Scuola Italia 2013

Last summer, I visited a small town in Italy called Sant'Angelo in Vado as a part of the Scuola Italia summer program, and had such a great experience I came back this year! So, I'm going to try and chronicle my experiences this year, as it will provide a way for me to not forget this trip, and also maybe help some students considering auditioning for the program make their decision.

My friend Aaron and I left from Orlando on the fourth around 2:42 P.M., and after a brief layover at JFK, landed in Rome at roughly 11:00 A.M. the next day. After waiting until 5:30 for the bus, we embarked on the almost five-hour drive to Sant'Angelo. The first day is the only day of the program that I would say is horrible. Just because of the time change and all of the waiting. Plus, the last hour or so of the drive is on an extremely curvy road in almost complete darkness. Once you're past the first day of travel, however, you're golden! 

When we were accepted back into the  program, we specifically requested to stay with the homeowners with who we had stayed last year, and were able to do so. The living accommodations are really beautiful. In our apartment, we have our own living area, kitchen, bathroom, and there are two rooms. 

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Yesterday, we had orientation at 3:00, and afterward we were guided through a tour of the town with a reception at a local bar called Carpe Diem immediately after. After the reception Aaron, Ellen, Ruth, Jessica, Scott, and I all headed towards La Vecchia Fattoria, which is the best (and the cheapest) restaurant in town. One girl in the program asked me how cheap "ridiculously cheap" is, so once she arrived at Vecchia, I went over and showed her the menu saying, "'Ridiculously cheap' means that you can get 1/4 liter of wine for €2." I ended up having 1/4 liter of white wine, pizza quattro formaggi (the pizzas aren't a slice, by the way. They're a whole pizza.), and their specialty for dessert--Mascarpone con fragoli. It's so delicious! It's essentially strawberries in cream, and is like heaven on earth. Total for my dinner, I believe I spent €11. 

After that, Aaron, Scott, and I went back to the house and talked for a while to get to know one another. 

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Today, we left in the morning for the medieval town of Urbino, one of the most important historical and cultural cities in the region. We also went to Urbino last year, and I really enjoyed it. It is a beautiful city, the only complaint I have is how steep the roads are! Even that really isn't a complaint, because how can you really complain while in Italy?

Tomorrow we rehearse with our pianists for our mock-auditions with June Card, and in the afternoon we are finally doing our sing-through!

Me in Urbino. Such a beautiful city!!!!

This little guy belonged to a student at the university in Urbino. He kept running up behind Ben for the shade.