La Terme dei Papi - Viterbo

This week was a good week here. On Thursday tickets went on sale for the AS Roma game that all of us wanted to see, but getting them quickly became a nightmare. The computer system that handles all of the tickets (all 65,000) crashed, meaning that tickets were not available until 4:00 p.m., instead of 9:00 a.m. Big deal when tickets don't go on sale until 3 days before the game. We decided that there would be other games, and didn't even wait. There was one group of people who got tickets, and they ended up waiting over 7 hours. The big event this week though was "La Terme dei Papi" in Viterbo (The baths of the Popes), about 50 miles north of Roma. The baths are natural sulfur hot springs (sulfur water) that flow into a pool. There are a few places like this throughout Italy, where springs have been found and pools have been built around them. The water comes out of the source at about 120 degrees fahrenheit or more in some instances. The water is somewhat cloudy from the sulfur, yet the smell is faint. Near the source, the pool is shallow enough to sit in, as as it gets further away from the source, it gets deeper and colder (yet still warmer than bathwater, don't let the term "cold" fool you). The baths became popular when Popes began using them to relax, and have became popular ever since. The baths are actually covered by insurance here in Italy if your doctor prescribes them, and they are often prescribed for anything from relaxation, to skin conditions, to physical therapy. The sulfur makes your skin as smooth as it has ever been, and you feel amazing once you leave. we stayed in the pool for about 4 hours, alternating between the hot and cold areas, and taking a break for lunch. The pool costs only 12 euro, which is amazing. There are much less "commercialized" pools in other areas, but they also don't offer as many amenities as this one did. The school set up the trip for us, and had a private coach bus take us there through the rolling countryside of Italy. The entire day was amazing, and all 30 or so of us that went were more relaxed than we had been in a long time. This weekend I've spent relaxing and exploring some more, and I'll make sure I update again soon. As of today I have been here a month, and the time has flown by. Midterms are next week already since it will be the middle of classes (although not the middle of our time here, since there are a lot of breaks later). I hope all is well back home, and please keep in touch. Also, the pictures I added are from the Viterbo website, since I did not have my camera. Enjoy!

~Mike