a funny thing happened on the way from the forum...

Buona note di Roma!

We had a very full day here in Rome! The sun was shining and there wasn’t even a cloud in the sky! We started our day at the Musei Vaticani with our Tour Guide Theresa. Inside the museum we saw many of the monuments, tapestries and gifts that the popes gathered in their collections over the centuries. It is quite an impressive collection of sculptures, paintings and frescoes! The highlights of course were visits to the Sistine Chapel to see the incredible work of Michelangelo and to see St. Peter’s Basilica before walking out into St. Peter’s Square to see where the pope gives his weekly message to the people.

We then traveled by Metro to Colosseo and grabbed a quick bite to eat before meeting our guide to tour the Colisseum and the Roman Forum.  The students were impressed to learn about the Gladiators and the importance of the coliseum as a stadium during Roman times. They got the chance to climb up to the seating area to get an idea of what it would have been like to be a spectator and also to walk at ground level to see the underground area where the gladiators would train and would be kept along with the animals before their competitions. Our tour guide Marlene was definitely enthusiastic and had a lot of fun teaching our students, who in turn were motivated to ask her questions about Gladiator life! It is truly a wonderful monument here in Rome.

Next we walked over to Palatine Hill and learned more about the Roman Empire and the importance of the Forum. The students saw many ruins of houses, fountains, shops and gardens too. The students commented how much they were entertained by our guide and appreciated imagining life in those times under the rule of Titus.

We returned to Due Colonne for our Farewell Dinner tonight and had pasta pomodoro and pesto risotto. Our night would not have been complete without a last stop for Gelato on our walk back to the hotel-- so many choices! The students are really going to miss that!

We are just about to head to the airport to fly from Rome to Paris and Paris home. We have had an amazing adventure both in France and in Italy. The students have been so much fun to travel with and have not only learned a lot about the history and culture of the places we have been but have tasted some great food too!  More importantly they have learned a lot about themselves—they have laughed a lot, sang a lot, and played a lot too!  They are definitely coming back home with lots of great stories of our adventures together and have hundreds of photos to share too!

Thanks for following along with this blog!

See you in Toronto at the airport! 

All roads lead to...

Buon giorno di Roma!

This morning we got up, packed up and said good-bye to Sorrento-reluctantly though. We traveled north to Rome and arrived around lunch time. This afternoon and early evening was a time to explore many of the major sites in the centre of Rome. We walked to the Vittorio Emmanuelle monument, the President’s Home, the Piazza Navona among other places. Tonight after dinner we went to the Trevii Fountain and of course the Spanish steps. We were sure to toss in our coins over our left shoulders for good luck into the foundation!

Tonight we ate at Due Colonne where we tasted 5 different kinds of pizza! Yum yum! The students did a great job finding their way through the streets of Rome! Tomorrow we head off to the Vatican City and to relive the history of the Colisseum and the Forum! Again, a lovely sunny day in Roma!

The students are having a blast, have been singing show tunes all over Rome and continue to be a lot of fun to travel with.

Take care! 

Pictures to come...

 

Good night!

Torna a surriento....

Buona note da Sorrento!

We had an amazing day today on the Isle of Capri. We met our tour guide Anna and took a hydrofoil boat to get to island. Once we arrived we took a bus to Capri Town up the narrow roads. Anna took us along the streets filled with expensive shops and we looked out onto the blue ocean and the grotto! We took some beautiful photos of the views. It is truly beautiful on the island. J  Late morning we got back on the bus and drive up even narrower roads to (Annnnnaaaaaa)capri-the summit of the island. The students got to taste lemon and orange chocolate and had some delicious lunch too! I am sure some of you will be receiving some yummy treats when we get back.  After lunch we headed down toward the marina piccola and did some shopping. The bravest of us even jumped into the ocean to swim! The students said that they want to retire to Capri… they enjoyed it so much that perhaps they will take you back there some day.

When we got back to Sorrento the students had lots of free time to roam about in groups and to buy some souvenirs-many of them bought new leather purses and nice pairs of shoes.  After a delicious dinner back at our hotel the students continued their exploring and shopping and then met up with all of us for a gelato treat!

A beautiful day in Sorrento-around 25C!

Wish you were here.

Buon Giorno da Sorrento!

Hello everyone! Today it was beautiful on the Amalfi! We started our day in the daily Sorrento traffic jam en route to Pompeii! Our guide Raffaele was great at telling us the history of the town and touring us to the amphitheater, along the main streets, to the forum and into some of the different houses. The students were impressed at how much of the houses still have paintings that are original from after the eruption in 79BC.

For lunch we all had stone-oven pizza with basil and proscuitto. The local favourite here is the Margharita! It was so delicious. The students even took a try at bargaining with the merchants for some local souvenirs.

This afternoon we headed up to Mt. Vesuvius. We drove up ¾ of the way and then walked the last part all the way up to the peak at approximately 1280m. What an incredible view of Naples down below and to see the large crater at the summit. The students were really impressed with the experience and were real troopers on the climb and the descent!

Tonight we had dinner at the hotel with options of risotto, ravioli, pasta with octopus, swordfish, osso bucco and omelets. Everyone enjoyed a great meal!

Now off to head to get some gelato!

Goodnight from Sorrento!

Good Day!

We got up this morning at 5a.m. to head to Charles de Gaulle airport to fly to Rome. The students were sleepy after having gotten only about 3 hours of sleep due to our late arrival back at the hotel. We landed in Rome without any problems and got on a bus to head south to Naples and to Sorrento.

We arrived in Sorrento after about 4 ½ hours of driving and the students were stunned at how beautiful it is on the Amalfi Coast! We did a little orientation tour downtown and saw all the touristy-shops! The girls especially loved this and were happy that we would return later to buy souvenirs. We are staying in a beautiful hotel in Sorrento that looks out onto the sea. We had a great meal on our first night with many options for the students to choose from including: a fish option, meat option and vegetarian options and meals with three courses and delicious desserts! After dinner we went for our nightly gelato and bought some local souvenirs! The students have said repeatedly how much they love it here!

That’s all for tonight… off to bed! Tomorrow to Pompeii and to climb Mt. Vesuvius! 

Pictures to come soon....

Final Bonjour

Today the sun finally shone in Paris! 

 We got up in the morning to a rainstorm, had a lovely French breakfast complete with crepes, eggs, cold meats, cheeses and fruit! Delicious! We took the RER out to Versailles with Karine. When we arrived it seemed like the whole world had come to see the King’s Appartements. The lines were long but fortunately we got in quickly because we are a group. We followed up into the King’s Appartements and learned about the ceiling frescoes and living like Kings and Queens-their duties and King Louis XIV’s rule as head of state in France-“l’etat, c’est moi!” We also enjoyed learning about the Hall of Mirrors which is where the Treaty of Versailles was signed and the peace treaty for the Franco-Prussian war was settled—lots of things that the students will learn in history class!

            The students enjoyed learning about the tapestries and life during the time of the Sun God; however, at points it was very crowded with lots of tourists in very narrow rooms. The palace is quite a masterpiece with all its gold leaf, artwork and just the grandeur of the palace.

            After a quick bite to eat we headed back on the RER to Paris. With the weather having improved we climbed up the stairs to the second level of the Eiffel Tower. The students were impressed at the structure and enjoyed facing the windy climb! They took lots of pictures looking down over the city. This was indeed a trip highlight!

            We headed back to the hotel to have dinner and then returned back downtown to get on the bateau-mouche cruise down the Seine River. The student photographers shot hundreds of night photos of the Eiffel Tower and all the monuments on the route! It was a perfect end to our three day stay in Paris!

Tomorrow off to Italy to find sunshine and more adventures! 

Bonjour day 2!

Bonjour de Paris! It was a great day all around today filled with lots of exploring and walking and of course a bit of art, culture, lots of history and a bit of shopping to keep the students happy!

We had an amazing French buffet breakfast at the hotel with crepes, scrambled eggs, baguettes, pains au chocolat, fruit and cheeses and even packed a baguette sandwich to take with us so we didn't have to buy our lunches today!

We took a ride on the Metro to La Marais where we started our city tour with Karine our excellent city guide. This area along the Seine River was marshland that was later dried up by the monks in the 17th century. It houses some of the oldest houses in Paris. We went to Hotel Sully, by the ecole militaire and then over to Ile de la Cite. We toured in and outside of Notre Dame de Paris of the famed book by Victor Hugo. We had lunch in the park and then headed over to the Louvre for a tour of the Greek and Italian sculptures, Italian painters and of course to see Mona Lisa Smile with thousands of others! We were continually surprised at how small the portrait is and yet how famous it is in the gallery and for tourists.

Back on the metro we headed to Galleries Lafayette so that the students could have some shopping time... seems like all of the tourists in Paris had the same idea. I walked about checking out the fashions, but came away empty handed. We had dinner at an italian restaurant tonight and played a bunch of games at the dinner table too. The students have been awesome... no complaints-they are attentive, pleasant, courteous and great travellers. This makes it easy to travel with them :)

Tomorrow we are off to Versailles to see how the Kings and Queens lived. Hoping for even a glimpse of sunshine on this rainy day...

Hope you are doing well!