Monday, September 19, 2005

Montecassino and back to Rome

We left Naples in the morning and headed to the Abbey of Montecassino. This abbey was destroyed in WWII, but rebuilt. It was founded by St. Benedict in 528 and is the mother church of the Benedictine Order.

On our way back to Rome, we made our last stop at an Autogrill.

We checked into our hotel, the Jolly Midas, upon our arrival into Rome. The rooms are badly in need of renovation. After resting a bit, we went on our final optional excursion, the Farewell Dinner.

The trip on the bus was fairly amusing. At the beginning of the tour, Igor told us that we should rotate seats each day so that no one gets stuck in a bad seat. But instead of a deterministic rotation, it was all quite random. One lady always seemed to be in the first couple of rows and was very annoying. As a result, on this final bus trip, some people got on the bus a little early and claimed the front rows (I got a seat on the very front row) so she had to go to the back of the bus. When Igor got on the bus, he seemed a little confused before realizing what we did.

Before going to the restaurant, we headed to the Trevi Fountain. According to legend, if you throw one coin into the Trevi Fountain on your last day in Rome, you will ensure a return to Rome. If you throw two, you'll fall in love. And if you throw three, according to Igor, you'll have a successful divorce.

Dinner consisted of an antipasto of cheese and tomatoes, a big ravioli, fettucini with white sauce, chicken with tomato sauce, and a raspberry gelato.

Some people had a bit too much to drink during dinner. On the way back, one lady borrowed the microphone and started emulating Igor.

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