Person of the Day - January 26

Picture Taken at the hotel pool

Well it's the last day for us here in Italy and it is kind of bitter sweet.  The day started with Jay Grabowski and myself rolling out of bed after a loud night and getting some breakfast.  Jays hair was in French braids all night, courtesy of Shanon, and it was quite the sight when he took them out.  Our day had no real itinerary and except for our late fair well lunch and check into the Hilton.  Being so, we left the the current hotel and rode the bus while being entertained with various movies and personal selections from our respective musical libraries for the better part of the day.  We eventually came to the city of Viterbo for what I believe to have been one of the best meals we have had yet.  Highlights included Shanon getting her day early 21st Birthday cake and speeches from Barb and John, but mostly being able to share one last big meal with everyone before we return to the hustled lives we live back in the states

We all have had a great time here seeing and learning about many different aspects of Italian culture and history not only as it applies to engineering, but also as it applies to our liberal arts education.  I know that all of us can take at least one but more likely many things away from this trip and use them to grow and better understand the world we live in.  And now I am rambling and becoming philosophical. 

For most of us, Chipotle will be the first thing we eat because from about halfway through the first week some of us have been craving an oversized burrito due to the small portions and no Mexican food.  The second thing I will be doing is to play my guitars which I have been missing for this entire time until I fall asleep down in the basement.

To all of my friends and family, we will be home soon and I miss you a ton!  But for now I am going to do a little swimming in the pool/hot tub the Hilton offers.  So until then, take care and we will see you soon.

~ Nate

P.S. - My band is playing on Feb. 5 so check out http://www.blueshiftsound.com for more details.

Peace

Person of the Day - January 25

Picture Taken in San Gimignano

I'd like to start off by apologizing to all of my friends back home who requested post cards.  I bought post cards, but never filled any of them out. 

The day started off on a good note.  I woke up this morning to find that my cold is starting to clear up, therefore blowing a gallon of snot out of my head would not be necessary.

Our first stop was in the town of Lucca.  Let me guess... no one has ever heard of this place right?  Well let me tell you... its no Pisa or Florence... but the one thing this city does have going for it is churches.  This is probably the only city in the world where the number of church seats out number the inhabitants.  Our tour consisted of mainly churches... I don't know what other people have written... but on this trip we have seen enough churches/basilicas/cathedrals to last me at least 6 years.  Lucca was a pretty nice town.  It appears to be (from my past experiences here) one of the few italien cities in which you can walk around without the fear of being rundown by one of these crazy italien drivers.

For me, the highlight of the Lucca trip was the public restroom.  For those of you who haven't been here... these are a rarity in Italy.  I was shocked to find that in order to access the toilet, one must insert 60 cents before the stall door can be opened.  I was upset and humored by this... I didn't do it, but I pondered stealing the toilet paper in order to get my money's worth.

After Lucca we headed out for San Gimgnano.  This city is known for its towers.  There are more ancient towers still standing here than in any other Italien city.  The town was nearly deserted with only a few tourists walking the street.  We climbed one of the towers to find wind gusts that were nearly strong enough to knock me over.  I'm sure the wind chill will be great for my cold.

I am now in the comfort of our new hotel in Volterra.  It is a pretty nice place, despite a strange funk in the hallway which is slowly creeping into my room.  For dinner I am hoping for some spaghetti... its amazing I'm in Italy, but I've been fed strange sea food 2 of the past 3 days.  Yes Mom that's right... I ate a ton of tiny squids... are you impressed?

I'm going to wrap this up by saying hi to everyone at home... Brad please do not crash my truck... Mom please pay my insurance when it comes- I'm good for it... General Dynamics - if I've been fired within the last 3 weeks please email me at school and let me know about it... I'll see everyone in 2 days... Buffalo Wild Wings here I come.

Andy

Person of the Day - January 24

Picture Taken at Marble Quarry that Michelangelo used

Hi.  I'm Gayle Cobb, John's fiancee.  I joined the group on January 14 and I'll fly home with them on the 27th. 

"Wow" was the comment of the day during our visit to the Carrara Marble Quarries today.  The quarries are at the foot of the Appenines.  We visited the very spot where Michelangelo picked out marble for the Pieta and David.  They are still harvesting marble in about the same place.  Standing on that great deposit of translucent marble reminded me of standing on a frozen lake in Minnesota.  We are bringing home some small pieces as souvenirs.  What a difficult journey Michelangelo's marble must have had to come down the mountain to the sea and then on a barge to the Tiber to Rome. 

To the parents of our students........... You can be very proud of your children.  They've all been friendly, respectful, polite, on time and grateful for the opportunity to visit Italy.

Gayle   

Person of the Day - January 23

Picture Taken holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa

  Hello to all my friends and family back home.  As it is nearing the end of the trip it is finally my turn to be the person of the day.  Today we finally got to see the thing that I have been most looking forward to seeing...The Leaning Tower of Pisa.  Not only did we get to see it, but we also got to climb to the very top in the area where the flag is in the picture!  Today it has been raining all day and so it is very cold.  The weather didn't stop us though.  We braved the slippery marble for a few minutes of fun.  The climb up is interesting.  As you wind around the tower gravity pulls you in different directions.  The ware marks on the steps move back and forth as you walk around.  Gayle stayed below and took a photo of our group at the very top.  Since it was so chilly and wet we didn't stay up there long but soon began the decent down. 

Other things we saw today was the Duomo (cathedral), Baptistery, and Cemetery that the American's bombed during WW2.  We were happy to leave Siena this morning because the hotel staff wasn't very nice to us at breakfast.  I think it was their sour moods that made it rain today.  Anyway we are all in our hotel in Pisa now where we will be for two nights.  We have a few hours off to dry out and warm up before dinner.  For dinner tonight we are getting our second "elegant" dinner of entirely seafood.  For those of you who know me you know I don't eat seafood so I have a special menu :)

I only have 4 more days in Italy before I have to come back to reality again.  It has been a wonderful experience but I miss everyone a lot (especially you Brett).  I can't wait to see you all soon and show you my pictures...I have taken over 1,000 of them.

~Tiffany~ 

Person of the Day - January 22

Picture Taken with Luciano

First, I have to explain the man to my right.  Luciano, our bus driver, is the coolest bus driver in the world.  He lets us "rock out" on the bus with Aerosmith and the Queen DVD of his.  He is truly a "Platinum Rocker". 

As for our day in Siena, it started with a great and beautiful trip to Castello Vicchiomaggio.  Here they make the famous Chianto wine.  The castle is atop a mountain of roughly 150 hectares, of which 30 are vineyards.  The vineyards were not in season, but the surroundings were even better.  The gorgeous views of the valleys entrapped with mountains was fantastic.  As for the wine making, they said it takes roughly 24-36 months once they get the wine in the huge barrels till they get it into bottles and to us around the world.  They do roughly 300,000 bottles a year. 

Next, which was the best part, we had an official wine tasting.  I had never known that there is a "specific" way to taste wine, but I guess its pretty involved.  First, you use your eyes to tell the color of the wine.  The darker the better, some of us would say because that increases the alcohol content.  Second, you have to use your nose and get a sniff of the smell.  The scent the wine gave supposedly gave you some knowledge of the wine.  And finally, a taste of some of the best wine I have had yet.  What is a wine tasting without some hors d'ouvers?  We were served with Salami and bread.  It was one of the best experiences on the trip.

After the vineyard, we headed to Sienna.  There we met our guide who gave us an introduction to the city.  One interesting thing I found out was that in order to get to Rome, one would have to travel through Siena.  It was like a gateway to Rome in the 13th and 14th centuries.  Heck, it was even more populated then Rome at the time.  Another cool fact of Siena is that people don't ask your name when they meet you, it's "what contrada are you from?"  This would be like saying what country are you from back in the states.  I just thought that was weird. 

As for the people back home, I'll be back in 5 more days...SEE YOU AT CHIPOLTE!! 

 Tommy

Person of the Day - January 21

Picture Taken with statue replica of Michelangelo's David

Hey hey it's my day and here I go.  We got up early today and like most of the others, I was suffering a little from last night's activities.  We began with a guided tour of the Firenze (Florence) Museum.  This place had some excellent sculptures and art from the renaissance period as well as some modern art.  The high light of the tour was seeing the real "David" by Michelangelo.  This thing is enormous, but is really well made.  One weird thing is how the hands and feet are large in proportion compared to the rest of the body.  We learned that this was a form of symbolism representing certain philosophies put into the sculpture.  After leaving the museum we went into the church of Santa Maria Del Fiore, which is a gigantic building that looks like it was covered in an amazing mosaic of green and white marble.  The front of the building is really ornate, with huge sculpted doors. The inside of the church was also incredibly large and amazingly the construction of the domes was managed without wood scaffolding, mind boggling.  After the church we went on a walking tour of other parts of the city.  In the Piazza Della Signoria were replica statues of many famous works of art, hence the picture to the left.  I wanted to get naked and make it an authentic replica of the pose, but you know censorship.  Other events of the day included a look at the Ponte Vecchio, which is a cool looking bridge that appears to have almost a city on top of it.  After the guided tour we were set loose on the town.  Myself, Tiffany, Kim, James, Peter and Barb met Luciano (bus driver) for lunch and then we were off doing some power shopping.  I found a sweet leather jacket and some other gifts.  Tonight we have a group dinner and then I'm sure another rowdy night on the town.  I really like this place, especially because versus Rome there aren't any cars and everyone walks to and from places.  So we don't have to worry about dodging scooters.  Well that is about all I got for you as the day is not over yet so who knows what kind of shenanigans will occur tonight.  

                          so hello to every back home, I love you all

                                                       Jay Brecke

Person of the Day - January 20

Picture Taken in the old city of Pompeii with the volcano that destroyed the city behind him

Well, it's finally my time for person of the day.  Yesterday we left Rome, so the rest of the trip is more "on the road" living.  Not the comfortable two week stay in the Alimandi.  Today we left our amazing four star hotel where I felt out of place.  At breakfast we were on the 11th floor.  Going out onto the deck was one of the best views yet.  Sure the top of St. Peter's was amazing, but seeing the sun shining down on the coast of Naples was amazing.  We then took off to Pompeii, so I didn't know what to expect.  The size of the excavating is amazing.  It's the whole town.  Also, the state of preservation is better then anything I've seen.  Being under ash for 1700 years preserved it well.  We walked through with our guide Bruno and saw homes, shops, baths, and even a bakery.  When they excavated and found where a body had been, they filled the area with plaster of some sort and we could see these "bodies" in various spots.  Very cool.  After seeing Pompeii and getting lunch, we hit the road again to Florence.  After a long trip we got off the bus and walked a few blocks to our "Hotel California".  We went and got some dinner as a group, then most of us went out for the evening.  I hope everything is well back home with everyone.  See you all soon!

Pete

Person of the Day - January 19

Picture Taken in the Colosseum of Pozzuoli

We hit the road today and made our way to Naples.  I think everyone was excited to leave Rome.  I must say it is a beautiful city and we all had a great time.  This morning we had an audience with Pope John Paul II.  He has been Pope for almost 27 years, he has left the country more than any other Pope, and he has created the most Cardinals and Saints.  These facts come directly from BRIAN "SPONGEBOB" KJERSTEN.  He is a pretty amazing Pope.  There were many groups from all over the world at the audience.  Each group was announced and then they would sing, chant, clap, or play music.  We used the end of the gophers fight song.  It went as follows...

"M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A, Minnesota, Minnesota, GOOOOO Tommies"

From there we jumped on the bus and headed for Pozzuoli.  This is a suburb of Naples.  Here we saw the Flavian Amphitheatre (Colosseum) and an old market.  It is the third largest colosseum built by the Romans and has the best preserved underground (where the animals and gladiators would come from).  This is because Pozzuoli is a very volcanic area and until the middle of the 1900's almost all of the amphitheatre was covered by volcanic ash.  We were suppose to visit the underground, but today it rained so it was flooded.  We were a little disappointed, but it was still neat to see. 

The market we visited was submerged underwater until about 20 years ago.  This is due to the earthquake activity in Pozzuoli.  When an earthquake occurs, the land may shift up (positive shift) or the land may shift down (negative shift).  When it is negative the market becomes submerged. 

After the adventure through the suburb of Pozzuoli we left for Naples.  On our way to the hotel the bus driver made a quick stop at the coast of the Mediterranean so we could dip our feet in.  The sea was a little polluted and smelt kind of bad, but it was still neat. 

Well we made it safe to Naples and we will be leaving tomorrow morning to visit Pompeii and then head to Florence.  Seven more days and we will be home. 

Hello to all my friends and family.  I miss you and love you!  See you soon.

Heather

Person of the Day - January 18

Picture Taken in our "classroom"

Hello all!  I am Brian Kjersten. I'm an E.E. major from Greenbush, MN, and I am having an awesomely awesome time in Italy!

"My" day went pretty well.  We began the morning giving group presentations in the room with the plates.  I was super impressed with how well everyone did their planning and researching and presenting for this assignment.  And I had an awesome sketch of an ancient Roman "hodometer" which measures lengths of roads.

We were free after that.  A lot of people went shopping; some people did some desperate last minute laundry.  I went sightseeing by myself.  The first thing I saw was the Colosseum because I was sick when the group went their.  That was cool.  Then I went to three churches all called "Santa Maria".  The first one had a hard-to-remember name.  A group of Franciscan Capuchin monks made a lot of sculptures in the basement of the church with bones of other Franciscan Capuchin monks.  It was creepy.

Then I went to Santa Maria della Vittoria.  In this church is the famous statue of the Ecstasy of St Teresa by Bernini.  There is other pretty artwork there too.

After a frustrating search (and a relaxing cake), I found my way to Santa Maria Maggiore.  This is a big church.  I went to a side chapel which happens to be named the Sistine Chapel.  There was artwork on the walls.  A pope (Sixtus V?) was buried in there.  And there was a huge gold tabernacle in the middle.  The tabernacle looked like four angels holding up a big house-shaped thing.  Not long after I sat down, I Mass started (to celebrate my arrival?).  I didn't know what was going on right away, but I decided to stay through it.

On my way back I bought a Rome soccer team scarf, and then some wonderful Italian ice cream.  I ate Chinese food with a group of 7 (sorry, can't list them).  I started packing, but then I found out there was going to be karaoke!  So I left with the group but when we got to the karaoke bar we found out it was just a regular bar.  So we walked back to our hotel in the rain.  It was disappointing to miss karaoke, but it was fun that I got to do so in ITALY!

                               BRIAN "SPONGEBOB" KJERSTEN

Person of the Day - January 17

Picture Taken at the American Academy

This morning the students spent time preparing for their group projects to be presented tomorrow morning....their last full day in Rome!  I took off and visited Thanos, the residential manager at St. Thomas Bernardi for a lovely cup of cappucino at, of course, Giolitti's ( the best place in town).  In the afternoon, we all bundled up (it was about 50 degrees) and bussed to the American Academy of Rome.  This is a one of the world's leading centers for independent study and research in the arts and humanities.  For over 100 years it has offered financial support, time and an inspiring environment to some of America's most gifted artists.  It was there we met David Foote, a new medieval arts instructor at St. Thomas, who is studying in Rome for 9 months. The building is located in the most beautiful part of Rome, overlooking the city with wonderful gardens. We are all planning on applying for admission!

We listened to two lectures given by American scholars on their work with the Column of Trajan and the excavations of Roman cities in Romania.  We all are now wanting to go to Romania...his photos were beautiful!

Next, we bussed to Rome's city offices to meet with two officials; one the director of the historic city of Rome and the other an archeologist with the city of Rome.  They discussed the issues related to managing the preservation of old Rome while still maintaining a city where modern people can still live.  Not an easy task as they described all of the problems that can happen when they are beginning to build and happen on an antiquity.  Not a problem in Minnesota!

We all split up with some going back to eat Chinese,others to Hard Rock, John, Gail, and I having a dinner with David Foote and his wife Gayle.  Good day, great food, now rest!  

Barbara

Person of the Day - January 16

Picture Taken skiing

This was the day that almost didn't happen.  Let me start from the beginning.  We were out the door of the Alimandi Hotel by 6:00am today and walked to the bus stop a couple blocks away.  Joking around on the corner while we waited, this was the quietest I had seen Rome yet with only a car here and there, hardly anyone was up yet.  The bus finally arrived almost passing the stop altogether.  The group took the bus to the main bus terminal to catch the charter bus up to Terminillo Ski Resort.  When we made it to the main terminal we were expecting to see the next bus to take immediately, but this was not the case.  After searching everywhere for the bus and no luck we wondering if we were even at the right station or if the bus was going to show up at all.  Let me remind you that the bus was supposed to leave at 7:30am and it was approaching 8:00am.  Desperate and lost we hunted the lot for other people that might be of help and that is when we met up with some other kids who were waiting for the bus as well.  That cleared up the possibility of being at the wrong station but now where was the bus.  Ready to head back to the hotel and forget about the skiing excursion, Will spotted the Rossi-Rocket, the bus that we had been looking for the entire time, as it pulled into the bus terminal. 

We gathered our group and headed over quickly with the other kids and hopped aboard.  The ride was about 45 minutes but it passed by quickly thanks to the great scenery and the singing Italian kids in the back of the bus.  When we arrived to the base of the resort the weather was a little discouraging with winds practically blowing us over and everybody already cold.  This didn't last long however as the sun was shining and the sky cleared up by the time we got our equipment from the rental shop.  The day only got better after this.  We got out on the mountain only to find some really icy conditions.  I really didn't mind it as long as I was outside and skiing again.  Hitting every run and lift to find the best spots on the mountain, Jay and I went off on our own exploring Terminillo.  I would compare it to Afton Alps back in Minnesota except everyone was wearing sweet one-piece neon ski suits.  Meeting back up with the group for lunch we were all surprised with a 4 course meal including bread, lasagna, pasta, chicken, ham, salad, and espresso's.  Brian and I both drank 4 espresso shots each and headed back out on the mountain.  The rest of the day consisted of Jay and I finding a great powdery run that we spend the rest of our time skiing on.  We met up with the group again and we all waited for the Rossi-Rocket which again was late.   The ride home was quicker than on the way out and when we arrived back a few of us stopped and picked up some Turkish wraps to-go.  That is my day in a nutshell and some. 

Jimmy