Week 11

Well unfortunatly, my computer has been infected with viruses! That being said, I am on the one computer in the hotel for the remainder of this trip, and will not be able to post any more pictures from my camera, although I will take some from online.

This past weekend, the majority of the group stayed in Ariccia...A few people went to Amsterdam and a few went to Prague. Friday we went shopping in Rome. In July all stores in Italy are required to have big sales, so we have been taking advantage of that the past few weeks. Saturday some of us went to Lake Albano which is a few train stops away and laid out there for the day. The rest of the weekend we all wrote our 10 page papers that we have to turn in next week.

Yesterday we went on a field trip to Ninfa Gardens and a Vineyard. The beautiful Gardens of Ninfa are still a fairly well-kept secret. Ninfa was a substantial town going back to the times of the Romans. However, during the Middle Ages the town was squabbled over, sacked, beset by malaria and eventually Ninfa was abandoned to the elements. A neglected part of the estate of the aristocratic Caetani family, Ninfa was left to slumber until the twentieth century when descendents transformed the town's ruins into a botanical garden. The last owner, Lelia Caetani, left the garden to a foundation who now run the site in conjunction with the WWF. Now plants wind over ruined towers and walls, rejoicing in the lush damp conditions. The setting is indescribably atmospheric, with roses scrambling for footholds in ruined archways, and the frescoed church wall still standing open to the weather. Roses, banana trees, maples and resident ducks thrive in the microclimate of Ninfa.

Last night we went to an Opera of Aida outside at the Roman Baths in Rome. What a great place to have as a background for a play. Unfortunatly we all wore cocktail dresses and it was freezing!!!!! And it lasted for 4 hours... so the last act some of us went and stood in the bathroom because we couldn't take the cold any longer.