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091604 Rain, Rain, Go Away! |
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written
by calaroni / 09.17.2004 |
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Itinerary |
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| A Very Wet James |
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| La Andrea in Hadrian's Villa |
| Here we have another fantastic, realistic Baroque statue, La Andrea, demonstrating the virtue of modesty. |
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| Picnic! |
| Helen and Evan lounging with their lunches. |
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| Ragazze e La Villa D'Este |
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| Il Campo di Fiori...dark and wet |
| La Carbonara in the background. Buonissimo! |
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When I looked out the window this morning, I could’ve sworn the sky was blue and sunny. So, when I left my apartment, my umbrella was sitting comfortably on my nightstand and my jacket was nicely hung in the closet. Unfortunately, the moment my roommates and I arrived at the Ponte Sisto to meet the bus, it started to rain. After huddling under an overhang with the astronomy students for a while, we decided, after the rain calmed into a sprinkle, to join Lisa on a search for some warm Cappucinos! While in the café, the weather decided to unleash its fury (as we had not appeased the Roman rain gods), despite our pleads for sunshine. Running the few blocks back to the bus left us all drenched. Although we all cursed the rain, I enjoyed the flashes of lightening, the thunder, and watching the buckets of rain waterfall down the stairs of the city (as long as I was safe and dry in the bus).
After a 45-minute bus ride, we ended up in Hadrian’s Villa. As the rain subsided a bit, we dried off eventually and ended up enjoying Hadrian’s huge, beautiful villa. Nate gave his presentation, and even the ducks in the pond applauded his efforts. After a great tour of the villa, we stopped for a picnic amongst the ants. After weeks of museums, churches, and urban tourist destinations, Hadrian’s Villa felt great. Although the rain had ended for most of our time in Hadrian’s Villa, the sun finally popped out right when we were leaving.
Once we departed Hadrian’s Villa, we drove to Villa D’Este, my favorite site so far! Martha introduced the site and we all learned about the rivalry between Ippolito and Julius III over who would be Pope. Their fight ended when Julius III waved good-bye to Ippolito by naming him governor of Tivoli, as a governor was not allowed to leave the province that he governed. Thus, the new governor was never allowed to return to Rome again. Personally, after seeing the gigantic, gorgeous gardens and fountains throughout his villa, it seems like he won the battle. Who’d want to be Pope if you could live in Villa D’Este?!
After returning from our day’s adventures with Lisa, we met with Sabrina to discuss our Italian final. To offset the sadness we all felt for having completed our last Italian class with our beloved Sabrina, we all chowed down on some awesome Tiramisu that Sabrina taught as few of us to make the previous night. Grazie Sabrina!
To finish off the evening, ten of us ran through the rain (it was raining again, how could it?!) to La Carbonara for dinner. I shared some Penne Carbonara and Tortellini D’Andreina, both of which were “buonissimo”! Once again, we ran through the rain to our apartment and went soundly to sleep as the Campo was actually quiet, thanks to the rain for clearing out the crowds of people usually partying until the wee hours of the morning.
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Highlights |
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| Julia breaks out the video camera...Hide! |
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The beauty and size of the villas we saw today were incredible. Today was much different than any other day we've had, as we experienced Italy in the rain. After weeks of museums, churches, and urban tourist destinations, Hadrian’s Villa and Villa D'Este felt great! We were alone much of the time and those of us homesick for green Seattle got a breath of fresh air and took in all of the greenery! I cannot begin to explain the beauty of all of the greenery, gardens, and huge fountains of Villa D'Este.
Walking through, one of the gardeners stopped his lawnmower to chat with Sara, Helen, and I. He asked our names and after admitting I was named "Callie," he deemed me an "Americana." Drat.
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Images |
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| Lisa attempts to lure some villa wildlife |
| (Hadrian's Villa) |
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| No Comment. |
| During our venture around Hadrian's Villa, we assigned animals to everyone in thr group. I was a chipmonk, Helen was a raven, Anna was a cheetah, and Sara and James...are crazy. |
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| Helen gets friendly with a statue in Hadrian's Villa |
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| A popular Villa D'Este fountain...I wonder why. |
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So many photos, so little space. Enjoy!
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