Villa Adriana (Emporer Hadrian's summer residence) was rough to finally get to (carsickness, traffic, exhaustion, touristy trinket distractions) but totally worth it. Once inside we could picture Emperor Hadrian and his friends in their togas, wandering around and enjoying the caldarium, tepidarium and frigidarium. He even set up his own private island with a drawbridge and a moat which is rather dirty now (pictured). I think Elizabeth was taking a picture of pond scum (or it might have been the drawbridge)

We then had a lovely dinner

near Piazza Navona followed by a Tartufo (as our guide described it, "a chocoholic's dream). Many souvenirs were purchased for many relatives and friends. We can't believe that tomorrow is already our last day! It has gone by so fast! I don't think we'll fully process all we've seen until we're home. Although I can guarantee you that each student now knows without a doubt the difference between Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns!

Tomorrow we will finally throw our coins in the Trevi fountain and complete all of our shopping. Buona notte!

We have done so much in the past two days! Where to begin?

Yesterday we began our language classes. Everyone was quickly put into a level based on a brief interview, but everyone seems to be in the right place, enjoying their classes and learning new things despite some frustration that the teacher speaks no English and gets mad when they do!

Afterward, we saw the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Campidoglio and various other sights around Rome. Has a lovely pasta dinner followed by a gelato and a passeggiata.

Today we were back at the language school in the morning for more lessons, then off to the Vatican and St. Peter's in the afternoon. There was so much to take in, and so much information from our wonderful guide, Simone, that the Sistine Chapel was a bit anticlimactic. Once we got there it was kind of like, "is this it?" It is a testament to how wonderful our kids are that they were told that there is no talking or picture taking in the chapel, so they walked in fully prepared to respect the rules and were suprised to find hundreds of people there, talking and taking flash photography. One student said, "Miss, is this the Sistine Chapel? Why are all these people talking and taking pictures!"

We were serenaded at dinner in Trastevere where everyone had their choice of authentic wood-fired pizza. Only Dinicio had lasagne, which he said was "delizioso!"

I'll stop now and try to upload some pictures.

We have arrived safely at our hotel in Rome, had a lovely dinner of risotto alla milanese, fish, salad, green beans and gelato.

Everyone is exhausted and sleep deprived, but happy to be here. We also had no problem getting money from an ATM machine and getting phone cards. So some of you will hear from us tonight.

More later... including pictures!

Just to rub it in a little more...

Check out how great the weather is going to be in Rome this week!

http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/ITXX0067

Our last Italian club meeting before the trip! We have created this blog so that parents and friends can follow along on our trip and be jealous of us.

Feel free to comment on our posts and view our pictures!

We leave in less than a week! yay!