When in Rome

The girls and I took a day trip to Rome this past weekend.  We left Ascoli on the  6AM bus arriving to Rome at 9AM.  We left Rome at 8PM... it was jam packed day but we saw all the big sites in rome!

First we went to the Spanish Steps- they were pretty cool but I thought it was a little overrated and there was a tourist mob scene. 

After the Steps, we walked to the Trevi Fountain.  The fountain was very beautiful, but also PACKED with tourists. We took some pictures, ate our lunch and then moved on.

We walked to the Pantheon and took a quick tour of the inside before moving to our next destination.... the Vatican.

When we got to the Vatican we signed up for a tour through the museum, which then ended up in the Sistine Chapel and then St. Peter's Basilica. It was truly amazing to see how intricate the artwork was in these monuments.  Unfortunately we didn't see the Pope, but being there was pretty cool. 

The last stop of the day was to the Coliseum. Unfortunately it was too late to go inside because it closed at 5, but we still got to check it out.  

I haven't been doing much traveling the past two weekends... We had midterms this week.  Tomorrow I am off on a 12 day adventure.  We start our journey in Torino at the Terra Madre and Salone Del Gusto food conference.  This event is put on by Slow Food and it only occurs every 2 years.  Luckily, it just so happened to take place while we are in Italy :) 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6PJX3LvEk8&feature=player_embedded

^^Press Video of conference

After 4 days of that, I head to Milan, Cinque Terre, Parma, and Bologna to see the beautiful Cecilia Riccardi who I have not seen since high school!!! 

Amalfi Coast

Our trip to the Amalfi Coast was very relaxing, yet packed tightly with many places to see.  We left Ascoli that Thursday night and took a bus straight to Amalfi.  After a 6 hour bus ride, we checked into our Hostel.

During this weekend we hit Capri, Positano, and Pompeii.

We took an early morning boat ride on Friday to the island of Capri.  The deep crystal blue water was mesmerizing and for a second I thought I was in the caribbean.

Arriving into Capri

When we got to Capri, we transferred to a smaller boat to go on a tour around the island.  It 

was about a 2-hour tour and had some breath-taking views.  We saw many caves, Denzel Washington's house and a house Michael Jackson tried to buy.

we took the boat through the hole

This part of Italy is known for it's coral jewelry.  This is how it is obtained...  This is a picture of coral.   Pink coral is known as "summer coral", and red coral is known as "winter coral". 

After the boat ride we walked to AnaCapri, which is the northern village on the island.  We had lunch and enjoyed slushies made from fresh squeezed lemons and oranges.  To digest, we took the chairlift to the highest point of the island which had amazing views.  I am always skeptical of taking a chairlift if its not for skiing but I did it anyways.... It was a single chair just like Mad River Glen.

looking down from the top 

the rock we went through on the boat.. looking down

blue waters of the Mediterranean

The next morning we woke up early and headed for Positano for a day at the beach. It was a warm October day... 80 degrees! We laid on the beach for the morning and early afternoon, then took a small private boat to do some cliff jumping and cave swimming. 

enjoying the warm waters- swimming in the ocean in October????

Sarah taking the plunge!

On Sunday we traveled to the city of Pompeii.  Pictures and documentaries don't do this history-packed city justice.  It was so surreal to be in Pompeii... the buildings, plastered bodies, artifacts, red light district, art, and Mt.Vesuvius were all right in front of us.

Streets of Pompeii

Inside theater.. the white marble stairs are ORIGINALS

body

Exploring and Hard Working

Last minute decisions are always the best.  Annie and I had planned to go the world famous "Frasassi Caves" on Friday. Check out their website:

http://www.frasassi.com/

  The night before, we got a response email from a WWOOF member farm (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) who said we could stay for a weekend to work whenever we wanted. We had contacted them prior in the week.  After looking up the farm's location it clicked.  Pergola is only 30 minutes from the caves! There was no way we couldn't go.  After receiving this e-mail at 9 PM on Thursday night, we quickly called back the farm, made plans and packed our bags.

We left Ascoli on the 6 AM train to Genga Friday morning.  We arrived to the caves at 9:30 AM and had about 30 minutes to explore before the tour of the Frasassi Caves.  The cave tour was 1.5 miles long and took about an hour.  It was incredible to be inside of the caves, as they are a natural wonder of the world.  

Mountains

View from Train 

Unfortunately you can't take pictures inside the caves for whatever reason, but I snapped a few before entering.

More mountains across from cave entrance

This is a sign.. but it actually looks like that inside!

      

Closest Caves like Frasassi are in Arizona and Poland

After the tour was complete, we were picked up in the parking lot by the oldest son on the farm, Pietro. We were instantly welcomed and although we weren't even to the farm yet, I knew it was going to be a great weekend.  

Case Bottaro is a small, organic, family-run farm in the Apennines mountains of the Marche Region. They have 50 acres of land divided half and half (agricultural terrain and woodland/shrubbery).  This is their 26th year on the farm.  They grow a variety of vegetables, fruits, and grains, and raise animals.

Their main products include: 

Barley, wheat, spelt and an ancient variety of corn for making cornmeal.

Borlotti beans, Mexican and white eyed beans, chick peas and lentils.

Garlic, onions, pumpkins, carrots, and winter greens.

Spring lamb, Pork. 

That afternoon we picked beans for a few hours and called it a day. Then we got to explore the farm.  

We got some quality sleep that night (no sounds, no lights.. it felt like NH).  The next morning we picked and cleaned grapes, and got a personal grape tasting tour.  Paolo introduced us to his many varieties of grapes.  My favorite ones were called strawberry white and blue.  After the grapes, we had figs and apples to munch on. 

Next we started the big job for the weekend: splitting and stacking wood for the winter.   (Not my favorite thing to do...)

It went by really fast and I felt accomplished after.  We cut and stacked for about 7 hours on Saturday, then finished the remaining wood Sunday morning.  It was about a 10 hour project.

We did 3 trailer loads.

All the hard work was made up for by delicious food.  Case Bottaro is part of a Co-Op called "La Terra e il Cielo".  95% of the growers and producers in this co-op are located in the Marche Region of Italy, whereas the remaining 5% are from other regions of Italy.  We had the most amazing dinner on Saturday night.. and everything on the plate was from the farm (minus the olive oil, which was from their neighbors farm...)

Chopped Fennel Salad, Heirloom Tomato Salad, Sheep Cheese, Salami from the piggies, and home bread made with their own flour

I had never eaten nor heard of sheep cheese in my life. It was actually quite delicious and tasted like a strong parmesan. 

Sheep

Full Moon

Between exploring the Frasassi Caves and getting my hands dirty at Case Bottaro, my third weekend in Italy was amazing.  It was tough to get back to school yesterday after being back in the countryside all weekend long.

Next weekend... Amalfi Coast, Capri and Pompeii!