Veni, vidi, bloggi?  That's right, I just ruined Caesar for you.

Ever since my first trip to Italy in the 10th grade, I have been in love with Italy.  I have been to Italy 3 times since then, and this summer I will be back for more!  I have received a grant from the National Endowment for Humanities (NEH) to spend 4 weeks in Pompeii and Rome with a group of 24 other teachers, and our goal is to create interesting lesson plans that will bring Rome back to our students.  Hopefully this blog will be my way of sharing this experience with you (family and friends)!  Enjoy!

Just a little history for you: five years ago I spent about 5 weeks of my summer in Rome.  I had received the Richter Scholarship from Wake Forest University to research women in Roman religion, though I spent more time sight-seeing than real research.  My future husband, Locke, came over on his first trip to Europe for a week, and then my sister, Kate, accompanied me for about 3 weeks.   Here are a few pictures from that trip:

Me and Kate with the owner of the best pizzeria in Rome- Pizzeria da Baffeto

Inside the Papal Palace in the Vatican

Me and Locke in front of the 4 Rivers Fountain (by Bernini) in Piazza Navona
(which, interestingly enough, used to be the location of an ancient Roman racetrack, thus the oval shape)

Let the journey begin!