Italy

A little tardy in updating, I know.

I left home for Italy on September 25. Arrived Sept 26 and headed to the town of Latina, about an hour south of Rome. After checking into the hotel, we went to the town of Anzio on the coast.

Monday we went to work and found that things were already set up and all we had to do was prepare the computers for class. After work, we went to try and find an open restaurant. Didn't happen. So we ate at the hotel. Not great, but not awful.

Tuesday was more work, almost done.

Wednesday we finished working for the first week, so Thursday we went to Rome. We hopped on the train to Rome. Made it to the main station in about an hour and headed to the Colosseum. Walked around the Colosseum for about 2 hours, then headed to Palantine Hill. Next was a short lunch, followed by the Roman Forum. All very nice. Afterwards we headed to the Pantheon, which was amazing. We headed back to Latina afterwards to have dinner with some of the folks we were working with. The food was amazing. We never made it to the main course - the antipasti and pasta were just that good. And the desserts - amazing.

Thursday we headed to Vatican City to see St. Peter's Basilica, The Vatican Museum, and the Sistine Chapel. What an amazing place. There was just so much to see and everything was just amazing. The Sistine Chapel itself was worth the price of the trip. I've never see anything quite like it, and probably never will again. A full day's traveling made for tired travelers!

Friday we stayed in Latina as we had lunch plans with the folks we were working with, as well as preparing for Monday's class we were teaching. We also made the trip to the American Military Cemetery in Nettuno. It reminded me of a small Arlington National Cemetery. Made you think twice about your life.

Saturday we headed to Pompeii. After a long drive, we arrived and toured the remains of the city. It's amazing how well things were preserved after Mt. Vesuvius erupted 2000 years ago. I was really surprised to see how advanced those people. A plumbing system, streets designed for vehicles or just pedestrians, etc. It was really cool.

Sunday we stayed around town. There was a flea market in Latina, so we walked around there again. We went back to the same restaurant we went to on Wednesday for dinner - amazing again. First taste of wild boar. It was really good! Sunday night we went to a cafe that had internet access to watch the Ravens - Steelers game. Even watching on a Slingbox and Wifi, the game looked good. It was nice to be able to watch a NFL game 5000 miles from home!

Monday we went to work, teaching a class. Students were very good and attentive. We had a great day teaching and working.

Tuesday was basically a repeat of Monday. Nothing special.

Wednesday I headed home. It was a nice end to what was a very long and exhausting trip. We did a lot and got to see a lot, but getting home, sleeping in my own bed, etc was very nice.

I definitely recommend a trip to Italy, even if I only made it to Rome and Pompeii. Both were awesome. Latina - there just isn't much to see there.