Day 1

I don't really traveling a lot. I love being there, just not the journey to get there. My long journey to Italy began at 10:00 am on Monday, March 19th. Of course I had to run around doing some last minute packing and making phone calls to make sure everything was covered while I am away. I made it to the airport with plenty of time and checked in with no problems. They did offer me an upgrade on my flight for only $800! What a deal, but no I didn't take it, but I would regret that later. I of course had to go through the fun TSA line where I got an unwanted lesson from a security guard about Italian cuisine, but finally I joined up with Jennifer and we made our first flight to Washington D.C. Of course we had the customary tin can with wings for our short flight and then a quick run through Dullas International Airport to find the right gate. We finally met up with most of our group at the gate. Only about 14 of us took the group flight option so we only had quick introductions to a handful of the total group. We got onto our large plane quickly enough and the fun really began. Of course I got stuck next to some random old man that liked to grunt and moan randomly for no apparent reason. Then there was the woman in front of me with a children's word search puzzle book that she appeared to be struggling with. We had an awful in flight meal and plenty of turbulence. At least we had individual tv's with a selection of movies. We had a pick from The Blind Side, the Blues Brothers, New Moon, a few tv shows and the Invention of Lying, which I watched, it was good. The total flight time was 8 1/2 hours, overnight. We started out in Washington at 6 pm, and flew away from the sun, so within a matter of hours it was already dark out. We were expected to arrive in Italy at 8:30 am Tuesday morning, so this was very weird on us all. Of course the other weird part is that at 8:30 am here it is 3:30 am in Indy, which is when I usually go to bed. Now I come to the part where I regret not getting the upgrade, because I discovered I cant sleep in airplane seats. We all tried to sleep that night, very few of us even managed to get an hour of sleep. I made it though, you don't really notice the lack of sleep when you arrive in Rome, you are too excited. It doesn't really hit you right away though because you are just in an airport. However Chef Polegri met us and treated us all to a cappuccino and a pastry which was a surreal moment to be sitting in a coffee house eating an awesome fresh made pastry and realize you are in Italy. We all got onto a large rented bus and toasted our arrival by passing around a bottle of tequila (which didn't help the lack of sleep). The trip North was long. Highways in Italy are mostly 2 lanes in each direction, so traffic is fun. Although we did spot a few ferraris so that was interesting. Traveling through the Italy countryside is like traveling through another time. Everywhere you look there are ancient looking homes on hilltops, vineyards, and farms. Its not uncommon to go around a bend in the road and see what could pass for a medieval castle on top of the hills. I tried to take lots of pictures along the way and I will post what I can. We arrived in Orvieto in about 2 1/2 hours. Orvieto is beautiful. It is a historically protected city. You have to adhere to strict guidelines if you want to do any repairs or remodeling. Most of the buildings are 12th or 13th century originally. The streets are narrow, paved with stones and wind through the city like a labyrinth. There are tons of shops throughout the city, all beautiful and well presented. The attention to detail and presentation of the stores is amazing. The first afternoon we quickly got settled into our rooms and then went to lunch at Chef Polegri's restaurant, Zeppelin. It is a beautiful restaurant. He served us fresh baked bread with the best tasting olive oil we have ever had, it was made by his father on his farm. The first course was a plate of solume and cheeses. The mortadella and salami were excellent with a black peppercorn fontina and fresh parmigiano. Then we were given some fresh pasta with a simple tomato sauce and parmesan. After lunch we had time to go back and settle in a bit, and then a bunch of us went out to local bar for some drinks. We went back to the restaurant at 7 for dinner, long before any of us had become hungry after lunch. Dinner started with a mushroom lasagna, with whole wheat pasta and a cream sauce. The main course was a pork chop with cabbage and fresh greens. For dessert was tiramisu. After dinner we had a long talk about our plans for the first week and then we all went home. Some of the guys went out again for drinks, but I had been up for 32 hours, with a 7 am class Tuesday so I decided to get a good nights sleep.