Religion Class Trip to Monte Cassino and Roccasecca Castle

---

So this Saturday, Laura and I had a field trip to an Abbey and Castle that dealt with Dominican Monks and St. Thomas of Aquenis. We left and the morning and headed south the Monte Cassino. Its located half way between Rome and Naples in the hills. The Abbey itself is located on top of a mountain on a cliff side. They abbey was neat and actually saw where the monks and civilians camped out during WWII from the Nazis. Most of the Abbey was actually destroyed because it was thought to have housed Nazi soldiers but has been rebuilt in recent years in an exact replication. Regardless it has a small museum, church, and courtyard that overlooks the hills which in my opinion was the best part of the Abbey.
Next we made our way over to Roccasecca where we climbed a hill/mountain, which have ancient castle ruins. After a long tedious walk up the mountain the group took a break inside the ruins while I climbed the surrounding cliffs and castle walls. It was nice to get outside and be active. After descending the hill, we made our slow approach back to Rome with a stop at a church with beautiful cloister.
Once we returned, Laura and I met up with Jordan and together made our way to the outskirts of the city to a Mexican restaurant Jordan looked up. After failing to get into the restaurant for lack of reservations we attempted to find one in an area next to the Circus Maximus. Without a name or directions, find our way to this restaurant was a needle in a haystack and a shot in the dark. Eventually we found the restaurant and after a small wait we still were unable to sit. They were really nice about it and even offered us to eat our entire meal at the bar. Hungry and craving Mexican food we had our whole dinner at a bar which is funny in retrospect but was uncomfortable at the moment. The great food, company, and atmostphere made up for the location and it ended up being a great dinner. After dinner we returned to our apartments after a busy day.

---

Photos

Church Nave
Abbey in Monte Cassino

St. Benedict
Abbey in Monte Cassino

View of Mountains
from Abbey in Monte Cassino

Tower
on top Mountain in Roccasecca

Karate Kid
in Roccasecca

Castle
in Roccasecca

Castle
in Roccasecca

Comments

[Laura Sahyoun]

Ciao!
Still chuckle everytime we see you perched on top, or hanging near the edge of something. These are the best field trips.