.

February 20th, 2008 - February 21st, 2008

After Taormina, we spent the day in Catania, which is a fairly urban city. From there we traveled to Agrigento. Our hotel was actually on the architectural site there! The whole area is littered with the ruins of old temples, the most intact being the Temple of Concordia, visible from the hotel.

We walked along a “secret road” to get to the temples, and on the way we saw all of the almond trees in bloom.

Among the ruins of temples we saw were the Temple of Hercules and the Temple of Hera

February 22nd, 2008 - February 23rd, 2008

From Agrigento we went to Palermo, then took an overnight boat to Naples. We went to the museum in Naples, and then made our way to Pompeii.

We saw the city of Pompeii, including the bodies in the Garden of the Fugitives. We also went into a little amphitheater which still has great acoustics. They even managed to get me to sing, which was an experience in itself.

It's getting late now, so I'll finish this up soon! I hate to stop in the middle of our Southern Italy trip, but the rest of this is worth waiting for!