Day 78: Sweet Summertime

Tuesday -- August 3, 2010:

The Lake yesterday, the beach today -- my dreams of an ideal summer are coming true! Yes, today we had our last field trip -- the "Wild Card" field trip. The program decided to take us 2 hours away, on the coast of the Latium region of Italy, to a beach town called Sperlonga.  Even our teachers Francesco, Susanna and Jessica joined us for this day in paradise!

Our trip started at 8:30 when we departed for the beach by bus. With our 3 extra companions on the trip with us, it was a full bus load for Enrico -- but we managed. Everyone on the bus covered up with their towels (Enrico was trying to freeze us out) and fell asleep for the long bus ride! It wasn't until we heard Francesco say, "Wake up girls! Look out, this is Sperlonga!" So I look out the bus window and am greeted by the breathtaking view of the Mediterranean Sea's coast. It was absolutely gorgeous -- I couldn't get to my beach chair fast enough!  We unloaded, hiked down this trail and made ourselves at home on this little sandy beach. You had to pay €7,00 for a chair, but I considered it an investment since we were going to be there all day. By the way, Italian beach chairs are awesome! They have these little shades you can pull over your face so you can read comfortably -- this trend has got to come to the U.S. beaches!

I laid my towel down, pulled out my book and stayed that way almost the entire day -- I was deadset on finishing Breaking Dawn, and I did!  The ending was almost better the second time. So I read my book, got in the water (still cold, but refreashing!) and listened to my new playlists on my iPod. It was a well spent afternoon in the sun.

At one point, Becca, Katie, Lindsey, Brittany and Caitlyn broke for lunch. I was surprised that this bar on the beach had the most tasty mozzarella! I got a caprese panini and it was delicious. We finished lunch and went back to our sandy spots. It was so nice lying there -- a breeze was in the air and the waves began to pickup as the day progressed, making for the perfect background noise to my peaceful afternoon. Does it get much better than this? (I found myself asking that alot this summer).

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="640" caption="**See the bottom for details on pictures from today..."][/caption]







We stayed on the beach until 3:30, and then we headed back up the stony trail to the bus. Enrico picked us up and took us to our next spot -- the town of Sperlonga!  When we got off the bus and onto the alleyways of Sperlonga -- I was having flashbacks to Greece. This little town completely reminded me of Santorini -- it was precious!  So we wandered around for a bit, Francesco led the tour. Of course with Mr. Art History blazing the trail, we managed to see some old frescoes and paintings. Once we had seen practically everything in Sperlonga (it's not very big) we got some gelato. Perfect way to end a day on the beach!

Our bus ride back took us about 2 hours, so we were back at the Chigi by 7:00. I made the executive decision to get Pizza Maxi for dinner... My reasoning being: it may be the last time I'm able to get it, it is incredibly cheap and they just don't make it like that in the States. So, I had to get it. Right?  It was such a good choice -- I'm going to miss that delicacy when I go back. Sorry Dominos, don't mean to hurt your feelings.

After everyone had showered off their coats of sunscreen, gotten dinner and regrouped, we were ready for it -- the finale!  We got the common room set up (pack the bean bags in tightly, scoot the couch up and set up the computer with the surround sound speakers) and everyone was ready. Drumroll.......

I won't get into it too much, but I will say this : 1) good job Ali for letting Chris go at the right time --honorable move 2) her and Roberto are dang cute 3) Chris L., I'm available.

Sooo needless to say, today was a REALLY good day in the life :)  I'm going to sleep with a big smile on my face -- I have so much to be thankful for.  Ciao everyone!

** Only downside today? I was playing with my camera on the bus ride back, and somehow I managed to delete all my pictures from the past two days.... depressing! So no actual picture from Sperlonga, but I will be sure to get some from someone who wasn't dumb enough to erase their memory card and put them up asap!