7-29 Rieti Project to Classroom Integration

Now that we are back home the work begins of integrating our Italy adventure into our Nevada classrooms. The first day of this is an overview presentation of the Rieti Project to our local team of teachers. For those that have been following along with the blog I thought you might like to see the Keynote I gave today...

7-23 The Aftermath

The kid that won't let me out of his sight!

So I’ve been asked a few times to write a “wrap up” blog for the Italy trip.  I’ve been avoiding this like crazy for so many reasons, but it’s finally hit me that it would be a good idea to finish this completely.  We’ll see what I can do with this, coming back has not been easy.

The flight home was not as bad as I had feared.  Scott drove us to the airport, then helped me get my luggage checked and over to security.  We said goodbye there, then I went to brave the airport security.  My shoes never left my feet.  Strange how lax they are, the only thing I got asked to fix was I left my iPad in my bag.  Once through security I had about an hour and a half wait for the plane.  I found a cute little airport cafe to grab my last cornetto and cafe.  Not as good as what I got in Viterbo, but it was filling.  The first leg of the trip was an hour long flight into Zurich, and not very eventful.  I had my window seat so I was plastered to that the entire time.  Although it was nice when they gave me another cornetto.  I like Swiss Air.

So the plane was a bit late getting to Zurich, so as soon as I could get off I walked very quickly to find my next terminal.  Not the easiest thing with all the people taking their time to get their luggage down!  I know, I’m being picky.  Found the gate, then walked “with purpose” to find that location.  I have to share my favorite part of the Zurich airport.  The trolly to the terminal.  I made it on there, and this nice gentleman scooted over so I could actually fit on there.  Once we took off, I realized there were all these animal sounds playing.  The birds were cute, the crickets, then there was this loud bear.  I burst out laughing at that one.  The gentleman who had moved over for me was laughing too, then told me they are just trying to sell all that Switzerland has to offer!  Turns out this guy is running his own airline which flies all around Europe.  He gave me a business card, not too sure what to do with it, but he was very nice!

Made it to my second flight just fine.  Turns out I didn’t have to walk so fast.  Oh well, that trolly guy made my day.  So originally for this next leg of my flight I had an aisle seat.  After the horror of that the first time, I had said no way and found the one and only remaining window seat when I had checked in the day before.  Best thing ever.  I got on the plane, walked past business class, and noticed they stopped at 23.  My seat was 24k.  Oh yea baby!  I was right behind the little dividing wall!  No seats leaning back on me!  And to top it off, the guy next to me was absolutely awesome.  Dan is a music teacher in Zurich, but he’s from San Francisco.  His parents used to work for an airline, so flying around the world is common for him.  He knew all about the free alcohol.  I didn’t indulge, but after he had had a few gin and tonics I couldn't’ stop laughing at our corny jokes.  I swear, he made that 12 hour flight manageable.  Dan then made sure I made it out of the airport as quick as possible, he took pity on me for having to drive back to Reno from Frisco.

As soon as I was out of the baggage check I was ambushed by a munchkin in brightly colored cloths.  Holding that little boy again was the whole reason I came home.  For the last five weeks I’ve basically been just another person with no kids.  There was an aspect to it that was nice, but nothing compares to having such a wonderful little boy.  I remember once walking through the streets of Viterbo seeing a little boy crying, and thought that I’d take Drew even like that, throwing a tantrum.  Since I’ve been back he’s been out of my sight for a grand 8 hours not including sleeping.  He’s my little velcro bug and I’m completely happy with that.  For the record, right now he’s sitting right next to me watching “The Lorax” on my iPad.  Now if only I could concentrate and not have to stop answering his questions every three seconds!!!  Missed him so much.

So there’s the highlight of coming home.  From there it’s been a bit of a battle.  We’ll start with the obvious, food.  Italy has very good food, and I don’t remember eating a single processed item the whole time I was there.  Lots of fresh cheeses, veggies, fruits, breads.  I never ate McDonalds, no deep fried anything, no canned stuff...  So you can imagine coming home to this kind of stuff was not what my tummy wanted.  For the past week and a half I’ve been making roasted veggies with olive oil and garlic, pasta with fresh tomato sauce, and eggs.  I was at a Wendy’s today and even just the smell was enough to make me not want to eat that food.  I don’t wonder why I didn’t see overweight people there.  

I greatly miss the walking.  Sure, I could go for a walk here.  I’ve gone with Drew a few times.  It’s just not the same.  No people watching here in the neighborhood.  No shops to look in, no beautiful buildings to see.  Here it seems like we are all so disconnected from each other.  Keeping to ourselves and never venturing out.  Even regarding the fruit and veggie shops, it seemed people were more aware of where their food came from, where as here we just care if it looks good and the price. 

It is nice to do the simple things again.  Driving, showering standing up, buying a mountain dew...  But they just don’t add up to how it was living over there.  Now I know life for many of those Italians is very similar to ours, but I still don’t think they are as secluded as us.  Life seems much more simpler, much more relaxed.  I come home and I’m bombarded with things I need to do.  School starts in two weeks, and I’ve hardly created my lessons, let alone my copies!  I realize I’ve signed up for all of my demands, but I now see that it’s quite fun to not be so overwhelmed all the time.  I need to start going out to just walk around, or window shop, or go to the park.  Coming back I was not prepared for that.  I’m having a hard time readjusting, and with work starting back up soon I know I need to get back on the ball.

So here is my “after Italy” agenda.  I’m going out more.  With kids, without kids, for an hour, for five hours...  This lack of socializing is not ok.  Next, I’m going to eat better.  All this junk food we eat isn’t ok.  I genuinely felt better there, and I don’t think it was just the atmosphere.  Now, I do wish I would have been able to give up soda while I was there, but that didn’t happen...  I’m totally wanting a coke right about now!  Next, I’m going back.  I was so scared to go in the first place, but it wasn’t scary.  I don’t even need to go with anyone, which after my two latests flakey friends I’m plenty happy with that.  Getting around Italy was so easy, the people there were so nice, I would just need to learn a bit more of the language and I would have a blast.  It is nice to share with someone though...  That, however is for another blog, huh???

Thank you for sharing this experience with me.  I enjoyed writing this blog more than I thought I would.  This whole trip has been life changing, and I couldn’t be more appreciative that it happened to me.  I’m always available to talk about Italy, about what it was like there, or to plan another adventure there.  Everything was just so amazing, even those little down times that only lead me to those incredibly great times.  Ok, this child won’t sit still.  He’s totally distracting me with his dancing...  I guess this is goodbye, for now.  :)

7/11 Goodbye Italy

This time tomorrow I’ll be on a plane home.  On my walk to the university today I tried to take everything in.  Course, as luck would have it Claire caught up with me and I walked a different way!  That’s ok.  As I’ve really discovered during this trip, it’s so much more fun to experience life with someone.  We had a great morning talking about Italian boys and how they fit their stereotypes so perfectly!  I don’t have much to report in the way of what I did today.  Lexy and I finished the last four samples, I made sure my notes were all clean and correct in the notebook, we all had lunch together for the last time, and then it rained.  That was certainly new.  I’m not familiar with rain, and after that I’m thinking I’ve never seen real rain before! Rachelle was awesome enough to give us a lift home, very grateful for that.  The rain has let up, so I hope the group has a chance to enjoy one last gelato together tonight.

There is so much I’ve really enjoyed about Viterbo.  When I first learned that I was coming here, I read so many blogs
about everything.  How to act in a clothing store, how to pick out produce, about the pick pockets...  If I could go back in time I’d probably do the same thing even knowing what I know now, but I have realized that people’s perspectives vary greatly.  And not to mention those things may be true in Rome, but not so in Viterbo.  I read that when you go into a clothing store you will be followed by the attendant, you won’t be able to just look, and that if you are over a size 4 prepared to be considered overweight.  I’ve been in just about every store along the boutique street and I haven’t had that issue once.  At the Hanger where I picked up two dresses the lady did follow me a bit, but in a super sweet way.  I’d pick up a dress, she’d pick it up in a different color and offer it to me.  When I tried them on, she was quick to compliment the look.  I tried one on that was too tight, she just grinned and told me it’s sexy!  Never felt “fat,” never felt pushed.  Most of the other stores I was in they were plenty happy to let me just look, and almost always said bye to me on my way out.  Course shopping for cloths is a bit tricky here.  They have one or two of each item, and you are lucky if you can find a size!  I purchased one dress without trying it on, it’s a bit big.  I guess that’s better than too small!

Produce picking out isn’t that bad either.  I had read that you aren’t supposed to handle the produce, to just point and they will pick it out.  There are about three produce stores that I’ve been frequenting, and they have no problem letting me grab what I’d like.  Love all the produce here, it’s all pulled right off the farm.  Several of the apples and peaches even still have the leaves attached to them.  They aren’t waxed, sometimes they aren’t even rinsed off.  And it’s all so much more delicious than anything I’ve purchased at home, all that imported stuff.  At home I would purchase cherry tomatoes and much on those, not sure how I’ll be able to go back to those tomatoes.  These ones are so much better.  At one of the stores the little Asian guy is hilarious.  He speaks some really bad English, just enough for him to help me out.  I handed him a little watermelon one day and he pretended to drop it.  I jumped so high!  He spent the last five minutes laughing, and I got my watermelon for free.  I’m going to miss that guy.

I’m sure the crime in Rome isn’t that great, however I haven’t once felt unsafe here in Viterbo.  I’ve never thought twice about having my little wristlet in hand after just stuffing it from the ATM.  I’ve walked around at 2:am by myself and never questioned if walking down this street was a good idea or not.  The only time I was ever alarmed was when I was walking down the “Kissing” street, a very narrow street barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side.  As I was leaving it, I heard a huge splash behind me.  The lady on the top floor was watering her plants.  Gotta be careful for that stuff!

I’m going to miss my honey man.  I’ve told you about him.  He runs the shop right below Claire’s apartment.  I went in there the other day to get some honey, and he spent another 20 minutes telling me something...  He pointed to the cheese a few times and mimed eating so I think he was asking how my cheese was that I had bought from him the time before.  Some people when they realize I don’t speak much Italian past survival Italian don’t even talk to me.  He would slow down his words and speak very clearly.  I appreciated that so much, even if I had no clue it was very nice to hear the language.  Now if only I’d stop instantly speaking French back...

On the first half of my walk I got to say hi to my bum again.  Ok, he may not be a bum, but he’s always hanging out by the ATM.  The first few days he’d say “Ciao,” but after I responded with a hello he’s switched over.  He gets the biggest dopiest grin on his face and waves.  Oh these Italian men!  Said bye to the baristas at the bar we go to at the University.  Actually got three cafes from them today.  I’ll miss the atmosphere in those little bars, everyone crowded around the bar drinking their espresso standing up chatting with each other.  I very much enjoy the social nature here.  Whenever the shops are vacant the workers are outside in the street talking to each other. They will follow someone in when they enter, but other than that they are all together.  As for the people walking around I’ve hardly seen anyone walk down the street texting, in fact I’ve hardly seen any smart phones at all.  When I first came here I was told Italy was made for me, simply because of their social nature.  I couldn’t agree more!

Yesterday I went out to grab some stuff at the shops.  I’m going to miss that.  Viterbo is like one big household.  If you need something, you just walk down that hall and go to the pantry and get your bread, or cheese, or whatever.  You don't need a car, you don’t need to make a big production of it.  I no longer wonder why the fridge is so small, with food this fresh you don’t stock up on it.  You buy it as you need it.  Wastes so much less.  I love how they all live so close to each other.  I haven’t heard a thing about a curfew or noise ordinance, and I also haven’t heard anyone complain about the noise.  People live right on the piazzas where all the action is happening, but instead of grumbling they just seem to be part of it.  I never lived in the dorms at college, but I imagine this is kind of what it would be like.  It really feels like being part of a community, not just someone who goes home and closes their door to the world. 

This time tomorrow I’ll probably be over the Atlantic Ocean.  Maybe...  These time differences are tweaking my brain in funny ways.  It’s 4:pm here, but 7:am at home.  Either way, as happy as I am here I am looking forward to going home.  I’ve met so many incredible people here, it will be sad to leave them, but it will be so good to see the people at home that I’ve built relationships with.  Oddly I’m looking forward to curling up on the couch...  The couch here is so uncomfortable!  I miss my pillow, miss my fancy thread count sheets.  I can’t wait to take a shower standing up, or to be able to make phone calls.  Before I left someone told me that I’m not the type of person to come back from something like this unchanged.  I hope I’m able to keep some of this culture with me, maybe the laid back approach to life.  I’ve certainly grown in confidence since I’ve been here.  Walking home last night I smiled to myself because I wasn’t avoiding certain situations out of fear.  Taking a bus that I’ve never taken to a city I’ve never been to by myself didn’t scare me.  It was something I wanted to do, and nothing was going to stand in my way.  No one was here telling me I couldn’t do it, or to be careful because all these bad things were going to happen.  That is something I want to be sure to bring back with me.  I don’t want people doubting me, cause that only makes me doubt myself.  We all deserve better than that.

Well, the rain has let up, and the shopkeepers should be opening their stores again.  I have one more gift to pick up for my niece, then I think I’ve covered gifts for all the kids.  They are so much fun to buy for!  Course my bag is probably severely overweight now...  I’ll deal with that tomorrow I guess!  Tomorrow is my flight.  I should have plenty of time to reflect more on this experience during my thousand hour flight from Zurich to San Francisco!  Oh joy!

7/10 Oh Italy...

It’s going to be difficult to fit back into American time tomorrow.  Had dinner at 8pm last night didn't get to bed until 1am.  Such a busy day which leaves me to write this blog again the following morning.  However this is quite nice.  I’m sitting in a little cafe by my house, my third time here.  Love this little sitting area, and I absolutely adore their cornettos.  

My Coke Shop

So the day was really good!  Got up at my normal 6:30am and took it easy.  Started my walk to the university around 7:30, taking my time trying to soak up Viterbo before tomorrow's departure.  Viterbo is really so beautiful.  I can’t get over how lucky I am to be here and not some larger city like Rome.  The feel here is just amazing, I love walking down the streets and saying hi to the people that remember me.  Like the little lady at the shop I get my cokes from, the bum on the steps by the ATM, the little old man that runs that coffee shop on my route...  On our first day here Scott had taken us around to all these people and showed us the best shops.  I was so overwhelmed and what he was doing didn’t quite make sense.  Now I can just imagine bringing someone else here and doing the exact same thing to them.  Five weeks is a good amount of time to start building these relationships.

Part of my daily walk

But, alas, back to the blog.  I took my time on the walk, enjoyed the park and watched the ducks for a little bit.  Most of the day was just lab work, and boy did we plow through that.  There are four of 20 left for today, we will be working a half day at most.  Had my wonderful lunch, same as always.  Mushroom pizza and a slice of hash brown pizza.  I’m totally trying to make both of those when I get home!  The clouds rolled in around 4, so Claire and I decided to take off at that point.

The best pizza!

I was told earlier in this trip that I notice everything.  All those car horns, the strange men in the park boxing trees, the mismatched shoes on people...  Yesterday I decided I don’t want to observe so much anymore.  I suggest you skip the rest of this paragraph.  Claire and I were on our way home, and we were walking past a little cubby by some garbage cans.  We were talking away, and as we approached the cubby I saw a look of pure horror on this man’s face.  Then I stupidly looked down.  Let’s just say I was not hungry for a very long time.  Claire was adorable, she couldn’t figure out why I turned so green and started power walking.

Drew's last gift

We hit a few stores on the way home, I picked up a few small gifts for my friend’s kiddos, then headed home.  I had my laptop in my bag, and it was starting to rain.  I love the rain here in Italy, it’s not cold, not windy, just this nice little shower falling from the sky.  I ventured back out in the rain to look in a few more shops.  The other awesome thing about rain in Italy is it seems so many people are afraid of it.  As I was walking down the street I had the entire middle of it to myself.  Everyone else was bunched against the side.  A few people were walking with their umbrellas, but that was about it.  I just made sure I ducked into a shop when I got too wet, no big deal.  I got some funny looks from some of the watchers.  Not sure if they thought I was crazy, or thought it was good I wasn’t afraid.  

After the shopping I met up with Claire and Alfredo at MangaManga for a drink and some apritivo.  Those things are amazing.  Love buying a drink, then getting all you can eat food.  Two of Alfredo’s friends were there for a bit, then it was just us three.  Claire has been abusing the Italian people to teach her Italian, so we both got some practice on how to roll our R’s.  After our pratically free meal we took off to find some gelato.  Ahhh, gelato.  How I’ll miss you.  And these cappuccinos...  We went to the best one in Viterbo, right by Porta de Verita.  This is Scott’s favorite one, and even the friends of Alfredo’s we ran into on the way agreed.  They have the most flavors, and they are all so good.  Last night’s flavors for me were creme brule, and honey.  

Oh how I'll miss this!

So, overall, easy day.  Not much to report.  Today is going to be hard, being my last day here in Viterbo.  I’m going to do my best to savor every moment of it, even dance in the rain again tonight.  I suppose that is one of the good things Mrs. McCarty-Puhl taught us that day on the precipice in Yosemite with the jelly bean.  Savor every moment, cause its going to come to an end.  And with that, I’m off to the university!

7/9 Bagnoregio

Two more days and my Italy adventure comes to an end. It really hit me as I was standing at the counter at the cafe eating my cornetto drinking my cappuccino.  It’s so much fun to watch the locals interact with each other.  You don’t get that chance at home because you understand the language and pay more attention to what is being said. With the language barrier the non-verbal cues, their tone, their body movements, the reactions of the other people...  So amazing.

Those of you that are following me like proper internet stalkers know I’m writing this a day late.  I’m trying to fit everything I can in these last days, which is unfortunately taking away my blogging time!  I’m going to do my best to write this as if it was still that day, and hopefully if I mess it up someone will fix it for me.  

The day started with a stop at one of the nice little cafe’s right by my house.  Lexy and I had stopped in here when we first arrived and they have a nice spot for sitting. I thought I’d go back one more time.  I remember the first cornetto I had there was amazing, the filling was so delicious.  Haven’t been able to find that same one again!  That’s ok, I’ll just savor that memory.  I ordered, then armed with my cappuccino, cornetto, and free wifi I spent about an hour relaxing in their sitting area.  They have TVs set up and were playing a mix of Italian news and Italian music which makes it very easy to pass the time.  Around 8am I left my comfy little spot and headed out to the bus station.  Half way there I met up with my travel buddies for the day, David and Nate.  I’m so appreciative that we all got to go together.  As David and I were discussing, it’s nice to share these things with someone else.  And he was about as excited as I was!  Perfect.

The bus left at 9am.  I’m quite impressed with how easy the transportation is in Italy.  I'm not used to public transportation so at first I was terrified at the prospect of traveling by train, now a month later I was fully prepared to do this bus trip by myself.  Amazing how much has changed for me!  The bus ride was about an hour long.  The countryside here is so beautiful I didn’t mind a bit.  We even got to drive through a piece of the forest which made me terribly homesick. I want to go camping now!  At one point we came around a corner and I just happened to catch a glimpse of Bagnoregio.  The sight is breathtaking.  The view is worth the crazy climb up to it.

We made it to the main city and started our journey to Bagnoregio.  David and Nate were great to travel with, we found a couple streets that looked interesting and the three of us would head off to investigate.  Loved how none of us felt rushed to get anywhere in a hurry.  We ignored the signs that pointed to the city because we spotted an interesting vista overlook.  Best view ever.  The signs take you on the road and you never get a really clear shot of the city with the bridge.  This little offshoot we found did just that.  I think we stood there for a good 15 minutes just staring.  Have I said this place is breathtaking yet?

Civita di Bagnoregio is built on an area that was created after thousands of years of volcanic eruptions of the Volsini volcanoes. This settled over the Pliocene clay hills by the Tiber river, and the city sits right on top of all that.  Over the years erosion has slowly chipped away at the city built on the already present cliffs.  Today the population of Bagnoregio is only 15 people.  The city was first created in the late Bronze Age, (12-10 century B.C.) by the Etruscans.  Between the erosion of the area and the earthquake that shook the area in the 17th century, the city has become an island.  The current bridge was made after the erosion finally made it to the clay under the rock, leaving no other clear path to the city.  Tourism has only recently picked up in the city, which I can’t imagine why it’s recent.  This is a truly breathtaking sight.

The three of us made it to the foot bridge where we stopped and stared for a while longer.  You know that problem of seeing something so beautiful, but when you are actually in it it’s not the same?  We were all savoring that moment.  Then we started the hike.  Yup, total hike.  I saw a dad with a stroller and couldn’t help but pity the poor guy.  That bridge is a lot more steep than it looks!  We eventually made it to the top, after several stops for picture taking.  The entire valley is so beautiful, the farms below as well as the other razor edges of the hills that haven’t been eroded away yet.  There were also fun cracks in the rocks surrounding the city, I wonder how much will be left in 20 more years.

Inside the city it felt very quiet, and very much like parts of the other cities we’ve been to.  For several of the homes there are these narrow steps leading to the door, with flowers everywhere.  I adore how the Italians make the most out of their living space.  They truly enjoy the outdoors in such a different sense than we do. Much more social. Many of the homes had been converted to restaurants, and several more to souvenir shops.  The city is really little more than a tourist destination.  We were able to look out one side of the city and get more great views of the valley below.  We couldn’t make it to the other side of the city where it looks back at the main city.

We spent about an hour and a half exploring in the city then sat down to enjoy some cherries.  Then we started the trek back.  It’s much easier to go down the steep bridge rather than up.  Its a good thing my month in Italy has been conditioning me to such treks.  At this point it was about noon so American lunch time.  We found a quaint little pizzeria and picked some up, then sat out on the patio to eat.  The main city is quite beautiful too, I just can’t get over how amazing these Italian cities are.  1:50 eventually rolled around, and we caught our bus back to Viterbo.

So I guess the good thing about writing my blog the next day is I get to explain my whole day, right?  I made it home from my trip, then got ready for an evening with Claire.  Since it was early we went to a little cafe and had some tea and abused their internet (hence those thousands of Italy pictures I put on FaceBook yesterday!)  We then went back to her adorable italian apartment for dinner and a movie.  Perfect girls night.  Pasta with veggies and an egg (random, but soooo good), and we watched...  This is soo cliche...  We watched “Under the Tuscan Sun.”  The whole time we were like, Yes!  That’s so Italy!  I had brought dessert, so we indulged in some chocolaty goodness.  It was the perfect conclusion to my day.  Walked home at 11pm and quickly fell asleep.  

Alright, I should probably post this then go do some work.  So many cores to finish in only two days!  Wish me luck!

7/8 Field day!!

My porch.  I'll miss you!

Today is the first day I’ve really felt emotional about leaving.  I’m so excited to see Drew, I’ve missed him more than I can say.  But on the other hand there are so many things about Viterbo I’m going to miss.  I’m really interested in seeing how I feel when I walk into my house.  See how I handle those first few days.  

Paula wanted to get some more water samples done.  She was equipped with a topographical map of the Rieti Basin with about 15 marks on it.  We had already collected samples from three sites a few weeks ago which left us a good dozen to do.  Our group consisted of Paula, Irene, Claire and myself.  Irene’s car only fits four and knowing how the day played out I’m glad only four of us went.  It would have been a bit interesting if there had been a fifth person!  We met at Porta de Verita at the bright and shiny hour of 6:00am.  I had my coffee pot at the apartment ready to go I just had to turn the burner on.  Love that little mocha.  

Lago di Piediluco

Irene drove us to our first stop, a beautiful lake named Piediluco. Since this was a lake we needed to sample, we went through the whole kit and caboodle.  Paula had liminilogical maps that showed the deepest part of the lake so that is where we set up her perfect little inflatable boat.  Claire and Paula went out to the lake to complete the readings, the secchi disk, the Oakton pen chemistry readings and a plankton tow.  Irene and I stayed on shore to get some diatom samples, always fun scraping gunk of the formicies and lake bottom!  We completed this area in about an hour, then we took off to meet our new partners in crime.

Left side

Right side

Ok, so we didn’t meet our new partners in crime right away.  You see there was a bar and four sleepy women.  What do you think we did!?  Claire learned the difference between ordering a double and ordering two drinks and the rest of us giggled while we drank our cappuccinos.  Then we met the Rangers from the reserve that were going to help us get our samples.  You may remember a few weeks ago I told you about Paola and Andrea, who are park rangers for the Rieti Basin.  No Paola this time, but Andrea was there!  And Carlos.  This duo wasn’t as entertaining as Paola was but they are both such great people.  Andrea would do anything to get us to a sample and Carlos took full control of the maps navigating Andrea.  We all piled into their truck.  Remember when I mentioned it was good only four of us went?  Yup.  The four of us piled in the back seat of their truck.  We are all very close now, as you can see from the two pictures!

The 11 remaining samples were all located in natural springs on privately owned farmland. Which is probably why we needed an escort since we were going onto private property. All  the springs feed our lakes, which means they eventually end at the Marmore Falls.  For each area Paula did a diatom collection using the net, Claire would use the Oakton pen to get the salinity, pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids, and temperature.  I got to be the recorder and photographer.  Right up my alley, right?  Most of this went off without a hitch, however let me tell you about my new little friend...

Claire collecting samples

We were deep in the vegetation at one location when I had a brilliant question.  I asked Paula if they had poison ivy there.  Of course they don’t.  I was just being silly.  Suddenly Irene tells me not to move.  (Naturally, when you are deep in vegetation and someone tells you not to move, what do you do?  I was thinking "large spider in my hair"!!  Yeah, try to hold still after that thought is burned into your head.)  She then uses the papers she was holding to bend a plant back.  I took the cue and sprang out of there like a frightened gazelle (shaking my head to get rid of those imaginary spiders- yes, spiders.  they always multiply in my imagination).  Then a minute later Carlos comes and tramples the plant Irene held back.  Ever heard of stinging nettles?  I don’t like them...  I can still feel those little buggers all over my arm and feet...

Not too much to say about the sampling.  If you've been reading my blogs in order this process was the same as when Paula and I went out alone earlier.  We got into a very nice routine with our jobs.  Luckily my other job was photographer, and “note” app on the iPhone came in handy.  The GPS coordinates of each photo are attached to the photo meta data, which helps to recreate the location data later.  We forgot the sharpie to write on the vials for the samples, so again I saved the day with my pocket knife by scratching the number into the vials.  All my kooky little quirks are starting to come in handy. 

We finished close to 3:00pm then we headed home.  I mentioned to Paula that I wanted to go to Bagnoregio and was intending on going either Tuesday or Wednesday.  Since Paula has successfully managed the bus system here, I was grateful for her insight.  As it turns out, when we got back Paula walked over to the bus station to show me how it worked.  In the end we decided that tomorrow works best, since Scott is going to an archive meeting tomorrow and Lexy is going with him.  Then I won’t be out of the lab working on the cores.  And, as it turns out, David and Nathan want to go to Bagnoregio too!  The three of us are heading out at 9:00am.  This trip completes my checklist of things I wanted to do in Italy.  I’m also glad I get some company, these two are pretty fun to be around.

My bracelet

After visiting the bust station with Paula I had a small shopping endeavor.  My birthday is in 20 days, and I wanted a gift to myself to remember Italy by.  I bought my charm bracelet.  Back in the days when I worked at Helzberg I always loved the two or three little old ladies that would come in for me to clean their charm bracelets.  Ok, really, I hated it, those things are a pain to clean.  But the stories they had about each charm.  For places they’ve been, their hopes, their dreams, their children, grand kids...  It was never a piece of jewelry, but a collection of memories.  I got my bracelet, a typical silver large ring one, and a charm to go on it.  A little mocha.  What else could be more italian!?  I’ve really taken to the coffee since I’ve been here, and this little charm made me feel all warm and happy when I saw it.  Perfect start and gift to myself.  (It’s taken me about a half hour to write that silly paragraph...  I keep looking at this awesome bracelet in between bites of pecorino and honey)

Tomorrow should be a blast, I’ll share all I can of Bagnoregio with you.  So excited!!!! 

7/7 The Great Wall of Viterbo

So I’ve mentioned this wall time and time again, even shown a few pictures of some of the gates.  Well, this morning I completed a simple task I’ve been wanting to do since I got here.  I walked around the entire outside of the wall, only deviating from my course by visiting each gate.  So 73 photos, 1 hour, 2 MacDonald's, 14 cat calls, and 3 moments of panic thinking I lost the wall, I completed my circuit.  

Porta di Valle

I live equidistant from several gates, so I just decided to pass by the Piazza del Popol to get to that gate.  It’s a nice walk, such a beautiful church that way.  This took me to Porta di Valle.  This is a small gate, not made for cars to pass through.  Around 1568 they closed this one because just a short distance to the north they opened a larger gate, Porta del Carmine.  This gate isn’t just the wall, there are a few buildings that use the wall as one of their walls, including a small little pizzeria I haven’t had the chance to try yet.

Porta di Pianoscarano O del Carmine

For some reason I decided to go counter clockwise.  Took me a long time to come up with this decision, but eventually my girl scout badge came in handy.  Pedestrians are supposed to walk against traffic, and I wanted to stay against the wall.  (Also I knew there was a big hill just to the south and I wanted to get that over with while I wasn’t tired!)  The pathway pulled away a slight bit from the wall over a nice little paver pathway, past some bum’s homes in some very old ruins, past a few apartment buildings, then back to the wall.  The next gate was Porta di Pianoscarano O del Carmine.  This one for some reason isn’t on the map I’m staring at...  It least straight into San Pellegrino, the medieval district.  Lexy and I had ventured in this way once, very pretty but dead part of town.

Porta Fiorita

Next was Porta Fiortia.  My first adventure to this one was two nights ago going to Alfredo’s friend’s concert.  Another pedestrian gate, this one has a small staircase you have to walk up single file to get into the city.  I’m sure a vespa or two have gone down it on a dare, but you aren’t getting anything else through there!  Simple gate, again leading to the San Pellegrino area.

Porta S. Pietro

Very close to Porta Fiortia is Porta San Pietro.  Makes sense, this one allowed cars into the city.  This gate has a small castle built on it to protect it.  In the 1500s Cardinal Francesco Piccolomini (who was Pope Pius III for 26 days in 1503) lived there, then it was taken over by Donna Olimpia Maidalchini, Pope Innocent X’s sister-in-law.

Porta Romana

Next is one of the two most popular, most used, largest gates on the wall.  Porta Romana.  I’ll give you one guess which direction this gate points to.  I’ve talked about this one a lot, it’s a typical meeting place for the USAC.  Out this gate you can find one of the campuses for the university.  This gate was severely bombed in 1944, however the apse of San Sisto was spared.  This is the only section in the wall where the designs found on the loggia of the Papal palace is shown.  Right inside this gate is the church of San Sisto, we’ve been lucky to see several wedding parties collect outside this church in our time here.

Porta della Verita

Next was the truth gate.  I’ve learned not to call it this, I get lots of weird looks.  But the real name translates to this!  Porta della Verita is right by my favorite gelato shop.  I think I’ll be heading over there later tonight even...  Anyways, this one is the most common meeting spot for us, I’ll actually be meeting Paula out this gate bright and early in the morning to leave for sampling.  This gate is adorn with a coat of arms, although I’m not sure who it was for...

I then found a pseudogate...  I think it was some kind of administration building.  There is one of these on the opposite side too, but I’m just not sure.  There are several places in the wall where building have been build right against the wall, then they wall off these buildings.  It gets a bit confusing when they all use the same pellegrino stone.  

Porta San Marco

Porta San Marco is a much smaller, not so used gate.  There is a small statue of (I’m assuming) San Marco right outside it.  This one also isn’t for cars to travel through, there is a ballard right in the middle of the area with no street leading to it.  On the inside of this gate were some beautiful paintings, a man coming out of the door, the shutters were painted on a window.  They seemed very recent, very bright.  

Before the next gate there is a section of wall still missing.  I’m not very good on my WWII history over here, I blame the bad internet here for my current lack of knowledge, but after Italy changes sides Germany bombed over 70% of Viterbo.  Viterbo is one of the only cities that has completely rebuilt, but you can still see the scars.  Most of the wall was put back up, however there are still sections of it missing.

Porta Murata

The gate after the breech is Porta Murata.  This is another quiet street, however it is used.  While I was snapping my pictures there was this cute little old man washing his car from his front door.  I wanted to take a picture of him, but his grimace told me that would be folly.  

Porta Fiorentina

And now we come to the most grand of all the gates.  I’m kinda shocked this one is nicer than Porta Romana, maybe it simply suffered less damage in WWII.  Porta Fiorentina.  Guess where this one points to!  We take this gate when we go to our section of the university, so you’ve heard of this one before.  This one is very large by the standards of the gates, there are two pedestrian arches, two single lanes, and one double lane arch.  Both sides of it are beautifully done, complete with a working clock on the top.  (Insert Back to the Future joke here)  This gate was opened in 1643 and was considered the most important because it was the gate most people came in from the outlying cities.  A smaller gate was originally build here, and in 1705 it was redesigned.  The coat of arms of two different popes is present, as well as a statue of St. Rosa, Viterbo’s patron saint.

My next jaunt was one of those times where I swore I lost the wall.  I ended up on what looked like a city street with apartment buildings between me and the wall.  I kept on though!  And I’m glad I did.

Porta Faul

I eventually came to Porta Faul.  This gate was opened in 1568 by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, a grandson to the current pope of that time.  The gate was originally names Porta Farnesiana, however since there was a depression named Faul right outside the gate this name was replaced and forgotten.  This is a single lane gate, no light, just hope that no other car is going the opposite way when you enter.  This is the gate Alfredo uses to take us back to Piazza della Morte.  I’m always glad he is driving and not me when we get here!

And at last, we are back to our starting point.  I’ve now written almost three paged on just an hour long walk.  I’d call that a good blog!  I definitely want to read more about the wall and it’s history, so in five days (GAH!  Only five!) when I get back to the states I plan on abusing my unlimited fast internet on that.  I can’t find any books here about it in Viterbo that are in English, and let’s just say my Italian doesn’t go much past ordering gelato and cheese at this point.