Oh the places you'll go...

The end of this week ended with a handful of cultural visits to round out the technical visits that we had at the beginning of the week.  This Thursday, we began the day with a visit to the San Benedetto Market.  This market is the largest open market in all of Europe, and yes, it was very large.  The market consisted of two floors of the freshest meats, fruits, cheese, and fish that I have ever seen in one place.  To top it off, when I was purchasing some fruit from one of the vendors, he smiled at me and ended up giving it to me for free.  The act was actually pretty flattering and the rest of my day was made.  To finish off the day, I got some laundry done and grabbed some dinner at the local cafe.

Friday began as a normal school day but the afternoon session ended with a guest speaker.  She came and talked to us about her company and the logistics of waste management collection.  It was pretty interesting to be able to ask a professional about various logistical issues associated with the problem.  She was extremely knowledgeable and was able to answer all of our questions.  To top Friday off, I tried my first Kinder Egg.  As a candy critic, I would have to give it a 3/5.

On Saturday, the real adventure of the weekend began.  We all boarded the bus and headed to the Geomining Park of Sardinia.  When we first arrived, we were stunned by the spectacular view of the "Pan Di Zucchero", a stunning geological formation off of the coast.  After a handful of pictures, we headed into the old tunnels that connected the mining area to the area where the boats docked (Porto Flavia) to collect the various ores. I'm a secret geology nerd so this portion of the trip was extra awesome.  After the tour of the old mining tunnels, we had a spectacular lunch on the water.  The usual order of various seafood and pasta was served which I was happy about.  After lunch, we headed to some old ruins, which I believe was the Temple of Antas in Fluminimaggiore (So much happened this weekend so it is difficult to remember the many names we learned).  It is spectacular to think that the ruins pre-date Christ and are still standing.  After the trip to the ruins, are already full day concluded with arriving at the agriturismo "Sa Perda Marcada where we were greeted warmly.  We had a divine dinner and concluded the night by looking up at the stars.  Without the light pollution, the view was spectacular.

Sunday started off with another exceptional meal...eggs.  Thanks to Annalisa's special request we had an American staple thrown into our breakfast and I think that everyone who tried them truly appreciated it.  After breakfast we relaxed a bit and then got to preparing our own food for lunch.  We rolled our own gnocchetti and prepared our own unique desert.  After eating our own meal for lunch, we headed off to Piscinas Beach where the water meats the desert.  The ocean borders the famous sand dunes with the mountains looming in the background.  The water was awesome to swim in and the current was unreal and actually pretty fun to play in.  After the beach we headed home and called it a weekend.  This weekend was truly a sensory overload in the best of ways.

 San Benedetto Market

 Pan Di Zucchero

 The old ruins

 Whata cutie 

  The homemade gnocchetti 

 Piscinas Beach