For My Lovely Travelling Companions

I was having so much fun picking out Christmas gifts this holiday season I could not help but make a little something for my travelling companions. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so I guess I gave them an evening of conversation with my little gift. I made a small photo book of some of the adventures from our trip. Each has a story attached, ones you can probably find in the blog like why Cathy was hugging the McDonald's sign and why we took photos of an elevator. Each picture meant to provoke a small smile, and memory to help fill everyone's Christmas with joy.
I hope all of you have a wonderful Holiday Season.

More photos

I admit it. I got a little caught up in the everyday activities in life and have not posted my colleagues incredible photos from our trip for you to see. These are absolutely fabulous and worth taking the time to sit back and watch the slide show. They are also set up so that if you would like to download some you can. So go ahead and get comfortable, and transport yourself back to Italy.
Dale Safrit's photos.
Cathy Brown's photos.

Back Safe and Sound

Well we're BACK! Safe and sound and happy to be home. Excuse the lack of photos (the one above is one I downloaded of the Rome airport today) but it was a busy day of hurrying up to get luggage moved and then get in lines and sit for hours so we could do it all again and again.
We started our day around 6 a.m. (midnight here at home) getting up and ready and then, one at a time, got in the elevator with our luggage to head downstairs. We walked a couple of blocks to the train station. We found our train to the airport and were headed in that direction around 7:30 (or one thirty a.m. here). Once at the airport we did the usual location of the international terminal checking in security, getting transported to the gate and duty free shopping. Not to mention locating breakfast. We boarded our flight to Philadelphia and and sat back for 10 hours while someone else did the flying. We made it in around 3:15 and went through customs and rechecking bags and all of the good stuff before heading to the gate for our flight to Raleigh. Fortunately it was an uneventful flight and we made it in just after eight. I made it home just in time to hit the bed and grab a full 7 hours of sleep before coming in to work. I sit behind my desk now as I type this reflecting on what an incredible opportunity this was. Stay tuned this week as I will be putting up links to Dale and Cathy's photos and a slide show of our experiences. Not to mention a few thoughts as we rejuvenate ourselves and reflect back.

Saying Goodbye, Travelling, and Thoughts on Elevators

What an incredible conference and experience. I hated to say goodbye to my new international friends and colleagues but it was time to get on the train in Assisi and head back to Roma Termini.

I could tell I had relaxed and adjusted to the Italian lifestyle in Assisi when we got off the train into a flood of people and got frustrated and the hurry up and stop pace. Dale went ahead and got our train tickets for tomorrow morning (so we can get to the airport) and we headed towards our new B&B. At the Beehive we found out our new place to lay our heads is literally three blocks from where we spent our first few nights in Rome. I will say the management said no more than 2 people in the elevator, with luggage, at a time. When we got here there is no way more than one person can fit in the elevator with luggage. It is a bit old and slow and made me slightly nervous as the doors in the elevator did not quite shut all the way so you could see between them as you ascended up and felt like you might be in the magic glass elevator from Willy Wonka because for a brief moment I thought we would actually go through the ceiling. Alas I made it to the fifth floor safely and sent it back down for everyone else (however after dinner I climbed the steps, and for those of you who know me it is not because I am a fitness guru). Now not that I am trying to harp on this elevator thing...but I am....it was slightly unnerving that our elevators in Assisi, which were much larger than the ones in Rome, sometimes jerked before the doors closed. For a group of people who have been stuck together in an elevator recently this can be a rather scary thing. Of course the last time it happened all four of us had accidentally gotten in the elevator again together. Cathy was up against the back wall staring straight ahead, and I don't think she was breathing. Carolyn was next to her looking at the floor. None of us wanted to state that we should not all be in an elevator, and then it happened. Right after the elevator doors shut Dale rushed the three of us yelling SHIFT! What could we do but laugh? Oh by the way tomorrow when we leave, we will be going down one at a time.

As soon as we got in we freshened up we headed out to see the Pantheon and other sights. Some interesting factoids about the Pantheon, the dome roof is actually open to the sky. When it rains it comes down on a section of the marble floor that is higher than the rest and has drainage holes in it so that the water will drain out of the building. You can actually feel the slope in the floor which is pretty cool. It was originally created as a temple to the Gods and is now a Christian Church (consecrated in 609).

After that we did a little walking tour of Rome and bought our last few souvenirs. Then we made our way back to Gesuppies for dinner and enjoyed our last Italian dinner very very much. Tomorrow we are headed back to the states and we will be letting you know how that goes as well. Stay tuned for links with all sorts of photos and other neat links in the days that follow.

Learning About Different Tourisms

Saturday at last and the work still does not end. Today we are touring Assisi. Where we are staying is considered a suburb of this bustling town and today we will take a cab up to the top of the ancient city (dating back to the 6th century B.C.)And walk our way back down.
One evening several of us were sitting and discussing agri-tourism versus other types of tourism. George, our colleague from Malta said agri-tourism to him is defined as an agriculture based business that opens its door within its community but draws the majority of its business from outside the community and becomes sustainable off of those dollars. When we toured I asked him if the tour we were on to the winery etc was agri-tourism. He said no, although the family winery was an example of agri-tourism, the tour we were on would be considered academic tourism. Of course then there is just tourism, which is people coming to see or view your product or area, perhaps spend some money and leave. So I say all of this to say our day trip today was academic tourism not tourism or agri-tourism. No matter what you call it it was very educational.
At the top of the mountain are the remains of a castle or fort, Rocca Maggiore e Rocca Minore(Great Fort and Small Fort). From the castle you have a 360 degree view which would be very helpful during a time of war. The fort was the scene of many bloody battles and often determined who was in control of the area. As we started to walk down we ran into many homes, shops and coffee shops as we made our way to the main piazza, or Piazza del Commue (town hall square). There we stopped briefly to enjoy a café or Coke Light and then travelled to the church at the end of the square, Cattedrale Di San Rufino which was erected to hold the body of St. Rufino who was the first Assisi Bishop that was martyred.
From there we travelled to Tempio di Minerva which is on the other side of the square although the first century structure is impressive from the outside the inside only seats about 60 people. It is lovely but very small in comparison to all the other churches within the town. After posing for pictures in front of the newest piazza attraction, the fountain, which was erected in 1772 (that is new here), we pressed on. As we checked out the little stores. I must say our favorite was an olive wood shop. There they make a variety of items out of olive tree wood; it is very durable and attractive.
After a brief stop for pizza we pressed on with our tour. Our highlight of the trip was the Basilica Di San Francesco (the St. Francis Basilica). This structure is made up of an upper and lower church. The tomb of St. Francis is also available for viewing down under the church. It is absolutely incredible the number of people who come to the church to pray by his tomb. After admiring all of the artwork through the two churches we started walked back down to our hotel.
It was probably a two to three mile walk downhill. Cathy kept looking for break areas along our walk and wasn’t finding much of anything. After a few Hail Mary’s she made it to McDonald’s where we stopped and she grabbed a large fry to help renergize her and make it the rest of the way (a big 10-15 minutes) back to our conference center. We were so proud of her for making it the entire route!
The rest of the evening was as normal, dinner, conversation and then rest. Tomorrow we head back to Rome and will catch our flight first thing Monday morning. Of course we will have several more posts as we make our way back home with lots of incredible experiences and stories.

We Did It!

Back to the hard work of the conference. More than 150 papers were submitted for this conference and about 60 were selected (Only four from America and N.C. State had two of the four, N.C. A&T had one, and Perdue had the other) . Dale, Cathy, Angela Shaver and myself co-wrote one of the papers on the L.I.N.C. program and it was selected. That means today is the day we have been waiting for. It was time for Cathy and I to get up and present the L.I.N.C. program and talk about how it empowers agents to challenge themselves and their clients. The reaction was interesting. Everyone said we did a good job with the presentation. Some of the folks in the room wanted to know more about the mechanics of the program while others wanted to know more about the evaluation data and how it was collected. All in all we had some very good feedback.

After our presentation we listened to other papers and switched working groups so that we could also support our collegues from Perdue University as they gave a presentation on 4-H in Poland which was very interesting. After lunch it was time to reconviene and work on notes from the session and wrap up the themese shown in these works as well as the issues to see if there might be a solution or at least a common issue that the group could address in teh future. At the closing session these findings from the three workgroups were presented. Then our collegue from Finland got up and announced that the next conference in 2011 would be in Helsinki, Finland.

After a greuling day of papers and discussion we sat out front of our conference center and relaxed with our host Fabio Santuci. As always he was gracious and funny and we expressed how much we enjoyed this conference. Carolyn and the other compainions joined us shortly thereafter when they returned from their trip to the lake with really big smiles on their faces. Fabio said this lake was like Austrila, at one time people who had committed crimes had a choice between jail and living around this lake. Now it is a pristine place with plenty of activity.

At 8:30 it was time for our closing banquet. We all gathered upstairs in the reception room and enjoyed our five course closing banquet. By the time we were finished it was after 11 p.m. and we were full and exhausted.

Tomorrow Dale, Carolyn and I will head to the castle/fort on top of the mountain at Assisi (where we are now is kind of like a suburb). There is lots of history to learn and new things around every corner. Stay tuned for more .

Learning by Touring

I like Thursday! Today we headed out into Italy to see Extension’s work and learn, learn, learn. Being a 4-H Agent of course this type of learning appeals to me and today was definitely not a disappointment. There were two tours. Cathy and I were on Tour B while Dale and Carolyn were on tour A.

We all loaded up on buses around nine a.m. and headed out. Tour B enjoyed the one lane twists and turns in the road to head to ANABIC about 9:45. ANABIC is (excuse me for breaking into Italian but I don’t know any other way to do this) The Associazione Nazionale Allevatori Bovini da Carne or the national Association of Meat Cattle Breeders. The organization has been in existence for almost 60 years. There they do genetic research
on bulls. Specifically the five types of “white breeds” that are native to Italy. The breeds that they deal with are the Chianina, Marchigiana, Romagnola, Maremmana and Podolica. They got a few of these rather large breeds out to show us. All the bulls they deal with are between the ages of 12 and 24 months. As you can see in the picture the back of this Chianina bull is taller than Cathy. Bulls that are tested and make it through the rigorous process bring a higher price for the farmer’s herd at sale. By higher I mean about $750 per head higher.

After our visit we headed to the Chiorri Winemakers Company. This is a family run winery. The father had a degree in agriculture and ended up working at a bank but his passion for the land and winemaking was passed along to his daughter. She has gotten a degree in law and food safety and along with her retired father now run the Chiorri Winemakers Company. Monica gave us a tour of their winery and showed us the improvements they have made to promote their wine and tourism at their winery. We also had the opportunity to see the harvested grapes pressed and then the juice flowed into a barrel and the leftovers were pressed again with the juice flowing into a barrel. The juice from the barrel was then pumped into a large vat were it will sit with yeast and ferment. Not only did we get to see the winemaking process we got to sample the wines and enjoyed a several course homemade lunch. It was incredibly delicious.

After the winemakers we headed to a medieval town in Umbra, Todi. Our first stop was a unique temple, Tempio di Santa Maria della Consolazione (Church of Saint Mary of Consolation) that almost a century to construct. It is the landmark for the town that you can see from the valley. Todi is actually up on a hill and cannot accommodate busses or large vehicles. You can walk up the hill or take a cable car which we chose to do. Once we got up to the top our well versed tour guide took us to the two churches there. In contrast to many of the churches we have seen these two were fairly plain. The first one, although adorned with incredible sculpture outside on the side was fairly blank. Our guide told us that the area was hit hard by the plague in the 15th century and the church was used to housed the sick. When it was over they had two choices, one to close the church for 6-7 years until the bacteria died out or to wipe the walls down with boiling lime to kill the bacteria. They chose the lime and the side effect was that it destroyed the frescos on the walls. There are still some spots on the walls (our guide said this was because the workers did not do a very good job) which allow us to experience a small part of the artwork. The other church is under construction and has some small pieces of artwork. After the tour we had about twenty minutes to walk around the town and explore before heading back down to the bus.
After the tour we headed back to the conference center. It was a great ride back and we were exhausted.

Carolyn and Dale joined us at the conference center and told us about their tour. They had the opportunity to tour an olive oil factory, as well as a small town. Carolyn said they had a loovely day and their lunch was incredible even though it did not involve meat. Dale later reminded her that there were many types of sausages at the lunch so they did have meat.

The rest of our evening was filled with incredible food, great conversation and the opportunity to enjoy new friends. Tomorrow we are back in conference learning about different opportunities and issues going on throughout Europe in Agricultural Extension. Carolyn is headed to the lake, although we don’t know what is in store for her we have decided she is going to have a lovely day.

Learning about Extension Around the World

Holy cow! Just trying to get a handle on 4-H in North Carolina can be dificult. Now imagine trying to get a handle on Extension around the world. This is what we struggle to do today as our conference begins. There are a few things I think I need to clarify and address as I start this. Cooperative Extension in North Carolina and across the United States includes certain types of program areas. These areas include an agriculture component, family and youth component componant. Of course the youth componant is 4-H. Although 4-H does exisit in many countries in Europe (also known as 4-D in some countries) is not not part of Extension. When referring to Extension in Europe it is Agriculture Extension, and Extension Science. It is set up differently in different countries and in some countries it is privatized, some operated as part of governmental systems, and some are a combination of outside funds and monies goverment, Which is leading to a Varity of ethical delimas. Also it is not Cooperative Extension, it is just working with a few people for quality education versus trying to get the message to a larger audience, the reasons have to do with geography, political areas, other political concerns, and many other things that we do not face in America on such a massive scale.

Dale was one of four presenters who kicked off the opening session of the conference. He presented a paper that he co-authored with Dr. Harriet Edwards about Volunteerism. The reactions to the paper were very interesting. Although Volunteerism is a common practice in the United States, it is not across Europe. In talking with our COLLEAGUES they wanted to know what motivated people to get training, do a job, and not Receive money for it. It leads to a variety of interesting discussions during the rest of the day and was an eye opener for me especially on different attitudes and cultures around the world.

In the afternoon session we broke out into different work groups. Each group heard a variety of papers. I sat in on a session Concerning organizational systems. One person presented on a Rural Cooperative efforts among countries to share information with farmers. Another illustrated the best organizational structure in Denmark and the trends and challenges they are facing within their organization Concerning their advisors (equivelant of agents in our structure). Another presenter spoke about innovative ways to work with farmers and motivated them to work together. Fabio, our host had asked people to be "Aggressive" with their questions and they were for the few moments our group was Able to take before the poster session began. To see more about the conference and photos you can check out the conference blog.

Dale, Cathy and I needed to get up and move so we took a little walk into the business section of town and sat down for refreshments. Anyone who reads this blog (or anything else I have written, or has spent anytime with me) knows I had a Coke Light while Dale and Cathy partook in cafe light and gelattos. Another collègue, Greg, from Malta joined us and we learned all about his small country Which is an island south of Sicily. The island is very small and the average farm size is about two acres. Only 10% of the farmers are full time farmers and the rest are hobby farmers grow food for their own use. He talked about the challenges he is facing back home and the differences in his system versus others around the world.

The four of us traveled to the Basilica and explored a little more before heading back inside to the conference center. It was not long before Carolyn joined us and said she had a "loooovvely day." Compain She was on the tour that went to Perugia, where they saw some historical sights, high fashion (according to Carolyn some of the people even looked like they stepped right off a Milan runway show), and climbed hills. She said she had a loooooovey lunch with meat, and the food kept coming and coming.

Around 8:30 we had dinner and we got back to our rooms to start processing the days events and get ready for tomorrow's tour. Of course Cathy had to have another cafe before bed ... I'm getting a little worried that she might be addicted but as long as there is a steady supply here I am not going to worry. Cathy and I are headed to a farm, winery and a town. That is all I know right now but stay tuned to tomorrow and we will give you all the great details.

The Elevator Saga Continues

It is bitter sweet getting up this morning. Our bodies have adapted to our new time zone and we are ready and raring to go with our conference, but we have to leave Daniela and Suri which is sad because staying with them is like staying with family.

After breakfast we realized we had a little time to go explore and headed back behind the apartment we were staying to check out the enormous historical structure that sits fenced in. The guard at the gate said we could go in and the building was open that we could look around inside. It turns out that the building is the department of Architecture. As we went in the main room under the rotunda, had screens all around. As we further investigated we found that they were touch screens allowing you to access the world and see satellite pictures of any area, photos and videos of the day and week through RSS feeds off another screen and so on and so forth. For a techno geek, as I have been deemed on this trip, it was like a huge toy laid out in front of me...and no time to explore and play (of course it would have taken me days to figure out all the applications and possible implications of such a magnificent system). After leaving there we came across another Cathedral and more ruins.

After we finished with our exploration adventure we grabbed our bags and headed to elevator. After all who wants carry their bags for an international trip down five very long flights of steps? Being smart we decided the elevator could only hold one of us and our bags. Dale and Cathy went down withou ta problem. Then I went down, stopped and went directly back up to the fifth floor where Carolyn was rather surprised to see me when she opened the door. So we sent me back down again. This time the door opened on the wrong floor so I hit the button again and the door shut and opened, again on the same wrong floor. At this point I was convinced the elevator was posessed so I grabbed my bags and got off carrying them down the last flight of steps. When Carolyn came down the steps the same thing happened so she carried her bags down the last flight as well. Although we will miss our B&B, we will NOT miss that elevator!

After safely vacating the elevator for the last time we picked up our bags and headed across the street to Termini. There we caught a train to Assisi where our conference is being held. The two hour train ride was rather smooth and allowed us to see other areas of Italy that we could not have seen otherwise. When we arrived in Assisi we were met by our host, Fabio who led us to the hotel. (Okay, before I get blamed for omitting things, Fabio was kind enough to drive my suitcase to the hotel, because I did not have wheels on my bag. He also brought it in and said he would get it as close to the elevator as possible, before he keeled over and died from the sheer weight of it.) Cathy and I got checked in and promptly ran out to find food because it was after three p.m. and we had not eaten since eight that morning. We found a little place and enjoyed a variety of sandwiches, chips and Dale and Cathy also enjoyed some Gelato.
Headed back to the conference center we stopped in at the seventh largest Basilica in Italy, dedicated to Sister Los Angeles. I must say one of the most interesting features of this basilica, is the stone church that sits inside of it. The art work, marble and other features are also amazing.

Back at the conference we got registered, got on line which has allowed me to post for the last three days at one time, and got ready for the opening reception and dinner. I am not sure what I expected but this conference is very unique. There are Extension representatives from all over Europe and several invited guests from the United States. We were excited to see our friends Tim and Arthur from our experience in Portugal last year. We also had the opportunity to meet others from Egypt, United Kingdom, Denmark, and Ireland not to mention Indian, Georgia, and Maryland. The relationships and networking of ideas is rather amazing. I understand that most of the Italian delegation will arrive tomorrow since they are coming from in country. Overall there will just over 100 people in attendance.

I can't wait until the conference begins tomorrow. Carolyn will be going on a trip to Perugia which is where the University is located, just north of Assisi. Dale also presents his paper tomorrow and Cathy and I will present on Friday afternoon. Stay tuned to our blog as we do our best to keep you up to date on this incredible opportunity.

Travelling Abroad Today

Did you know that if you spent one minute (and only one minute) admiring each piece of artwork in the Vatican that you would be there just over 12 years? We were there for over three hours and only saw a fraction of what is there, had to keep moving so really admiring it was difficult, and had a great guide who did his best to give us art and history lessons all at the same time.

We started the day with our wake up breakfast from Dainela and then headed toward our tour bus. I must say this was the best deal of the trip so far, because our fee allowed us to ride the bus for two days without paying another fee. Boy did we get our money’s worth out of this ticket. We caught up with our Vatican tour guide, Andrew at the metro station near the Vatican and walked up toward the Vatican Museum. Another factoid for you the next time you need some useless trivia: The Vatican is its own state and country, although you do not need to show ID or a passport to enter. There is Vatican security everywhere, especially in the Sistine chapel where they are the most noticeable asking people rather loudly to be quiet and SHHHHHHHHHH! everyone. However I digress.

We started our tour by going up this incredible spiral case, not stair case because it was more of a ramp. There are apparently several of them built in the Vatican the first during Julius Caesar’s time so that a person could ride a horse in or out and warn people in the case of emergency. After making it up to the museum level we went out to the Pine Cone Court Yard named that for the gigantic pine cone statue that sits at one end of it. There we got our lessons in Renascence painters, sculptors, and the Sistine Chapel. We also learned about Michelangelo’s sense of humor and how he liked to hide little messages in his works.

Our next stop was a quick breeze by the hall of busts. An incredibly long hall filled with ancient sculptures, mostly heads. As we continued on we found more marble of various types. Apparently 80% of the world’s marble supply is in the Vatican. We saw Nero’s bathtub, made of marble worth slightly more per ounce than gold. There were mosaic floors, in one room the floor was actually moved to this location and the room built around it. There are halls of tapestries including one that has an optical illusion. There is a door that Jesus is standing on in the tapestry, if you stand to the left of the tapestry the door is pointed at you. When you stand to the right of the tapestry the door follows you to point at you again. It is truly amazing.

We than saw Raphael’s rooms and the stories he told in fresco. Fresco is the type of painting that was done during this period. The artist would sketch out the design and then plaster over it and add the paint into the plaster so as the plaster dried the paint is set in it. That is why these pieces of art are still so incredibly brilliant all these years later. Of course the artist had to work quickly or risk chipping away completed sections which could be a big problem. Our last stop on the tour was the Sistine Chapel. There we saw the incredible ceiling fresco by Michelangelo and his “Last Judgment”. We stayed in the Chapel about 15 minutes before we had to find our way out of the building and through another spiral ramp down, and out of the Vatican. What an incredible experience!

After that we casually walked back to the red bus and let Dale off to see the bee fountain (his description not ours) and Carolyn, Cathy and I head back to Termini to enjoy a Gelato and Diet cokes. After talking about our day and all the walking we hit the B&B for a quick rest and then around 8 we headed to a neighborhood Tratoria for dinner. At Giuseppe’s we found out that Cathy is now hooked on Melon and Prosciutto which is a traditional Italian appetizer. Then we all enjoyed some of the most incredible lasagna. Our second course (because all our meals came as two courses) involved sea bass for Carolyn and Cathy while Dale enjoyed procutiio and I had veal with lemon. It was all some kind of good.

After dinner we headed back to the B&B where we all said our goodnights and crashed. In the morning we must say goodbye to our hostesses and get packed up to catch our train to Assisi which is the next great adventure in our travels. We are so excited about the conference and seeing another part of Italy. Stay tuned we will let you know how it goes.

Picture This...

It feels good to sleep in. All I know is that my head hit the pillow around one a.m. after I finished typing my days thoughts for the blog and I did not wake up again (and according to Cathy she doesn’t think I even moved) until Dainela, our hostess’s mother woke us up with a little rat-a-tap-tap around 9 a.m. with our breakfast. Of course breakfast was incredible, even though we had to get used to espresso instead of coffee, lots of bread, and orange juice seems to be different around the world here they use blood oranges, so it is red but very tasty.

After stuffing ourselves with various breads, pastries and other delectable items, we all got dressed and headed to Termini (across the street) to be real tourists and
catch the double decker bus. We are able to do this becuase it appears as if the meetings Dale had scheduled have now been cancelled which gives us a chance to work on jet lag and tour the city. On our first bus tour of the day (which was sightseeing Roma-the red line) we saw several Piazzas (Plazas), the Colosseo (Coliseum) fountains, St. Peter’s Square in front of the Vatican and palaces. After our third or fourth site it started to rain and the soft cover was mechanically put in place to keep us dry. That was the idea at least. As those of us who were seated in a “window seat” found out when the bus stops water collects on the roof and when we start again it comes right off the sides and splashes the people in those seats. Dale, Cathy and I were all soaked (with very cold rain water) on one side of our bodies. After that tour finished we headed back and changed our clothes to be more comfortable.

Which brings me back to our elevator saga… After climbing steps yesterday we have all, once again, braved the elevator. Dale and I rode in it a couple of times today and only got nervous once when it creaked a little too loudly. Carolyn and I were in the elevator and she closed her eyes very tightly and kept repeating let’s shift, let’s shift. Cathy said she did the same thing with her so we are thinking that this is Carolyn's new mantra. So although the four of us will NEVER get back in the elevator together at one time, we don’t seem to have a problem doing it in pairs. This is probably what we should have done in the first place. So much for that scientific hypothesis.

After changing we headed back for the bus again. Our purpose this time to get off at St. Peters Square and look around before boarding the blue line bus for Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain). The biggest crowds we have seen yet were there. As people tossed money into this tremendous fountain. Although we have pictures they hardly do this magnificent sculpture and water works justice. We needed a little breather after that so we sat down at a nearby café for refreshment (coke light for me) and periodically got up to check out some shops. Rome is known for its Venetian glass, leather and fashion items. After we each made a couple of small purchases (because we don’t want to have to lug a bunch of stuff on the train Tuesday) we headed off again.

This time we were on foot in search of Piazza di Spagna, the Spanish Plaza, because
that is where the Spanish Steps are. The steps are immense and in the 17th century the Spain claimed the square as part of their country so if you unwittingly stepped into it you were grabbed and drafted into their army. Since then it has become one of the busiest squares, where people sit and hang out enjoying the high end retail shops in the area.

We walked a little ways past the steps to find a fine little restaurant and we all enjoyed handmade pastas with different sauces. I enjoyed caprese (tomato, fresh mozzarella, and basil) and Dale ventured for the veal fungi (that’s right veal with mushrooms). We walked, slowly back to the metro and back to our B&B. Our hostess has informed me that we do not have internet hook up but I can use her computer tomorrow which will allow me to upload the blog comments (which I am typing in word and saving to a stick) and hopefully a few photos. If I have trouble with the photos we should be able to be back up on the internet by Tuesday when we get to the conference. So if you don’t see links please check back then when I will be able to upload them and insert them in the text.

Tomorrow we are headed to the Vatican. Did you know that it is actually a state within a state? The Pope is a political and religious leader. We also saw one of the secret passages that have been used in the past to safely move the Pope from the Vatican to a fortress, during times of crisis several blocks away. The Vatican really is its own state. They have their own radio station and newspaper. There is a railroad that is only used for freight now, and a post office. They have their own museums, libraries and archives. Not to mention one of the greatest art collections in the world, which include works from Raphael, Michelangelo, and Botticelli, to name a few. There is a dress code, from the knees up needs to be covered and that includes shoulders, or you can’t go in. Don’t think that will be a big deal for any of us. I am not sure which of the tours we will be on tomorrow (they range from 90 minutes to 5 hours) but it is sure to by eye opening. We will keep you up to date on all of our adventures.

We're Here and Rome May Never be the Same Again!

It is Saturday night and I am sitting on my bed typing my thoughts wishing I had remembered to ask our hostess about the wireless system…none the less lack of internet will not stop my thoughts tonight.

I always remember my father saying something about public transportation being an adventure. This trip started out just that way. On Friday, a nor-Easter in Philadelphia kept Cathy and I on the runway in Raleigh for two hours. However this is not all bad as Cathy has now discovered her new love of Technology and Pandora Radio downloaded to her cell phone. After updates and delays we all made it to Philly in time to catch our flight to Rome. That flight was fairly uneventful as we arrived around 8:30 this morning. After clearing customs, grabbing luggage and Euros we bought train tickets to Roma Termini and sat back to enjoy an hour long ride.

For those of you who have never seen Termini think of Grand Central Station in New York and then triple its size. Yes this train station is seriously huge it is about 10 short blocks long and two long blocks wide, and is the best place to catch trains and the metro. It was a quick walk from there to the bed and breakfast we are staying in for the first three nights. Casa Suri is in a nice apartment building in Rome. The owner rents out rooms as part of the bed and breakfast association in Rome and the rooms are just lovely, and much less expensive than a hotel room.
Trying to hit jet lag head on we dropped our bags and explored the metro. Even with Dale speaking Daleiano (Dale’s version of speaking Italiano), we were able to get our tickets and head to the coliseum for lunch. We were curious how far we might have to walk, but that question was answered as we stepped out of the metro station and were greeted by the most awesome sight. The coliseum stood before us drawing crowds from everywhere. Before we hit the sights we sat down and enjoyed pizza and drinks (for me that was a Coke Light-or Diet Coke) and relaxed hoping the food would help energize our very tired bodies.

After lunch we hit the coliseum and learned all about the history of the emperors who built it, how it was built and how the Roman Government scavenging it for parts is part of the reason it looks the way it does now (an earth quake didn’t matters either). It really is mind boggling trying to get your head around the fact that most of the buildings and history we are learning of took place before Christ was born. This is one of those buildings. Our tour guide talked about the class system within this structure and how the matches were very violent. Usually slaves are the ones who fought and if they won they became celebrities, when they won ten matches they were granted their freedom and allowed to decide if they wanted to fight again. There were not many who won, much less won ten times. Our tour guide gave us a wonderful insight into this unique building which we all really appreciated.
Right next to the coliseum is Rome’s version of the Arc de Triomphe. Up just past the coliseum and arc are the five hills. According to legend is where Rome was born. As a matter of fact when you hear about the emperor and senators bad behavior, adultery, incest, killing relatives in cold blood, you think this would really make a great soap opera. The hills are also where, according to legend Romulus and Remus were raised (one legend says by wolves another says by ladies of the evening) after they escaped a death sentence which originated with their grandfather (I tell you this is juicy stuff). The hill is the hill of the palace where we see the remains of a rather huge structure complete with its own arena, bath house and dining room (actually three) one had an actually island in it.

After the palace we took the metro back to Termini station and walked back to the B&B. Of course after walking all day in the sun we were tired and did not feel like walking up five flights of stairs to get to our apartment so we took the elevator. For those of you who are not familiar with European elevators, they tend to be rather small. When we checked in the elevator could only hold one person and their luggage. However we did not think twice before we all piled into the elevator and promptly found ourselves stuck between floors. After giving up on the elevator, I had my cell phone and Carolyn had the phone numbers and we tried to call our host, who was not home. Then I called the number for the elevator repair person who spoke slightly more English than I did Italian and by the end of the conversation I was not sure if we would see them. With no air conditioning and the four of us crammed into a little space we tried everything we could think of including changing places to distribute the weight differently (Carolyn’s idea) hitting all the buttons including the alarm, (Dales idea), and then finally someone in the building heard us and called for help. We don’t know if they learned how to reset the elevator or what, but they got us out after 20 minutes or so and we are extremely grateful.

After all the excitement we got to our rooms and collapsed. When we were showered and feeling better by eight and went to a local trattoria to enjoy dinner. After a relaxing evening together we walked back to the B&B and planned to get some much needed rest. Tomorrow is another day of adjusting our body clocks and checking out the sites. On our list; the fountains and some more churches and ruins. What incredible history lessons we are learning.

Getting Ready for a Nap!

Okay I did it. After several requests we have the 4-H in Italy blog, before we even make it to Italy. We will be heading toward the airport in a few hours but I wanted to go ahead and let everyone know that we will have a place to check to keep up with our travels, our conference and of course our photos.

Welcome to the blog and we will update it a little later in the day to let you know how our travels are going.