I'm still curled up in bed this morning, sipping a cappuccino while Margaret and Kellie are still asleep. It's 11 a.m. I can't believe I slept so late but this is the first morning we've been able to sleep in and obviously we all needed the rest!
So we made it through the first week! For some reason it feels like we've been here for months, in a good way though. I know how to get around Ariccia and the surrounding towns, how to get to and from Rome on the train or bus, how to successfully order meals in Italian, how to find the supermarket, etc.
The highlight of my week was on Wednesday when we took the bus to the little towns around Ariccia. If I try to tell you about where we ate lunch, I won't do any justice, but I'll attempt. The pictures ARE NOT worth a thousand words, they too don't capture an ounce of the beauty of what I saw.
So we drove up to Montecavo, which used to be a monastery but then became a naval base. We hiked the Via Sacra, which is the Sacred Roman Road-
As I was walking over the worn massive black, seemingly polished stones, I just couldn't imagine how old that road was. And to think of the famous Roman soldiers actually walked those same steps.
We went to several other towns, as well as Castel Gondolfo,

the pope's summer residence, which was beautiful. But nothing compares to the lunch experience Marizio had set for us...
We were all starving by the time we were on our way to eat. We had no idea where we were going. We drove down these winding roads along the coast of Lake Nemi ..
until the bus pulled over on the side of the road. Cinzia said we had to walk from there.. I was wondering what kind of restaurant had successful business by requiring their customers to walk to the restaurant! (and back after a huge meal).
We walked down this little country road with green ivy and queen anne's lace growing wild along the side. There were overgrown vineyards and abandoned little huts on both sides. We took a left, and the side of the road to the right was a huge hill. We kept walking. Eventually we saw a little road veering off to the right and on top of this hill we saw a lady waving her arms for us to come up. So we walked up the hill and she was standing at the other end of a huge table that sat about 25 people.
Above was a simple cabana old and torn, so only some of the table was shaded. Behind the table was a hut- nothing special- maybe the size of a small closet- where 2 little kittens played in the doorway. The table was set for us. I was wondering where the food was!
Her name was Maria, and this beautiful vineyard belonged to her and her husband Carlos. We sat and they served us homemade wine.
Then, Maria presented a huge pan of lasagna- she made it- the sauce alone took five hours! It was the best thing I ever put in my mouth.
Marizio, Marco and Mary Lou, Francesco, and two of their friends joined us as well.
There was no stove or refrigerator- everything was that fresh - and the lasagna had been cooked over the fire behind the hut. We walked back to see - we weren't finished with our meal! There was a huge barrel of fire with skewers of sausage and pork roasting. Also, Maria had just picked tomatoes from the vineyard and was making bruschetta.
There we were, sitting on a hill in the middle of a vineyard overlooking Lake Nemi, with the Alban hills in the backdrop, perfect weather, good wine, in ITALY. I was in disbelief. It was an out of body experience. I love how Italians enjoy a meal for like 3 hours.
We all were falling asleep after lunch because it was so fine, but afterwards we drove to the little town of Nemi, where they are known for their tiny strawberries called fragolini. I tasted some, they were very tart, but good!
Banner day...

Yesterday we went to Rome for the day, but it was so cold and pouring rain. The flower market in Campo di Fiore was just as I remembered from when mom and I were here. The rows and rows of spices were so pretty and smelled so good.
The prettiest thing happened amidst the flood :)
We went to the Pantheon, where the only source of light is a massive hole in the very top. It was so beautiful to see the rain pouring in.. There is a tiny drain below the massive hole..
We were so tired yesterday when we got back, plus it was raining, so we just ate dinner at the hotel and went to bed.
No plans for the day yet! I'm still the only one awake!