Travels

These last few weeks have been very busy.  Projects, trips, spring break, training, doing anything in Italy.

The second of 3 projects wrapped up (2 weeks ago now) which laid the ground for the final project.  The winning group had a great idea for an open project which allowed for the greatest range of ideas for the class.  The new project is to design a music school within an abandoned Italgas manufacturing area.  The site is going to be great for many different ideas.  The project is due in a few weeks so not much time!

This time our field trip went to Vicenza, Verona and Venice.  We caught a flight on Ryanair SUPER early in the morning and were in Venice by some stupid early hour.  Then we took a bus to Vicenza to see Piladio's villa.  It was amazing to see but only a few of the rooms were open to the public. I hate it when you can only see small parts of these awesome structures.

The next day we were in Verona.  This was my favorite place.  We got in pretty late so the first night I could not see how beautiful the town was.  The next morning I got up early and went for a run.
The streets were clean!
The sidewalks were big!
No graffiti!
A car waved for me to go through the intersection!
I was in awe.  The rest of the day was much the same way.  It might have been because we were in the "touristy" part of the city but wow it was amazing.  I would definitely go back.

Next up was Venice.  Being there made me want to watch The Italian Job.  Not only because Charlize Theron is really hot :)  The scale of the streets reminded me of Capri a little.  Very narrow and not very navigable.  Seeing St. Marks and many of the other historic landmarks was really cool.  It was also one of the most touristy places I have been to here.  Although, Rome is becoming more touristy by the day as it gets warmer.  It was easy to tell that it was a very rich area by walking the streets and looking into the shops.  I saw a 25,000 euro Rolex in the window of one shop.  That definitely was not the most expensive one if it was one of their window items.  Being there was a good experience but personally I would not really want to go back.  Just not my cup of tea.

Spring Break
Leading up to spring break I had thought about traveling outside of Italy but also did not want to take a week off from training.  I asked Giacomo if he had any suggestions and offered to host me for the week.  Having the opportunity to stay with him and his family was one of the best experiences I have ever had.  They are one of the nicest families I have ever met.
This week was filled with AMAZING home cooked meals (thank you SO MUCH Imma, Mariolina, Claudia and Angela), great company and beautiful training.  From Castellamarre you can ride to Vico Equense, Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, etc..  Some of the most beautiful riding you can imagine.  I also swam with Giacomo in Castellamarre and also with the CCN triathlon guys in Naples.  All of them are awesome guys.  I may not know what they are talking about 99% of the time but it works out.
And the other food.  Just a few things to mention:  Cafe2000 has the best coffee drink ever,  Sundays can be dangerous with all the pastry and I forget the name of the place in Vico Equense but wow, it blew my mind.
Edit**Giacomo quickly reminded me that it is called Gabriele**Yum
I can't thank Giacomo and his family enough for their hospitality and willingness to put up with an American kid for a week!

Training is good.  About done with base so its time for the real work to start.  The pool situation is a lot better now at the new pool.  Most days I have my own lane and it is glorious.

Thats it for now.  If I'm not lazy later I will add some pics as I am being lazy right now.