New friends, daily life...

Mom and Dad have asked me to post more pictures that may not seem as interesting to me, but show my real life here in Viterbo, the people and places that I see every day. These first ones are of my school, the Universita degli Studi della Tuscia. Other than my Studio Art class which is in a different location, all the rest of my classes are here at this campus, which was formerly a monastery and then a prison.

Next up are a few pictures of some of my friends here...I don't have pictures of all of them, but you wanted to see some, so here they are!

Civita di Bagnoregio

Braving the freezing wind, rain and snow, I made it to Bagnoregio (which got more snow than Viterbo) and then on to Civita with a small group of friends today. I had no idea what to expect, and while Bagnoregio was a fairly normal little Italian town, Civita was like it's own little world out across a huge bridge to a plateau with cliffs that dropped down hundreds of feet on all sides.  It is an old Etruscan town, and there is still a tunnel running underneath that you can walk all the way through that was built over 2,500 years ago. The one restaurant in Civita is run by a man named Franco Sala, and he was one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. He even knew where Oklahoma was because he had some people visit from there last year. He and his restaurant have been in Rick Steves's travel guide books for years and are on almost every list of must-see places, so it was pretty cool that I can say I've been there. There are literally only a few people who live in Civita all year, that is not counting the many cats that roam the streets. There are probably more cats than people. By the end of the trip we were completely frozen and ready for the warm bus ride back, but it was a great little adventure. I'd love to go back, but not until it's warm and sunny!

Here's a link to the wikipedia page for Civita...it describes it much better and there are some nicer pictures. Check it out.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civita_di_Bagnoregio

When in Rome...

I went on a group trip to Rome last Saturday, January 15th, and it was an amazing experience. Although I'll have to go back at least two or three more times to see everything I wanted to see, it was a great first visit that I'll always remember. The history I have read about and seen in movies was right there in front of my eyes, starting the minute we got off the subway at the "Colosseo" stop, which as you might guess, took us straight to the Colosseum. It was impressive to say the least. Here are some of the best shots I got from outside and inside, and the last picture is the view out from the middle level.

Next, I got to venture through the archaeological site of the ancient Roman forum, and loved every minute of it. Even though most of it is in ruins, the things that remain intact are so grand and massive, I can't imagine what it would have been like there in the glory days when Rome was caput mundi – capitol of the world. The forum was home to all the most important political, economic and religious bases of the ancient world, and just the fact that I got to walk around in it and see the Senate house, the triumphal archs, the temples/churches, and the platform where all of the most well-known Roman leaders gave their speeches to the Roman people was pretty outstanding. 

The last major stop of the day was the Trevi Fountain, which was absolutely gorgeous. I had no idea. Of course I'd seen it before in pictures and in movies, but to be in front of it with the sun shining down on the marble (while I ate the best gelato of my trip so far), was unreal. I can't believe people get to sit there and eat lunch every day on the steps, listening to the water, and that is normal life for them. Crazy. Along with the rest of Rome, this was a site I'd love to share with my family and friends one day, hopefully sooner than later! 

 

Until next time, ciao!

Settling into my new home in Viterbo...

I arrived in Viterbo on January 7th, 2011 and while so much has happened since then, all in all my past week and a half has been spent meeting new friends, exploring the city, eating some great food, and adjusting to my new life here. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are some of my favorite pictures from Viterbo so far. Enjoy!