Jesus and Clooney, what a week!

The famous and controversial Shroud of Turin has been taken out and is currently on display at our Duomo in Torino. For those of you who don't know much about the history of the Shroud, it is a cloth that was believed to be the one that Jesus was wrapped in after his crucifixion. There is no documentation to prove this correct and the Vatican has not officially accepted or denied the Shroud. Scientists have been working to figure out exactly what it is and how the image was formed. After reading up and watching some shows, it seems like it may actually be a true miracle especially since science is not even close to proving exactly what it is.

So for my Italian Culture class we booked an appointment to see the Shroud. In true Italian fashion we inefficiently walked away from the Duomo in a few different ways before we reached another series of twists and turns and entered into to Duomo. When we arrived at the shroud there were guard in front of it, a huge case and a big silver frame all protecting it. It was an incredible site to see, one of which I highly recommend to anyone for the next time it's unveiled.

Later on in the week I spent more time discovering different parks around the city and on Thursday played a game of calcio in the park. Inter vs. Barcalona is the week and I am so excited to see that match!

On Friday we took a field trip to the castle Rivoli. It was a medieval castle and then a castle for the Savoy family. A lot of it was also destroyed in world war 2. The craziest part was there was all this old architecture and then they brought new elements into the building. Inside the castle there was a contemporary art museum. I loved the blending of all the different elements in one castle. We got to make a print of a cow too which was odd but pretty fun.

Lauren came in from Florence that night and we went to a great appertivo and then to Murphy's. We headed home early so that we could wake up early to go to Lake Como! We arrived at the center of the lake in Varenna. We took a ferry from there to Menaggio to meet Diego and then we took another ferry and spent to day in Bellagio. Bellagio was super cute and posh with a million jewelry shops that Laurena and I drooled over. It was nice to walk along the lake and see all the pretty flowers in bloom. Later we went back to Menaggio and got pizza. Sunday morning Diego took us on a drive through the coast of the lake and we saw so many beautiful and famous villas. My personal favorite was Villa L'Oleandra which is the fabulous home of George Clooney. We got out and took lots of pictures. I mean of course I had to, it IS my future home. We had a great day driving around and when it was time to say goodbye to Lauren at the train station it was sad.

I'm rapidly approaching my departure date. My time here has been so fabulous especially with the spring weather here now. I have school work to focus on now and soon it will time for dad to come. I hope all of the volcano nonsense ends so he can get here safe and sound and I can go to barca this weekend!