When in Rome...: Day 3 in Gemini

Lecture at 9 am…. Which means waking up around 8, messing with the shower, and eating a breakfast of bread with pesto and a glass of OJ. Then it was listening to a 4 hour lecture in 2 hour segments, which helped me discover quite quickly that my attention span is about an hour and a half. A lunch of salad with homemade raspberry balsamic vinegarette with apples and tomatoes hit the spot as we basked in the sunshine in Piazza Fransesco. After a cup of gelato, which tasted like frozen eggnog (YUMMMMMMM!!!!!!!), we were ready for our field trip. Almost as soon as the line of students left San Gemini, walking on the side of the road, the heavy dark clouds burst, and complaints immediately began emerging from the group. I think the sky took the hint and stopped their terrible business after about 5 minutes. The rest of the 5 kilometer trip to the ruins of the ancient Roman city Carsulae passed without much more ado, except an asthma attack among one of the many female students. We reached the top of the hill and gasped in awe (and for air) at the view of the 2,000 year old ruins. Touring the museum was fun, but not as inspiring as walking on and among the olden tumbled stones of Carsulae. We saw foundations of houses, the building where the town senate sat, the theater, the place where gladiators fought, and of course, tombs. On our way out, there was a giant cherry tree conveniently beside the path, which held me over for the 5 kilometer walk back. Walking back into San Gemini a little before 9pm was not quite the plan, but at least we got a good workout! A nice dish of pretty much gourmet ravioli and a glass of wine with my classmates topped off the evening like a cherry on an ice cream sundae. A slow walk back to the apartment preceded a late night chat with the roommate, Phoebe. All that was left was sleep. And it was grand.