Ciao! I hope everyone had a wonderful week! I know I did. We officially have ONE more month until we come home... can you believe it?? It seems like we just got here! Honestly, I can't say I am ready to leave. I have never experienced anything like studying abroad... I have 19 new best friends, developing career goals [finally], and a different aspect on life in general... I love it! Like the others, I'm sure this last month will fly by, but I still have so much to see and do! I am excited to completely enjoy these precious few weeks and I'm so thankful for the opportunity I was given to be here! [Thanks mom and dad!!!]
This week was
wonderful as usual. Especially Thursday... it is in the running for being my favorite day of the entire trip! and that's some tough competition! :)
Monday was a normal class day [cooking class blog was posted before this one]. If you like
Mushroom Soup -- check it out! Tuesday we spent in Rome visiting the main places of "the Grand Tour". We went to the "Non-Catholic Cemetery where famous poets like Keats and Shelley are buried. Then went to the Keats and Shelley House, located directly next to the Spanish Steps, for a guided visit.
 |
| Protestant Cemetery |
 |
| It's beautiful. |
 |
| John Keats and friends burial site |
 |
| This casket is said to bring good luck during finals. All of the students in Rome come and place flowers on it in hopes they will pass their exams! |
 |
| This is Chase showing us his shirt and saying "war damn eagle!". His parents are Doctors in Counseling and Marriage Therapy and were here for the week. They went on the field trip with us for the day and taught us a class on Wednesday. They are an awesome family!!! |
 |
| Chase and his sweet little sister, Reese. |
 |
| Keats and Shelley House |
 |
| Keats bedroom. He died here from TB in 1821. |
 |
| View of the Spanish Steps outside his window. Talk about prime location! |
Wednesday, we had a CPR class!! I was certified last semester for work but it was fun to learn from an Italian and watch each other practice!! Let's just say I would not want to pass out in the palace... not sure I would make it! haha
 |
| Kacey went first!! |
 |
| Katie giving chest pumps! |
Last but not least, Thursday,
the best day! First, we went to the Ninfa Gardens. I have never seen anything so beautiful!! It was the warmest day we have had yet which made it even more perfect. The owner's wife, who lives in the gardens, gave us a tour of essentially her
backyard. The pictures don't do it justice...
 |
| Sallie got pooped on :) Great start to the day! |
 |
| Their dog!.. who was LOVING rolling in the grass in the sunshine! |
 |
| It was also Kacey's 23rd birthday! |
 |
| Mary Cate |
 |
| Rae Rae |
After the gardens, we headed to the
Marco Carpineti farm and winery. We have been to 2 other wine tastings, but this one was by far the best one! They produce over 300,000 bottles of wine a year and the freshest olive oil I have ever had! It is a local organic farm.
 |
| The olive trees! |
 |
Touring the winery... the room where the wine is kept must be the same temperature at all time.
It also has to stay dark. |
 |
| Each barrel cost 760 euro! The wine stays inside for up to 3 years. They pretend the wine is "sleeping" and you do not want to wake it up by moving or touching a barrel! |
 |
| The owner, showing us how they get the yeast out of the bottle before it is ready! |
 |
| Our wine tasting room!! |
 |
| First wine- a white sparkling wine! SO GOOD! |
 |
| They gave us tons of appetizers that were delicious. We were happy happy campers! |
 |
| Cheers! |
 |
| They also served us gnocchi! |
 |
| Katie and I with our wine :) |
Once we got home, we all crashed and took a couple hour nap, then got up, got ready, and went over to Frascati to eat dinner together to finish Kacey's birthday right! It was a blast. The owner LOVED that American girls were eating at his restaurant. He got us a private table in the basement... brought in someone to play music for us, brought out appetizers, and was essentially flirting with everyone! It was HILARIOUS and totally "Italian"! He especially loved Katie and wanted pictures with her when his wife wasn't looking!! haha
 |
| Me, Katie, and Britt |
 |
| The cutest old man playing guitar... and the owner loving it!! |
 |
| Showing off his tattoos!? and dancing!! |
 |
| Birthday girl and friends! |
 |
| Danielle :) |
Such a great day! I change my mind... I'm definitely not ready to leave! :)
Most of the girls are spending the weekend in Greece or Venice but there are still 6 of us here! We decided to have fun too and get dressed up and go to Rome tonight for dinner and to see an American Ballet! I can't wait! Tomorrow we are going to the beach for the day!!! Hopefully it will be warm!! Later that night we are gonna go over to our Faculty Advisor, Tommy's, house for a cookout with the Edward's [the great family I talked about earlier]. I can't wait to play with Chase and Reese some more before they head back to the states!
Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend and it enjoying Spring weather :)
xoxo
Britt
On a different note, today is the
life celebration of my precious pledge sister, Jessica. She passed away last week in her sleep due to heart complications she has had her whole life. Please pray for my AXO sisters and friends as they drive to Roswell today, her boyfriend, and family. Jess's favorite quote was "Be joyful always" which happens to be the name of my blog :) She will be greatly missed.
http://www.theplainsman.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Campus+mourns+students’-deaths%20&id=12471477
