The past three days I spent on a school orientation trip outside of Viterbo. The fact that anywhere I go in this country is absolutely beautiful like no other is still so surreal and overwhelming to me. I don’t think we came upon any ugly place, not even while driving through the more industrial cities! Everything is just incredible no matter where you are.

All 68 students plus faculty loaded up onto our huge double decker bus Thursday morning and took off to our first stop, south of Viterbo, a city called Sermonetta.

It is a medieval city just like Viterbo but much smaller. The name Sermonetta contains “monetta” which can be translated to coin, and it is said that money was coined there. Also during the Dark Ages it was a used as a fortress for the Pope.

Our next stop was at the Gardens of Ninfa. The Gardens are located on the ruins of the old city of Ninfa. But the city was brought to an end, by whats called the Papal civil war of the 14th century. Ninfa was brought to its original glory in the 20th century by the Italian Republic named as a Natural Monument in 2002.

The vegetation in the Gardens is unbelievable! The key to its success and beauty is its geographical location. The location is considered like a natural greenhouse and allows the plants to grow three times larger than their expected size and age.

Our base camp where we stayed at night was on the coast of Terrancina. Everyone split into groups of five people and were assigned little bungalows. The place where we were staying was literally twenty feet away from the ocean.

I always thought that the Californian coast was the best, but the mediterranean quickly fulfilled its place (California a close second of course). The water was so warm, incredibly clear and clean.

The second day we visited a stalagmite cave located near Terrancina. I try not to think about that day hence I have extreme claustrophobia and needed to run out of the cave half way through due to a panic attack… But! here is a pretty picture of the outside for you!

Our last day while on the way back to Viterbo we stopped at the Abbazia di Fossanova which means the Fossanova Abbey. It is a Cistercian monastery South-East of Rome. It dates from the end of the 12th to the end of the 13th century. The church is one of the finest Cistercian and Early Gothic architectures in Italy. In 1274 the Dominican scholar Thomas Aquinas died in the abbey.

Not only was our visit to the Abbey absolutely breathtaking it was delicious! In the Abbey there is a bakery and gelateria where the monastery sells delicious handmade cookies, bread and gelato to fund the maintenance of the buildings. Which of course made it all the better.

Next Saturday I take my first visit to Rome, keep posted to read all about it! OVS I miss you and send you so much love!
Ciao ciao!