Rome Unvisited: 9.5.10

A fountain at the Villa D'Este

It's getting laaate here and I have class in the morning, but thought I should write something since I haven't updated recently! We just got home from our weekly group dinner. This week it was at a place called Pontesisto, where Meryl Streep loves to eat according to a framed article on the wall. It was definitely better than our first "Family Dinner." They served us a really good pasta carbonara and tiramisu. This past Thursday we got to go on a day trip to the Villa D'Este and Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli, with the Pantheon Institute program director, aptly named Romolo, as our guide. It was definitely an informative trip (maybe a bit too informative due to Romolo's general chattiness). By the time we got back on the bus, we were all ready for a break from the 90-degree weather and lack of shade. The Villa D'Este is especially spectacular though. We were told to bring lunches with us, but Jacob, Kate and I got so hungry halfway through our exploration of the Villa's gardens that we found what we thought was a secluded place to sit on the ground and devoured our rolls, pesto and fruit, whereupon a large group of Japanese tourists rounded the corner and stared at us quizzically.

Yesterday most of the group decided to figure out the train schedule and go to a beach called Sperlonga about an hour outside of Rome. We had perfect weather and it was easy to figure out the transportation from Termini station (only 6 euro each way on the train). We got our first taste of the Mediterranean and a chance to relax on the beach. I haven't uploaded those pictures yet, but will post some soon! Goodnight!