Umbrian Meal and First Day

Permit to stay was a success, and I went to St. Peter's with Matt beforehand. We ate lunch, made an Italian friend, then I got my government on, followed by a SIM card. Then, in preparation for the meal on Sunday, we had an almost Italian dinner- the girls all ate together while Adam, Matt, and I cooked some pasta and sauce and ate together. After sitting around for about 2 hours, we went downstairs and hung out with the ladies, just chatting and swapping stories and phone numbers, excited with our new phones.
Yesterday we left Piazzale del Eroi at 8 AM and drove 2 hours north east of Rome to Todi, a small medieval town in the hills of Umbria. A few breath-taking views, a delicious breakfast of cappucino and strutoli, a church visit, and some giggles later, we rode up a windy road to a villa for lunch. 9 course meal, wine, good company- you get the picture.
After lunch we drove back to Rome, a ride which was very peaceful and relaxing. Perhaps because we all still had some of the homemade wine in us, we all decided to go out to Scholar's Pub, an Irish establishment near Piazza Venezia, to watch football. I think everyone else from the program had the same idea because we saw a lot of Temple students there. Fun night.
Just to place the experience into some sort of perspective, here is this story from last night. On the cab ride home, Ashley, Haley, and I told our driver to stop as we passed St. Peter's so that the girls could get a picture of the square at night while the nativity and tree were still up. After two pictures, we were on our way again. It's amazing that this city is so rich in culture and visually stunning structures that remain so accessible to the public, especially us since we live so close to the center of the city.
Classes were good today, but very tiring, so I will have to update more tomorrow about today. Class at 9AM tomorrow, can't wait!