Monte Cassino

Monte Cassino was a tall, winding mountain that stretched up through the clouds to reveal the astonishing Abbey of Monte Cassino. 

We left early in the morning to reach Monte Cassino at the perfect moment.  As we were driving along winding roads, we began to peak through clouds of fog.  Wispy hues of blue and lavender were broken up by mountain peaks.  This was truly one of my more favorite experiences so far.  To refer to something as breathtaking usually seems cliche, but this experience literally took my breath away.

 

The Abbey of Monte Cassino was the founding location for the Benedictine Order, where St. Benedict lived and practiced his faith.  The Abbey was destroyed first my an earthquake and again by bombings.  Now it has been completely renovated with a beautiful church. It really was a special place.

 

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First visit to Rome

Castelli Romani

 

 

Our first field trip was traveling around the regions of the Castelli Romani, which translates to the castles of Rome. Ariccia, the town where we are staying is also located and considered in the region.  We visited Castel Gondolfo, Frascati, Grottaferrata, Nemi, Genzano, and Rocca di Papa. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was such an amazing trip because it was literally what we did in the first week of being here.  Each town we visited in the Castelli Romani is easily accessible from our town in Ariccia either by train or a local bus system.  The castles of Rome had a distinct personality and charm.  Some were liked more than others by the students, but over all each place had something that left us all breathless.  It was really a special opportunity to pile into our bus and be driven to each town to each specific point of interest.  The weather was also on our side this day with the sun shining brightly.

 

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Ariccia

Arriving in Ariccia Italy was something out of a dream.  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to blog more closely to which the events of the past month and a half have unfolded.  My laptop was infected with viruses unknown to me, so when I had my laptop checked out here for connectivity issues, the viruses reared their ugly little heads.  So I've been with and without a laptop for awhile.

But putting that aside, my experience in the beautiful country of Italy has been nothing less than phenomenal.  Leaving the United States and all I've ever known behind was tough.  We arrived with the dawn touching down at Rome's Fiumicino airport.  Dazed and suffering from complete and total sensory overload we students managed to connect with one another, grab our bags, and meet our program facilitator Cinzia.

Ariccia is a small town in the Province of Rome, located about 45 minutes away by train.  When we arrived, it was early morning-- the sun was rising and the town was waking.  We unpacked, met our program director Linda.  We enjoyed a lunch of porchetta sandwiches, a local speciality, and then continued to get settled into our living quarters.  For the time here in Italy, we girls are living in a Palace.  That's right!  A palace once owned by the Chigi family -- the Palazzo Chigi to be exact!  We live in a portion that has been remodeled into a classroom and full living facility for female students.  We each share a kitchen, common room, and bathroom.  Our bedrooms are divided up between 18 of us.  It truly adds to the study abroad process by living so closely to one another because it really gave us the opportunity to get to know one another.

All in all, this process of being abroad has already pushed me into a new direction with life.  I am learning to appreciate more and enjoy every small detail more tenderly than I ever have before in my life.

More to come!