A Room With A View: Where are we? What are we doing?

So.... this weekend. Ellen and I along with two busloads of SAI kids (and when we say kids, we mean about seventy girls and 5 guys) all headed down to... at this point of the blog, I have to pause and search through my email to see where we went again (this was the theme of the whole weekend), Fonteblande? Eh, the name of the town is not so important, the hotel was Hotel Cala di Forno (or as I like to call/sing it, Hotel California), it smelled like old people and apple sauce and came equipped with a fold out toilet, an air conditioner that sounded like a spaceship, and sheets that were not up to Ellen's particular standards (granted I don't think the sheets at the Plaza would hold up to Ellen's standards).

Friday: Busride to see a fort? (Ellen comments, "Is that what it was?") And dinner at the hotel with some of the best gelato we've had in Italy- there was a nutella flavor... need I say more?

Saturday: Busride to see Etruscan tombs. Ellen's passion leans more towards the Romans, but seeing as how I am a total nerd and had spent the day before at the archeological museum in Florence unknowingly preparing for the trip, I enjoyed seeing the outside of the tombs ("Oh, please you wouldn't even go inside"- Ellen) Then a lovely five hours spent on the beach and then a five course meal in the mountains (which of course included another busride).

Sunday: Busride to an organic farm and vineyard where we got to learn a little bit about winemaking and a lot about Italian cattle wrangling (or as our California friends put it- animal cruelty, and as we put- just another day in the life of a Mississippian). Then a great meal with the best bread I've tasted in this country, and some excellent wine made from the vineyard and another busride (complete with our busdriver's playlist of seventies R&B and Italian pop) back to Florence and a delicious meal at ZaZa with our new girlfriends we made on the trip. And now it's back to business and back to school.