Italy!

Our family had a great adventure in Italy with the SWSB students.  Here's a brief recap of the trip.

Day 1 - Thursday

Wake up call was at 2:50.  AM.  Ouch.  The cab picked us up from our flat at 3:15, and got to the student flats at 3:30 where the coach was waiting for us.  All the students were on the bus by 3:41 - not bad when aiming for 3:40.  Off to the airport and we arrived in plenty of time.  No major issues from the plane ride - and we arrived in Rome to 70 degree weather at 10:30 AM.  Nicest weather I've felt since November. 

After getting the coach to our hotel.  (Actually, the coach driver decided to drop us off 2 blocks from our hotel, as he couldn't get to the hotel.  Then he pointed and we eventually found it.)

We got checked in quickly, and our family and James went to eat at a place two blocks from the hotel.  We ordered a few pizzas to share, and they were delicious.  One thing our family has discussed is that pizzas in London are not of the same quality as those in the US.  Italy, or at least Rome, has absolutely amazing food.  This pizza was amazing and a great meal to start our trip.  

We met our guide, Nicoletta, who came highly recommended by both previous London program directors and Heather (our guide in London).  We had a walking tour of the Pantheon, the Spanish steps, and more.  Here's Nicoletta

One fun anecdote.  These fountains (pictured below) contain quality drinking water (i.e., you won’t get sick).  To do it, you put your finger below to stop it up, and the water shoots out the top.  When I was trying to hold Zeke up to do it, my lovely wife got in position for a picture.  Right in front of the line of water.  The kids thought that was pretty fun (as did I and the college students). On a 75 degree day, Amanda did also (see photo).  Had it been 50 degrees instead, she may not have been as happy about it.

  

We also had our first gelato of the trip - very tasty. 

After the tour, we found a nice place to eat outside, and had another amazing meal.  the kids had pizza (which, was a recurring theme of the trip), while the adults tried various pasta dishes.  We also had some wine, which was tasty.  I started liking wine during my first trip to Rome two years ago, and I think Italian wine is the best (sorry to my in-laws in Napa). The wines tasted just as good this trip.

One nice thing - the kids would often split one pizza when we went out to eat, so their dining was quite inexpensive for us.

  

Day 2 in Rome - Friday

On day 2 in Rome, we had our trip to Terni for a company visit.  We visit a steel mill most semesters and it's usually pretty neat.  The plan was to arrive at about 10:30 (8:30 coach pickup), take the coach to the steel mill, then get a presentation and tour.  Everything went basically to plan up until the tour.  We got into our funky required outfits ...

but then problems ensued.  We couldn't get into the factory.  It turns out that labor unions decided the day before to start striking.  The story is long and complicated (see story here), but to summarize, the budget and economy in Italy are in shambles, and the government wants to limit the restrictions on companies laying off workers during a down economy.  The proposal is that the worker will "only" get 7 months of pay after they're laid off, but won't be guaranteed to be the first rehired if the firm starts rehiring.  The unions don't like this (what do they like?) and decided to start striking.  They had a 2-hour strike in the morning, then showed up.  So basically, everybody just slept in on Friday.  This meant they were working double time when we were supposed to tour, and we couldn't get in there.  Oh well ... It gave the opportunity for the class to discuss our love for labor unions. :/

After this, we got lunch and had a trip to Spoletto, an historic town.  I had never been here, but heard it was neat from others.  It really was amazing.  The coolest part, I think, was this bridge dating back to 1200.  Some pictures:

  

After Spoletto, we enjoyed a nice dinner (again) and time to sleep.

Day 3 in Rome - Saturday

We took a nice walking tour in the morning going to the Trastevere district with our first stop at Villa Farnesina to see some painted fresco's.  Then we walked around Trastevere.

After the tour (about 12:45), we wanted lunch.  We decided to placate the kids and do a final Hard Rock Cafe visit of our trip.  To get there, we had to catch the bus.  It was a bit of an experience trying to find the right bus, but we ended up finding it quickly and efficiently.  We made it there, waited a few minutes for a table, and enjoyed our 4th Hard Rock Cafe in 3 months. (I think the previous 4 visits I had taken were spread over 6 years). 

In the afternoon, we just poked around shops.  Then we decided for a gelato at a place that our guide recommended highly.  There was a line, but she said it was worth it, so we waited.  It was the best ice cream/gelato I'd ever had.  I think our kids agreed:

Day 4 in Rome - Sunday

Sunday night at 1:00 AM Europe "sprung forward".  In the US it happens earlier, but Europe waits until late March.  Given this and that we were out somewhat late with our kids, we let them sleep in a bit.  We got up, ate, and left the hotel at 10:00 AM, however.  Not too bad.

We went to church service at St. Peters Basilica in the Vatican.  I thought it would be an outdoor service, since the time I was here before I went to an outdoor service.  This one, however, was inside.  We got seats directly underneath the dome.  Here are pictures:

In the afternoon we went to the Roman Forums and the Colosseum.  It's pretty amazing to walk around places built 2,000 years ago.  The perfect weather we had for the trip came to a brief halt, however, as rain rolled in for the afternoon.  Thankfully our tour of the roman forums ended and we got inside the Colosseum right as the rain started.  Most of the Colosseum discussions then took place inside the hallways of the Colosseum to avoid the rain.  More pictures:

Sunday night, we went to a great restaurant that was recommended by our guide, Nicoletta.  Five of our students tried it Friday and said it was amazing.  .  

It was a small restaurant, with only about 10 tables or so inside and another 4 outside.  We started by getting some wine - they had cool glasses to drink from - as shown here:

The food was, quite simply, spectacular!  It was probably the best tasting restaurant meal I've ever had.  I had homemade pasta with a homemade pork sauce topping.  We also shared a plate of meats for the 2nd course. I was too enamored with my food to take pictures, unfortunately.  

Before the food came, the five students who ate at this place on Friday night came back.  The waiter and manager smiled and laughed when our students arrived, went over and hugged and kissed the ladies, and shook hands with the men.  It was pretty cool as a professor to see our students getting such a great reception by the workers - it shows they handle themselves well.

Monday

For our last day in Rome, we slept in a bit, then just poked around some shops and bought a few souvenirs. Before we left the hotel, we took pictures of the cool elevator:

In the afternoon, we toured the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peters Basilica.  Some photos:

Later Monday, we had to deal with a bit of tardiness, a forgotten passport, a strike of the security workers, and a 80 minute line in London to get through customs.  Nothing major, but enough to make the last afternoon/night a bit more stressful than one would have hoped. 


All in all - it was a wonderful trip!  Next up - a recap of our trip to Wales!