Castelli Romani

What a busy, busy day! Well after our late night chat, we were all slow moving in the morning. The bus picked us up at 9 and we were non stop all day! Our first stop was Monte Cavo, which is an old volcano. We went to the very top then hiked most of it down. Good thing I packed those walking shoes Mom. :-) We stopped at a great looking point and Dr. B said it was the clearest she’d ever seen it. We couldn’t ask for better weather! After our hike we headed to a small little town with a beautiful castle and inside is St. Maria, a gorgeous church with beautiful ceilings. Next stop, Frascati… a beautiful little town with a magnificent villa overlooking the valley. We had an hour to walk around and some of us found a great bakery. Catherine got a tasty chocolate pastry and I got a pastry filled with crème and topped with yummy strawberries! All these places are near by and we will definitely be going back. We then loaded the bus and headed to Castelgandolfo, which overlooks Lake Nemi. BEAUTIFUL! It’s the Pope’s summer home…unfortunately he wasn’t there. There was another beautiful church inside the walls and the ceilings were incredible as well. Outside were all kind of shops so we all got cheap pashminas. I love mine; it’s all kinds of shades of blue. After several pictures and just walking the little town we headed to Nemi. Breathtaking. Nemi is known for their little strawberries. They smell amazing and taste delicious. We had an interesting lunch there with “Elvis,” but it was well worth the view of the lake. I had some tasty trout and homemade fettuccini. Yummy!! We were all so stuffed, so we walked the town to make room for our strawberry treats.

We were exhausted by the end of the day and Nemi was our last stop. We headed home and all took a well needed nap. After our nap, Catherine, Jenna, and I walked to a look out point and watched a gorgeous sunset. We just had leftovers for dinner and then “studied” for our language quiz tomorrow, which was quickly followed by a fun game of yahtzee! I’ve said every night I was going to be in bed by 11 and here it is 1 o’clock. No buono. It’s time to say goodnight. Adonami. (Until tomorrow) Much love. Ciao ciao~Laura