Please forgive my absence

      I am very sorry that it has been such a long time since i have updated you on my travels. I have been very busy with Mid-Terms and Papers. In the next few days i will update you on my last two trips and maybe some fun things I've found in Rome (if i can remember them all). 

Vatican City

Yesterday I traveled to the Vatican City, which is actually it's own country. We attended the Papal Audience. The Papal Audience is a service given by the Pope in 8 different languages. For the religious you can bring items to be blessed by the Pope, which I think is pretty neat! At least now i can say i have met and been blessed the the Pope himself!
After the Papal Audience a small group of us went walking through the streets window shopping and stopped for some delicious real Italian pizza. On the way to the bus stop we passed a gelato shop, and i must say by far the BEST gelato i have ever had, so if you are ever by the Vatican wall go to the Old Bridge gelato shop.

Montecassino Monastery

I apologize that it has been so long since the last update of my travels. It has been very busy here in Italy. Taking classes, getting books and exploring the neighborhood.

On January 13th we took a trip to Montecassino Monastery. Montecassino is a small town about 80 miles south of Rome and is the home of the sacred relics and monastery of St. Benedict (480-543), the patron saint of Europe and the founder of western monasticism. Since its founding by St. Benedict in 529 AD, Montecassino Monastery has had a troubled history, suffering from repeated attacks, pillage and natural disasters. Most recently, it was the site of a terrible battle during World War II that resulted in great loss of life and complete destruction of the monastic buildings. The monastery has since been rebuilt.
We were able to tour the inside of the monastery and saw the great hall where those who survived the bombing in WWII took refuge, as well as the great door they escaped by after the bombing had finished. It was amazing to be able to see where St. Benedict himself slept and prayed.
Today there are 20 monks that stay at the monastery, ranging in ages from 26 to 92. We were also able to listen to the Vespri cantati (Vespers in english) which are the singing prayers. After the Vespri cantati we went down into a small hidden chapel to see where the remains of St. Benedict and his sister St. Scholastica are kept.

Villa Adriana (near Tivoli)

 Today we went on a day excursion to the Villa Adriana. The Villa was built as a private summer retreat between AD 118 and 134. Villa Adriana was a vast open-air museum of the finest architecture of the Roman world. The grounds of the Imperial palace covered an area of 300 acres and were filled with full-scale reproductions of the emperor's favorite buildings from Greece and Egypt. Although excavations on the site began in the 16th century, many of the ruins lying scattered in the surrounding fields have yet to be identified with any certainty. 

There is a beautiful pool of water that has a line of statues along the right side and two male statues at the head of the pool, one is a solider and the other has no head. This pool was apparently built in memory of the emperor's boyfriend who committed suicide while he was in egypt on a sacrificial table. After his boyfriend committed suicide the emperor went insane. On a lighter note I thought this was the most capturing remain of the entire Villa Adriana. 

Over Night Trip To Tuscany

Bright and early on January 10th we all loaded up on buses and took a three hour journey to Siena. The drive was beautiful. You could see the mountains, small villages and farms of Italy the whole way. When we arrived in Siena at the Garden Hotel, a beautiful Italian 4 star hotel, we had a fantastic 2 hour siesta and then got back on the buses to visit the Village of San Gimignano. San Gimignano is famous for its towers which date froma a period when prosperous families fought battles in the town using towers to store their grain for sieges. They were also conveniently used for dumping boiling oil on attacking armies. The towers were truly a sight to see and the view from a old lookout point of the surrounding village was breath-taking. After wondering the streets of Gimignano for a few hours and enjoying an espresso from the bar (cafe) we headed back to our hotel for dinner.

After our fantastic meal and a few glasses of vino we headed out into the center of Siena to get a taste of the local night life. We found a great hot spot called the Barronna Rosso (Red Baron) and spent the majority of the night there. It was interesting to be in an Italian bar and have them only play American music. Just a note for the ladies: You have to be very stern with the Italian men if you want them to leave you alone, being polite and saying no with a smile is a yes to an Italian man. They are very persistent and have a stereotype about American women that they are easy, and sadly for the blondes it is worse for you than the brunettes. On the positive side you get alot of free drinks! 

The next morning we had time to walk the streets of Siena. Most of the shops were closed due to the fact it was Sunday and people dont work on Holy Day, but the city was beautiful anyway and it was a good workout walking up the hills and all around. After we explored we headed back home to the JFRC.

Day 1 In Rome

After arriving at The John Felice Rome Center 100 of the students including myself all attended a dinner at a local restaurant, Capperi. The food was amazing and the vino was flowing!