Lago di Garda

Last Tuesday, the 21st, most of the class went to Lago di Garda for the day. Lago di Garda is the cleanest lake in Europe and one of the largest and deepest in Italy. It has a very nice Mediterranean atmosphere to it and has long been an area of resorts. Even the Romans came here and made villas to enjoy the beautiful scenery and escape the pressures of city life. Our first stop of the day was in Desenzano di Garda on the south western side of the lake. The train took about an hour and 20 minutes to get there from Padova and cost 6.20 Euros. Right after exiting the train and heading for the town we were joined by a couple from the US who was also visiting Lago di Garda that day. They were actually from Minnesota! It was fun to talk about Minnesota a little bit before we parted ways. We saw them once more later in the day too.






We all walked down to the water first and took some pictures of the beautiful lake and town. Then we split up for a while to climb up to the castle on the hill and visit the Villa Romana on our own. The Villa Romana has some of the most extensive mosaics in Northern Italy. After visiting these sites and grabbing a bite to eat we took the ferry over to Sirmione.





Sirmione is a beautiful little town on a penninsula that juts out from the center of the southern side of the lake. The number one site in Sirmione is the castle. Once we got into town we looked for where we could get bus tickets for our ride later to Peschiera di Garda. We wanted to make sure we got them before the ticket stand was closed and we would have to pay more for them on the bus. While looking for the ticket office some of us enjoyed delicious gelatos. Next we visited the castle and took lots of pictures of the town and beautiful surroundings. It was interesting to read the descriptions about the castle too because I knew that I would be learning about these things in my classes to come.




From the castle we were able to see a path along the eastern side of the penninsula that lead to the tip along the beach. We decided to walk along this path next. Along the way we took some time to walk a little in the clear clean waters. Afterward, I felt my feet were so clean. A swan and some ducks joined us on the beach too.




We continued down the path and up a little hill with olive trees on it. Antigoni told us about how her Grandfather in Greece grows olives and takes them to a place to make them into olive oil so they never have to pay for their olive oil. At the end of the peninsula there is a beautiful lookout where we took pictures of the setting sun. There are also the Grottos. We had to make our bus to Peschiera so we didn't have time to visit them but we did have a few minutes to talk with one of the guys at the gate. He was a very entertaining guy who took a liking to Naida. Unfortunately we forgot to get a picture with him.



On the way back to the bus we took a few more pictures of Sirmione in the setting sun.




In Peschiera we walked through the town to where some Roman ruins were but not much else was open anymore because it was getting late. Some of us found a restaurant to sit down and eat a nice dinner at before leaving on the 10pm train. Since the area was known for its olive groves I had a pizza with olives on it. The olives were good but the pitts are a little annoying. All in all, a very nice day at Lake Garda!

Class

Yesterday was the first day of the official courses of the SAHC Program. I really liked the first lecture on the History of Construction and Conservationa and on the basics in Architectural Heritage and Conservation of Structures. In the afternoon we got our first assignment. It is a group assignment to write a report about the comparisons between historical constructions in a few different countries. I am working with Naida and Chris. We will be comparing a UNESCO stone arch bridge in Mostar, Bosnia with the oldest stone arch bridge in Minnesota (the one I have been doing volunteer work with in Stillwater) and with a timber bridge in Victoria, Australia. This is going to be fun!

Today's class is really interesting too. We are learning about ancient building materials like brick, stone, and Adobe, about building methods, walls, cementitous materials, foundations, columns, and various other building examples. This is exactly what I want to be studying! I am so excited!

Money Coming

Yesterday I got an email saying that they have transferred the first scholarship payment to our accounts. I checked my account but there wasn't anything in it. We were told before that it takes 3 days for the transfer. This morning I heard from Elisa Trovo that it will probably take a week for the money to get to our accounts. I hope they transfer the second payment soon too otherwise that one will be weeks late too!

INTERNET (repost)

So, the last post didn't work so well. Here it is again.

I have internet in my dorm right now. I don't know if it will last. Naida tried it on Friday and had it for a while and then it cut her off and she couldn't get back on until Monday. We got the passwords for the internet here but I think they are still putting in lines and working on the whole system so that may be the reasons for the outages. Some of the people in the flats don't have the internet ports in the walls yet and there isn't any wifi here. We were so happy that we had some internet last night that we were jumping up and down and yelling down the hall to each other. It will be so nice to be able to use Skype in the dorm room whenever I like and do personal computer stuff there.

INTERNET!!!

I have internet in my dorm right now. I don't know if it will last.
Naida tried it on Friday and had it for a while and then it cut her off and
she couldn't get back on until Monday. We got the passwords for the internet here but I think they are still putting in lines and working on the whole system so that may be the reasons for the outages. Some of the people in the flats don't have the internet ports in the walls yet and there isn't any wifi here. We were so happy that we had some internet last night that we
jumping up and down and yelling down the hall to each other. It will be so nice
to be able to use Skype in the dorm room whenever I like and do personal computer
stuff there.

Off to Austria!

Tomorrow morning I will be off to Vienna, Austria to visit my friend Martin. Thus, probably no more posts until I get back on Monday morning. Ciao!

Peanut Butter!

I found Peanut Butter and Jello!

This morning on my way to the Immigration Office for my appointment for a residence permit, I went by an international foods grocery store. I didn't have time to look in the store at that time but on my way back to the dorm after the appointment I stopped in the shop to have a look. They have all sorts of stuff. Mostly Asian food but also some American food including Jello and Peanut Butter! I have never found Peanut Butter in Europe before. People had told me that you could get it but I hadn't seen it. It is a little expensive but not too bad. They also have lots of spices and ingredients that are in English. Once I get my Scholarship payment I plan on coming back to this store to get some things necessary for cooking some American food! Mmmmm....