St. Peter's by night and a delicious experience!

Ciao a tutti!

Program leader Andrew coming at you again with the next installment of our Rome session II blog! Our navigators are continuing their first week in Rome with some new and exciting experiences! On Monday night, after dinner, we took a walk to the Vatican and St. Peter's square. The students were absolutely enchanted to see the Basilica and the piazza by night. Take a look at the photo that my co-leader Frieda took of myself and some of our participants. I think you'll agree that it is magical!

The next morning we were up and out the door at 9:15 after a typical Italian breakfast of cornetti, cappuccini, macchiati and of course, Nutella! The students had their first lesson in the Italian language, and after only two hours, were already performing skits in which they asked each other, "What is your name" (Come ti chiami?), Where are you from? (Di dove sei?) and "What is your phone number? (Qual è il tuo numero di telefono?) Our on-site instructor, Valentina, really knows how to get the kids motivated and have fun while learning.

Next on the agenda was a delicious lunch at our regular spot: Cantieri. The pizzas and pasta dishes there are always a big hit!

After lunch and some free time, we took a walk up via Cicerone, an important street in Rome, to the subway station known as Lepanto. Many of our students took the very first subway ride of their lives!

We met up with Giulietta, another member of the on-site staff, who guided us to Gelateria Fassi, one of Italy's oldest and most well-known gelaterie. A visit to to Gelateria Fassi to enjoy a gelato would be more than enough to make for a pleasant experience, but our students did much more than that. Guided by Andrea Fassi, the owner of this historic business (his family opened it some 138 years ago!) we visited the laboratory in the back to see, and participate in, the gelato making process. 

After our return trip on the subway, we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Domus Carmelitana, our temporary Roman home, before retiring to a richly deserved night of rest. 

Coming up this week will be visits to some of Rome's most important sites. Frieda and I will continue to blog regularly and you might even see a student blog takeover very soon. 

Un caro saluto a tutti,

Andrew