Hello everyone,

After three months of studying abroad in Italy without my computer or any means of creating music electronically, I'm back in the states and ready to pump out some more music. Before I jump back into things, I just wanted to reflect upon my stay in Italy. I stayed in Ascoli Piceno, which is about a three hour bus ride from Rome, situated near the Adriatic coast on the eastern side of central Italy. Ascoli Piceno is a relatively small and densely populated typical Italian town with cobblestone streets and alleys, located inbetween the Sibilline Mountains and the Adriatic coast. The area (known as the Marche region) is absolutely beautiful. Olive trees dot the hills, while mountains surround the valley in which Ascoli Piceno lies. I had the pleasure of hiking some of the surrounding mountains and looking down upon the small town, as well as the snow-capped Sibilline Mountains in the west, the Adriatic Sea to the east, and plains/foothills to the south. Words cannot describe how beautiful this region of Italy really is. During my three months in Italy, I traveled to Rome, Florence, Venice, San Benedetto, and managed to take a week-long trip out to Athens and Santorini in Greece. My fondest memories of Italy were not of the major tourist attractions, but instead what I enjoyed most in Italy was hiking Mt. Girella, which is one of the taller mountains in the region, and traveling to places by the Mediterranean Sea (including San Benedetto and Santorini).