The photos above are from Lake Bolsena, The grape picking, painting class, Rome (colosseum), and Venice at night,.

So much has been going on since the last time I posted, so I'm going to try to keep it brief.

The Friday after I posted, the Three Cities students left, so now there are only seven of us. Maybe we should call ourselves the magnificent seven, since we are pretty awesome peopple. Haha, ok, maybe not, but seven's a good nmber, I guess. I do miss the larger group, though, the people were a lot of fun, and it just isn't the same without them.

Not this past weekend, but the weekend before we went and visited Rome. We did the student/tourist thing, got a hostel, and went to see the sights. The Vatican was by far my favorite part, because we took a tour and learned so much about the place. It's incredible how much famous artwork is in that one place! Our tour guide was very interesting, and it made me think, "hm, this could be a really incredible summer job." So who knows, maybe this summer I'll be somewhere giving tours and talking about artwork. Of course, the Sistine Chapel was so incredible to see, even though it was terribly crowded. We also saw the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Colloseum, Pantheon, and many other things. Saint Peter's was also really cool.

Then we had a week of school. Blah. Classes are cool, but I'm starting to get loaded down with homework, and it's not so fun. But my homework is to go and sketch and paint the city, so I guess I shouldn't complain (although I still will).

This past weekend we left Saturday morning for Cinque Terre, and hiked 3/4 of it Saturday, and finished the hike on Sunday. What a workout! I haven't been running as much as I should be, but I thought I was in decent shape until Saturday! That much hiking kicked my butt! But it was definitely worth it. The views of the cities and the sea were gorgeous. On Sunday as soon as we were done with our hike we took a swim in the sea at the last town. The water was surprisingly not too frigid, and it was quite an enjoyable time. I wish we could have spent more than two days there, but I'll take what I can get. Maybe someday I'll be able to return for a more extended period of time.

Overall, I'm still having a wonderful time. Every once in a while I miss things like peanut butter and my friends and family, but for the most part I'm in love with this place. I've decided that when I am rich from my super-high-paying teaching job, I will buy a summer home here and live here over the summer. I guess maybe that's a little delusional, but who knows, haha.