The School

School for SYA - Italy is located 1 floor below me, the corner of Via Cavour and Via Annio.  I love my commute!!  Below are pictures of the school, my classroom in particular, and picture of the faculty/administration out to lunch at the local pizzeria around the corner from the school,  called Taverna Etrusca.

And while school has not yet begun, there have been several meetings with Pat, the SYA director in Italy, and the rest of the administration and faculty, to get ready for the kids, who arrive on Saturday.  I'm very much looking forward to that!  The other "thing" we're gearing up for is La Festa di Santa Rosa, a holiday in honor of Viterbo's patron saint, which occurs Tuesday, September 3.

Still my biggest hurdle right now is getting on Italy time.  This is, by far, the longest it has ever taken me to get on local time when flying overseas.  I don't know exactly what the problem is but I've decided to remove all espresso drinking from my "morning" (more like afternoon) routine until I can wake up at a reasonable hour!  This too shall pass.

One of the common areas
where students can study
and/or just hang out.

The computer room.  SYA used to
have more, but nowadays most
students bring their own laptops.

My classroom

Faculty workroom.  My
desk is the first one on the left.

An outdoor terrace for
students to hang out
in between classes

Standing (Left to Right):
Danielle (Italian Teacher),
Dave (ActivitiesCoordinator),
Sitting: Brad (English Teacher)

A common area outside for
students and faculty.  The terrace
backs up to La Taverna Etrusca,
a pizzeria ristorante.  The aroma
at lunchtime is unbelievable!

Faculty and Administrators at
La Taverna Etrusca, signifying
the end of our admin meetings
before students arrive.

My mug shot for the
faculty page on the SYA
website.

The Wall

For all my Atlantan friends, you know exactly what ITP and OTP mean!  Well, I propose that while in Viterbo, I will refer to myself as an ITW ("Inside The Wall") inhabitant as opposed to an OTW-er (lol)!

Porta Fiorentina

Porta Romana

As I mentioned in a previous post, the old part of Viterbo, know as Centro Storico (or "Old Town") is surrounded by a medieval wall built between the 11th and 13th centuries.  A couple of days ago, I ventured outside the wall to check it out and it didn't disappoint.  I am just amazed that something built 700-900 years ago is still very much alive and kicking!

One of the many banners
hanging from the wall in
preparation for the Festa
di Santa Rosa, Viterbo's
patron saint.

Either the wall was damaged at
some point in its history or the
"newer" part of the wall is to the
left, if you want to call
700 years "new".

Above and below are just a few of the portas (or "doorways") I took a shot of while on my hike.   It took me about an hour or so to take a leisurely walk around the wall leaving and entering at the Porta Romana, which is the closest porta to my apartment.  I have since run around the wall, which takes about 20 minutes.   According to my Centro Storico map, there are 12 of these portas.  I love how different they all are.  Some are very grandiose like the Porta Fiorentina and some can only be traversed by foot, like the Porta Fiorita.

Porta Valle

Porta Fiorita

Porta Faul

Porta San Bonaventura

Porta San Pietro

A typical view of the wall,
battlements and all!

While not considered one of the 
Portas, you can certainly enter 
and exit through this majestic
pedestrian walkway

The Apartment

I made my first espresso today.
Of course I doctored it with milk
and sugar, as I'm not quite ready
to go to "the other side"
just yet (lol)!

I think I'll let the picture captions do most of the talking.  Let's just say that I won't feel cramped while in Viterbo!  The place has it's quirks but, hey, the building is over 500 years old!  There's no air conditioning but because the place is so solidly built, I don't find that it gets too hot in the place.

The apartment comes equipped with most of the regular amenities one might have in their own place back in The States including, TV, microwave oven, fans, pots/pans, kitchen utensils, bedding, towels, iron & ironing board, internet, telephone, etc.  You get the idea. It's very spacious and it will be easy to call this place home for the next year.

The front door opens up into a salon, which leads to my
bedroom (in the picture at left) and the living room
(not in the picture at right)

Living Room with working stone fireplace (see far right)

The Original spiral staircase
(built in the 1500s) 
leads up to the
guest bedroom and
bathroom.

The downstairs bathroom

Guest Bathroom

My very spacious bedroom!

The guest bedroom.  Yes, there is
a double AND a twin bed in there!

The Kitchen

A view of Via Cavour from my kitchen window.
The steps lead to Via Saffi, which leads to the
Corso Italia, one of the main thoroughfares 
inside the wall of Viterbo.

A view through the sky window in
the guest bedroom.

Day 1 Walkabout

I made it!  Let the next adventure begin!

The "paint wasn't yet dry" on my summer up in Wolfeboro, NH when I boarded my flight from Atlanta to Chicago-O'Hare to Rome.  The flight over went without incident except for lack of sleep.  Nothing a 2-hour nap couldn't fix....just enough to get me through the rest of the day (it's now 9:15 here...I think I'm going to make it!).

The apartment is so nice.  I have several rooms on the top floor of the building on the corner of Via Cavour and Via Annio (see pic at right).  The school is on the second floor.  The arched doors in the far right are the doors from the street I use to access my apartment and the school.  Not a bad setup!   Roberta and Dave, both SYA employees were there to greet me at the front door as my cab drove up.  After getting the keys

View of Via Cavour from my kitchen

to the apt, a quick tour of the school, and the oh-so-important nap, I ventured out to get a lay of the land.  Boy I wish I knew some Italian, but that will hopefully follow soon.

Inside the Cattedrale di
San Lorenzo (1192)

The old part of Viterbo is surrounded by a medieval wall from the 12th century, which is where the school and my apartment are located.  It's a wonderful and quaint town as a result...lots of character and history, which I hope learn more of while I'm here.  It was a nice sunny day and people were out and about.  I couldn't understand anything anybody was saying but they were friendly.  I even went to the fruit/vegetable market across the street from the apartment and purchased a few things for my first dinner in the Big "V"; penne mixed with zucchini, tomatoes, and crumbled prosciutto topped with fresh pesto (made today) and Parmesan cheese. Here are a few other pics of my walkabout today.  More to come!

Fontana di Palazzo dei Priori (1626)

Palazzo Papale (1255), a historical
and architectural jewel of Viterbo
off the Piazza San Carluccio