Orientation Ends

First of all, sorry about the pictures all out of order with the text. I can't figure out how to put them in my post correctly.

Orientation is now over and classes begin today, Monday. This week has been such a blur, but definitely the experience of a lifetime. On Saturday, we took a trip back to Ancient Rome and saw a lot of ruins and the Colosseum. Although we have not gone inside it yet, it was absolutely fantastic and makes me excited to begin my class on Roman history. I definitely had the chills whilst walking through the Roman section of the city.

It would have been a long walk back to the Residence from the Colosseum, so we decided to take our first bus ride all by ourselves. We got on the correct bus and would have gone all the way to the stop at Cipro Metro station (near the Residence), but while en route we saw this fantastic little place near the Vatican called Old Bridge Gelato. We made a quick decision and got off at the next stop. It was definitely the right decision –two Euros for a huge cone with three flavors. Plus, the view of the Italians working behind the counter was not too bad either. ;)

Yesterday, Sunday, was the most remarkable day thus far. We took a bus trip to a beautiful medieval hill-town called Todi. Che Bella! I kind of miss the countryside, so this was absolutely perfect for me. The view was lovely –farmland, vineyards, mountains. We met the cutest old Italian man named Gianocarlo. He only spoke Italian, but it was incredible how much I could understand. Obviously there was a ton I couldn’t understand, but I do know that he told us about the tallest tree, how long his family has lived in Todi, and that the patron saint of Todi is san Fortunato. He even gave us a European kiss goodbye! After Todi we took a winding trip to Titignano, a private estate, where we had a delicious traditional meal about seven courses and 2-3 hours long. It was really great to eat a real meal- we’ve been eating apples, clementines, and bananas all week. We’ve really got to figure out buying food so we can cook a little better! Anyway, I’ll be sure to let you all know how classes go this week. Ciao!

The view in Titignano

Sara and Gianocarlo in Todi