Today’s post is written by Jakob Longbottom, a senior majoring in applied physics and math, and minoring in wine studies
With the jet lag finally getting towards the end of its course, it was set to be a perfect Monday. To start the day off we took a short stroll down the road to theUniversity of Napoli Federico II, here we were able to listen to a couple of lectures given by professors as well as members of the Department of Agriculture. Weheard about research into different tressling systems and how they affected vines at a cellular level, how they were looking back in time to how vines were adapting in the past, how they were using 3D imaging of seeds to predict their effectiveness, as well as information about Mount Vesuvius, the great volcano that destroyed Pompeii.
The university is the oldest public university in the world and is housed in an old palace, so it had amazing architecture with wonderful views. The grounds housed at least 12 cats (we had a short walk, so I am sure there are many more) that roamed freely around. We then proceeded across the street to the Botanical Garden of the Faculty of Agriculture of Naples. This was home to plants from allover the world and allowed for a beautiful walk. Inside the greenhouse, there were more cacti than I think knew existed.
For lunch we had some delicious food at a pizzeria that was life changing. I think everyone was able to leave both happy and full. Our perfect first Monday of the trip was finished off with a beautiful sunset that we all enjoyed.
