Roaming Around Rome and Other Adventures
This blog is going to cover three
weeks, basically our last few full weeks here at the croft and in Italy. We
will be leaving for Munich Saturday the 1st of December to fly home
for winter break. We take you back to Sunday, November 4th.
This
Sunday was spent catching up on homework that nobody had brought with them on
fall break and then a nice tea with Mary in her blue room. The room is filled
with many interesting things, many of which were Egyptian. We had a nice time
chatting, but Mary again scolded us for being too quiet and not talking enough.
On Monday, we had class and tried to remember everything we were learning
about before our very long and exciting break. Brigitte helped refresh our memories with an amazing lunch of lamb. We also got a paper assignment
for our Cantos class to write about what knew and learned about Venice and Ezra
Pound with Mary.
Tuesday
the 6th was work day, but unfortunately the boys came down with a
stomach bug and were extremely sick. The girls took on the day all by ourselves
and stacked wood and rolled nets for the day. It was a demanding day, and we all
got a workout which was nice. Wednesday was a class day, but now Amber and
Ramsey were sick for the day. Thursday everybody was feeling better and we all
attended class. Mary usually urges us to ask three questions and to be curious,
and today was no different. We asked a lot of questions during class. However,
Mary did not like our “laundry list” questions about her life and Ezra’s
experiences.
Friday
the 9th was an eventful day, a few of our group went to Meran for the day, and
at night we celebrated Danny’s birthday with a bonfire. It was a very fun night
and afterwards the boys went out by themselves to Club X to dance. On Saturday
Tony and Gloria invited us for dinner in their apartment to celebrate Danny’s
special day. Gloria made some amazing lasagna and everybody really enjoyed the
meal. Sunday we did not have tea with Mary because she was away giving a
lecture, so we used the day to catch up on homework and finish up the important
paper for Mary.
Tuesday was a work day and the group stacked wood, raked leaves
off the hills, and swept the roads clear. 
Wednesday
the 14th was the day we left for Rome on the train. It took us about six hours
to get there. The trip went smoothly and we found our hostel without much
trouble. On Thursday we received a Roma Pass, which was very helpful because it allowed us to travel on the metro and tram without having to pay. We visited the Vatican Museum in the morning and after that we walked
around exploring the city on our own. The Vatican had many amazing things, but one of my favorite things to see were all the carriages that the different Popes had ridden in over the years. That night we ate at the Road House Grill
and had some good steak, burgers, and chicken wings. Needless to say we were
missing American food.
Friday
we went to the Colosseum and the Santa Maria Maggiore, we had a great time
walking around the sites and reading about the amazing history and architecture
of the places. Around the Colosseum we saw the Arch of Constantine, the Forum,
and the Palantines with the group. After that we split up and went separate
ways to again explore the city. 
Saturday
the 17th we broke off in twos and walked around Rome and saw the major sites
during the day. Most of us visited the Trevi fountain, the Spanish steps,
Pantheon, Piazzo Popolo, and different small churches. We all had a great day.
That night, most of us ventured out to view the Trevi fountain and the
Colosseum at night and we were awestruck by how beautiful the night lights make
them. Sunday we then left for the castle again by train. It was a good trip
back, with a lot of talking, sleeping, and playing 21 questions. 
Monday
the 19th and Tuesday of the following week we had class and shared
all the pictures of our adventures here in Italy. Wednesday was work day and
Danny and Ramsey helped to build the stone wall that had collapsed due to heavy
rains. They mainly helped to haul dirt back and forth to the site and to fill
in the space behind the wall with dirt again. Thursday was class and Sizzo
talked to us about our finals which are coming up this next week, we are all
terrified and therefore studying like mad. Friday we went on a field trip to
Brixen, Bolzano, and Neustift for both the classes that Sizzo teaches. We saw
many churches and and Otzi the Iceman. It was amazing to see the great
architecture and to try and decode the frescos that we saw using the symbols
that we were taught. Otzi was also interesting to see in person. We learned a
lot about the tools he used and the clothes he wore.
The weekend was spent packing some of our things for our trip back home, studying for our finals, and generally just relaxing. We have enjoyed our time here, but all of us are very excited to see our friends and families back home.
Submitted by, the two best friends anyone could have,
Ramsey Vogt and Megan Jolly
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