Since the last edition, things have been going great here in Tuscania. Our small group has really developed into a family, and I am happy to say I am good friends with everyone on the trip and love them all- even if they get sick of me at times. In the past month we have gone to some spectacular places as a group and have tried some really great food as well.
I know as the social media manager, my goal is to help try to attract as many students as possible to the program, but I would be lying if said I did not love having a small group. We all get to know each other.
Every week, one of the three apartments hosts a “family dinner”, where they cook up some food- usually what was taught to us in our cooking class by Chef Sylvia. Despite being separated into groups of three per apartment, we were all given massive or extendable dining room tables, so group dinners are easy. At family dinner, we play games, tell stories, reminisce about the Hilltop, and drink a little bit of wine. As someone who refrains from alcohol, I was told the wine is really good tasting and, most importantly, is very cheap, so it gets good reviews from everyone here. All of the food and drink at our family dinners has been surprisingly good,
Over the second weekend here, most of the students decided to travel to Milan despite us having class on that Friday, which is rare for us. A few students, myself included, stayed behind. Being new to Tuscania, we did not know what to do. Luckily, we have a wonderful program leader in Professor Bentz, who was nice enough to let us tag along for her day trip to Viterbo, a nearby big city. In Viterbo, we toured some of the important art museums as well as the Papal Palace, which had an amazing view of the city. Then, we met up with our friend Matteo who has been beyond helpful in our endeavors here, whether it be educational or just helping us travel, and had lunch at a restaurant Matteo once worked at. At this restaurant, Matteo was quick to point out all of the best items, like the locally sourced goat cheese, fresh prosciutto, and of course, the best wine. On a day of uncertainty, Professor Bentz and Matteo stepped in to save the day.
During our first overnight trip, where we visited Monte Cassino and Subiaco- sites of special importance to Saint Anselm College. We climbed to the top of many different hills and mountains and saw some truly amazing views. Seeing the old historic town of Subiaco from above was amazing. Making it even more memorable was all my friends taking it in with me as we made Batman jokes about watching over the city.
Later on, my roommates and I went out for pizza in what was our first dinner all together. Wandering the streets trying to find a pizza place was fun as we really were able to take in where we were. The pizza place was actually very modern-looking, which shocked me a bit as we were in an ancient-looking town. Our pizza was pretty good; it was Neapolitan style despite us being in the region of Rome. The three of us came to a consensus of a 7.4/10 score, which is solid. We are hoping that once we finally visit Napoli, we will have a pizza worthy of a score of at least a 9/10. Afterwards, we met the owner and he talked to us a bit about what pizza is like in the US and was a very nice guy. After, we hiked the hills back to our hotel and turned in for the night as we were very tired from all the traveling.
As I’m writing this, I am traveling to London with some of the guys. It is only the first day, and we have seen come amazing sights like the London Eye and had a couple of great laughs. To think that we are already a month in makes me want to cry, I really do appreciate everyone here, including those meant to educate and look after us.