Flora Frascati

... where Leonardo played practical jokes, where Mussolini entertained Hitler.

Rome has always been serious about its image. The City was built to have substance. Romans invented concrete and they have continued to build with the most enduring materials available. You won’t find any particle board in Santa Maria Maggiore. Street curbs and gutters are marble, fences are cast iron, many streets are granite, garbage bins ...

So here is a wrap up on this fabulous sumer study abroad/vacation in Italy, as we return back to our Texas lives and in my favorite fun style - yes it's in rhyme!

Italy is definitely a country for all to see
Beautiful views and places full of history
An adventure abroad for students to study
Unique experiences I'd expect there to be
A fantastic, memorable vacation it was for me ...

... even though no ushers asked us to do so. In another area of the basillica, the stone walls had holes in them that Buck explained were where marble tiles had been held in place back in the day. It was already awesome in stome but I bet it was spectacular covered in marble ( it made me think of the co-cathedral in Houston.) Also of note, it was 50 cent euros to use the toilet.

Our next walk led us to the Colosseum first - very ...

... and are staying at the Villa Campitelli. It is very nice. It is another little undiscovered gem. The rooms are modern and everything works. The food is good. The grounds are gorgeous. The staff is friendly and helpful. On Wednesday, we took the students into Rome to orient and to do some sightseeing. We wore them out with a walking tour that included the Basilica of Santa Maria Degli Angeli, the ...

... 90s under the rule of Italian president Berlusconi, the owner of public tv channels RAI. He wouldn't allow for a sketch comedy series to be aired, which was similar to Saturday Night Live, and an uproar resulted about the censorship of tv, freedom of media, and control and power one man has. It is great if you're interested in government politics and democracy. I Piccoli Maestri is a film that takes place after WWII and before the fall of Italian fascism. A group of ...

... a place called Tuscolo. The Roman elite used the entire Alban Hills area as a resort area to keep cool in the summer. We helped ourselves to lots of free literature relating to the archeology at Tuscolo. It is all in Italian, so it will take some time to decipher when we get home. This visit should be a must for anyone near Frascati. The ruins are not overly impressive, with just a cute amphitheater and some rock piles. The real ...

... from the water and see all the stunning villas built into the cliff faces. Gem had been to Portofino before but last time it was raining so it was fantastic to see it in such perfect weather. The marina here had two massive super yachts in port and everyone was drooling over them... they were stunning!! Some famous Italian was in Portofino as he was smoozing with everyone and was surrounded by gorgeous beefy body guards (we think he must have been a politician the way he was smoozing ...

... like so many others--don't use the herb). Monday starts with a breakfast nibble in the dining room, where again the staff treats us like royalty, and special thanks are due to the fabulous Giovanna for making us feel so welcome each time we dined. In the afternoon I enjoyed a much-anticipated meeting arranged by my friend Matteo Guarnaccia, the Milanese author and bon vivant, with Marcello Baraghini, legendary Italian publisher of the radical Stampa Alternativa press ...

... It was delicious! Eating panini and walking amongst the ancient ruins was quite an Italian experience. But alas, physical exhaustion finally caught up to us. We decided to go back to our hotel, take a little nap and come out again for a nice dinner & wine at a restaurant. We got back on the bus (praying that we were headed in the right way) and made it to our hotel. We quickly jumped into our bed and closed our eyes. We woke up around 9pm. However, it felt like it was ...

... crystal, not blown glass. One wine glass costs $800. There's also a lovely, very detailed and accurate depiction of a hunting hound etched on a vase: it costs over $1000. We speak with a man who is a purchaser for very up-scale shops such as Gumps and Neiman-Marcus, and Horchow. That must be a great job, visiting shops full of beautiful merchandise throughout the world, and being able to buy the best pieces (but not, unfortunately, to keep). The rest of the ...