From Rome to Naples on Sunday--by John

Story by John 

Today we entered the second half of our trip by making the journey from Rome to Naples on a bus ride full of many adventurous stops. We started with an early morning and set off to Hadrian's Villa, which was around an hour drive from the Casa La Salle. Although it was beginning to rain at this point the villa was still beautiful. This villa was not just a typical Roman vacation house, but the permanent residence of the emperor Hadrian. When he moved out of the city, the villa was turned into a hub for the empire's political operations outside the walls of Rome. This site, one of the largest we have visited, housed beautiful gardens, artificial lakes still stocked with fish and turtles, expansive libraries, luxurious guest houses (with beautiful mosaic floors), and a theater. Most of these buildings designed by Hadrian, an aspiring architect, himself. 

Photos of Hadrian's Villa:

After Hadrian's Villa we continued on our way to Naples and stopped at a truck stop for lunch. It was not a normal American truck stop, but a large grocery store connected to a really tasty restaurant. When the group saw Angus burgers on the menu it was an obvious decision after a week living off of pizza and pasta. The grocery store even had foot long chocolate bars for 4 euros (I am learning chocolate is a staple in this country). 

The most delicious truck stop ever.

After lunch we stopped at Sperlonga where we visited Tiberius' grotto. The rain's intensity increased from a mist into a downpour as we made an exciting run across the beach from the bus to the grotto. Tiberius' villa surrounding the grotto did not seem well persevered but the cavern itself was really cool to explore. Originally we planned to swim in the Mediterranean from the beach near the grotto, but not in this weather. The Mediterranean looked more like the Pacific we see from Seattle with intimidating big waves. Although the weather was anything but beach weather, Sperlonga still looked picturesque with white apartments and open restaurants lining the coast.

From there we made the last leg of our bus ride to our newest home, Villa Virgiliana. After a day full of rain the sun broke through the clouds the moment we arrived at the villa. It was a very pretty site best not described but seen in the picture below. 

Photo by John

The rest of the day was spent exploring this incredible villa with its comfy library, fortress like roof, and surprisingly fun makeshift ping pong table. 

To end this great day was a great homemade meal from the villa: lasagna, veal, salad, grilled eggplants, and Easter pastiera (a traditional Italian cake made with ricotta cheese and fruit).

Now settling into the Villa Virgiliana I am excited and motivated to take on the second half of this already incredible trip.