Our first day, Monday we started at Paulo Savi school, where all the students were divided into 6 groups across national lines. We discussed the pros and cons of 6 different energy sources: nuclear, geo-thermal, solar, bio-mass, coal and oil. The discussion was organised as a tv-interview.
In the evening all the students went bowling together.
Tuesday morning at 8 am. we took the bus to a cooperative olive oil producer. We learned how olive oil is produced, why it is best when compressed cold and were treated to a traditional Italian snack -a bruchetta with their own olive oil. The last stop was an energy plant with a mix of fuel sources and one of the first solar panel parks in Italy. Originally they had planned on nuclear energy, but a referendum in 1986 put a stop to that. The nuclear disaster at Tjernobyl had scared off the voters. besøg, kørte vi hen og så en lille solcellepark samt et atomkraftværk.
Lastly we visited Vulci, an excavation from Etruscan times. Here the houses were just as closely packed as in a modern town.
Wednesday , again at 8 am we went to Lago de Vico, a vulcanic lake and a new wildlife reservation, Vico Natural Park. We got a lecture on initiatives to make this area an ecological one. The local farmers, who raise chestnuts and haslenuts, also need to make a living in the connecting area. We saw a buzzard that had been shot by a hunter and then saved set free.
Next visit was to Farnese Palace at Caprarola. Fabulous paintings on the ceilings - you get a sore neck looking up. Lastly a visit to the FolkHeritage Museum at Canepina. Back in Viterbo at 19:00
Salsa Bar (disco) by night even though the day was a long one.
Thursday is a national holiday here - the day of The Ascension of the Virgin Mary . We took the train to Rome at 8:50. The first visit was St. Peter's Plaza and Cathdral. Words cannot tell enough. On this day at noon the Pope gave his blessing to everyone on the plaza. It was packed and the atmosphere was happy and intense.
However, this meant that the whole city was packed! It was almost impossible to see the Spanish Stairs for people waiting for the Pope on his tour through the city. Still, we walked and walked and walked: Castello di Angelo, the Bridge of Angels, Corso, Patnheon, Piazza Narvorona, the Collosseum, Trevi Fountain ,the Forum .... Back again at 21.00.
Friday was a school day starting at 8. am. The students made a competition about the best group video / set of pictures from our week here. These will be sent home later. The day ended early. Lucky for us, our hosts will take us to the "Thermi" - the hot springs which once were a Roman bath.
