Final reflections

Ciao a tutti!
Well, we've made it home and hopefully are all now enjoying some autumnal sunshine. Here's a snapshot of what people thought about our three weeks in Italy:
Jade's favourite places were Venice for the gondola ride and Perugia for the visit to the Baci factory. Her favourite food was the pistachio crostata from the lunch restaurant in Rome while she will no doubt remember her very 'angry' penne all'arrabbiata in Florence for a long time, along with the two baskets of bread that she needed to eat to counteract the chilli. Still, as she also observed, bottles of water are very cheap in Italy, so that's a good thing.
On the subject of food, Montana is in no hurry to eat a caprese salad again after 'enjoying' it as her vegetarian option for most of the included dinners. Luckily, there was an array of different gelati available and Montana was happy to sample many of them. Her favourite places were Castelfiorentino because it was such a relaxing break, and Venice because of the lack of cars, meaning that she felt much safer. She was also surprised by how many people smoke in Italy, as well as the number of tourists which made for many interesting languages to be heard on the streets. Montana also won the prize for the lightest suitcase for our return journey.
Natasha, the chatterbox, enjoyed Castelfiorentino the most as it was a chance to laze in the sun, listen to music, and read. While no Pandora shop could be passed without a visit, she didn't like the gypsies in Florence or the low-flying pigeons which she was convinced were trying to dive-bomb her. She also tried to claim that the many steps, cobblestones and gutters continued to leap up and trip her over - not the other way around.
Ricardo just loved everywhere we went, although Sorrento was like home. He really liked Venice and Castelfiorentino for the views, but like Natasha, he didn't enjoy the gypsies. He also really liked the Baci factory visit, Maranello, and the Villa Borghese in Rome. Ricardo's favourite food was 'nonna's' cooking in Rome, as well as all of the gelati and pizza that he was happy to check out.
Elyssa, aka the 'stealth shopper', soaked up everything. Her favourite places included the Villa Borghese and the Bay of Naples, as well as all of the history in Rome. She also won't forget the crazy driving anytime soon. It was also no coincidence that she had the biggest suitcase (almost as big as she is) since she was known to go into shops saying she 'just wanted to have a look', emerging quite a while later with sacks full of clothes and no idea how much anything actually cost. Surprisingly, she did not win the honour of the heaviest suitcase.
Ben couldn't believe how good the food was everywhere we went (with the exception of Sorrento's second night), and made it a mission to try as much gelato as possible. He enjoyed all of the lessons in Rome, as well as the gondola ride in Venice and meeting up with his family in Sorrento. Now safely home, I'm sure his sister Jasmyn is very impressed with her thoughtful gift of a selection of complimentary soaps and shower caps collected from hotels along the way. No small dog was safe from Ben's attention, and while dachshunds were a firm favourite, he really needs to keep away from corgis.
Carmelina also did her bit for the Italian economy by buying up for her extended family.  Luckily, her suitcase just kept expanding, although she also did not win the heaviest luggage competition. Her favourite places were the Colosseum in Rome and the Forum, packed with so much history, and Venice for the gondola ride (once she had recovered from having to get her luggage to the hotel and up to the fourth floor). She was surprised by the mix of people in Italy and how they live so compactly in the big cities. Along with Elyssa, Michelle and I, Carmelina also got to experience Venetian canal water closer than expected when we got swamped by the wash of a passing traghetto. Still, that's all part of the adventure.
Maria, like Ricardo, just loved everything and now has a bank of memories to draw upon when Year 12 gets too stressful. She loved the cooking class at the Baci factory and everything about Venice. Unable to narrow it down, Maria simply loved the art, culture, history, and architecture of Italy.
Giselle was surprised by the number of tourists and how many people spoke English. Like Maria, she had trouble narrowing down her favourite places, finally settling on the scenery in Perugia and the visit to the chocolate factory, the gondola ride  and the history of Saint Mark's Basilica in Venice, the lessons in Rome, and Sorrento. Giselle also enjoyed checking out the locals, beginning with 'Daniele' in Rome, and trying out her busking skills. However, she needs to include more than the repetition of 'Ave Maria' and 'Forse si, forse no' if she is raise enough money to return soon. Despite all of this, it could be said that 'to a certain extent', she was 'definitely good value' on the trip.
Tahlia and Giselle's adopted baby Lizette are continuing their journey with their parents but I'm sure they are enjoying doing less walking.
It was also Jim's first trip to Italy. While he didn't really enjoy Rome, he did like the markets and seeing the more down-to-earth parts of the city in the area near the hotel. He enjoyed the history and architecture that abounds everywhere you look, but particularly liked Sorrento, the city walls of Perugia, and the Jewish Quarter in Rome. Hopefully after this taste of the country, he will return with his family.
Having been to Italy a couple of times before, Michelle enjoyed seeing new things, like the Accademia in Florence and the Doges' Palace in Venice. She also got to catch up with a cousin in Rome, as well as confusing the Italians about her Italian heritage despite the blond hair and blue eyes. One of her favourite places was relaxing on the sun loungers in Castelfiorentino.  Michelle also proudly takes out the heaviest suitcase award for the second time, showing good consistency since it was her second school trip.
As for me, this trip was very different from the previous ones. I really liked the farmhouse in Castelfiorentino and seeing 'The Last Supper' in Milan, as well as the area of Rome where we stayed. Perugia feels like home though, and I still love the views of the hills from the many vantage points.
Finally, grazie mille to all of the students who make every trip unique. We also couldn't do it without the support of teachers, so many thanks to Michelle and Jim for helping to make everything go so smoothly. Thanks also go to the staff at TMC for supporting the trip, and to the family and friends who help it all to happen.
Arrivederci!

Heading north

Ciao a tutti!
Well, I'm actually writing this from Changi as we wait for the final flight home, but I figure if I at least get the last entries on here before we arrive home, then it's still okay.
So, for our last days in Italy ... after Florence we headed northwards towards Venice, stopping in Maranello to visit the Ferrari museums. Unfortunately, the only sports cars purchased were the model variety, but we did get to see an impressive number of street cars as well as the F1 racing cars. Some people tested out their reaction times, while others were quite taken with the F1 simulators.

Continuing on from Maranello after lunch, we then headed north east to the breathtaking city of Venice – and we were certainly breathless by the time we got to our hotel and discovered our rooms were on the fourth floor and there was no lift. Still, the grouchiness soon dissipated as we walked the Rio Tera round to the Rialto for our first impressions of Venice, taking the traghetto back in time for our delicious dinner just up from our hotel.

The next morning, in the watery sunshine we headed around to St Mark’s Square to meet Sabine, our guide for the Doge’s Palace and St Mark’s Basilica. She was certainly energetic, hustling us onwards to avoid the crowds. Venetian style is not subtle, and the Doge's Palace embodied that. We also crossed the Bridge of Sighs, so named by the Romantic poet Lord Byron in the 19th century to capture the last glimpses of the outside before prisoners were returned to serve out their sentences in the cold and dark cells. Next up we went inside St Mark's Basilica with its glittering glass mosaics, finding out that it took 800 years to complete the decoration of every inch of the basilica. This is also the reason why the glass factories were set up in Venice - so that the artisans could have constant access to the tiles needed for the mosaics. Sabine also told us that in nine months of the year, Venice had the entire population of Australia visit - over twenty million tourists whilst the local population who can no longer afford to live in the city has declined by half in the past forty years to just over 50,000. 

Continuing our very busy day, we then moved on to the mask-making workshop where we discovered the time-consuming process of making the papier-maché  masks. Our guide also explained the significance of the different masks, as modeled by Ricardo and Ben, before we crossed over a bridge and spent up in the shop. Montana and Ben also got to dress up in some of the traditional Carnevale costumes, although wisely no-one decided to invest after discovering that one full (very elaborate) costume cost over 3,500 euro. The next stop was of course a gondola ride in the sunshine before a last ditch shopping frenzy. To cap off the day, we took a traghetto back to hotel via the Giudecca Canal, which was all good until some larger waves unexpectedly swamped some of the group. Venetian canal water really isn't that fragrant, it has to be said, but luckily it didn't take long to dry and we were soon distracted by the Korean flash mob doing 'Gangnam Style'. Our last night in Venice was somewhat marred with a disappointing dinner, but once again, a gelato stop and a chance to admire the reflections on the Grand Canal alleviated it.

Our last full day in Italy took us by the fast train to Milan, which also meant that last day of moving unwieldy luggage. The train hit a top speed of 298km per hour, but with many of the students either snoozing or engrossed in their devices, I think quite a number of them missed it. Arriving in the impressive Milano Centrale station, we walked the short distance to the hotel before heading off to enjoy this stylish city. Winding our way through the labyrinth of streets, we checked out the pricey designs of the top labels on the 'Golden Mile', via Monte Napoleone. This is also where we were all traumatised by the incident between Ben and a very fluffy corgi. Let's just say that we hope the fur cushioned the impact. Moving on, we checked out the imposing facade of the gothic Duomo and the ultra-stylish Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele II, as well as more shopping. Our final official visit took us to Santa Maria delle Grazie to see Leonardo's stunning 'Cenacolo'. Finally, it was time to head back to the hotel before our own 'Last Supper' and a chance to reflect on everything that we had learnt about each other on the trip. 

Our last days in the bel paese

Ciao a tutti!
This is just a quick entry to say that I haven't forgotten the blog - it's just that our days have been so full and the interrnet in some of our hotels so slow that I haven't had a chance to update it.
Fingers crossed that somewhere in transit I'll have some time.
About to head off to the airport now - it's been a lot of walking and retail therapy, soaking up the sights and generally having a great time.
Ci vediamo!

La bella Firenze!

Ciao a tutti!
Well, here we are in Florence, about to head out for some long-awaited shopping time. So far since we arrived on Friday, we've checked out the two markets for some preliminary perusing, then as the weather was clear we hiked up to Piazzale Michelangelo via the blingy gold shops of the Ponte Vecchio for the typical postcard view of the city. Descending once again, we pottered through some shops before dinner and an early night.
Yesterday we started off with a visit to the Accademia Gallery to check out Michelangelo's real David (not the numerous copies dotted around the city) as well as his half-completed rejects, and many more religious works from the 13th to the 19th century. It's amazing to see so much in one city, and that doesn't include the Uffizi, although it's also not surprising since Florence was the cradle of the Renaissance. After lunch in a 1950s-inspired diner, we took the train to Pisa to check out the Tower, once again getting creative with the shots pretending to push over or hold up the tower. Still, if it wasn't such an epic fail, no one would visit Pisa. After dinner and a restorative gelato back in Florence, the evening was rounded out with an exciting visit to the laundromat.

Sunday in Florence dawned much brighter so after a much appreciated sleep in we ventured around to the Duomo to check out the shops in the vicinity, stumbling across a parade as we wandered around. At midday we went to mass in the Cathedral – all in Italian with organ music marking the beginning and the end. The mass also gave us a chance to take in the elaborate paintings on  the ceiling of Brunelleschi’s dome. More shopping followed and then at 5pm, just as the heavens opened again, we met the famous artist and chronicler of Renaissance art, ‘Giorgio Vassari’ for our interactive tour of the Palazzo Vecchio. As he explained the significance of ‘his’ work and his experiences under the great master Michelangelo, we moved from one elaborate room to another, explaining modern life in the as-yet-undiscovered New World. After being shocked that Natasha was not yet married and impressed that Sir Ben noticed the lack of symmetry in the building, we emerged into the rain for a last perusal of the shops before dinner and packing up once again.

Living the dolce vita

Well, it’s a hard life sometimes. I’m sitting in the sun under the spreading canopy of a leafy tree at the beautiful Il Grande Prato farmhouse, amidst the rolling greens hills of Tuscany. After the frenzy of our previous travels, our two days here are a welcome opportunity to recharge our batteries before the final busy days coming up. Besides the birdsong and Tahlia’s piano playing, we have the chance to simply read books, soak up the sunshine, play some of the games here (table tennis, soccer, tennis – we’re a week too early for the pool), or just stroll the beautiful gardens. Lunch each day is in the nearby tiny village, at the café run by the farmhouse owners’ son, with its stunning views across yet more cypress-studded valleys. Last night the students had a cooking lesson with Patrizia, making spinach and ricotta filled ravioli where those in the group with Italian heritage stepped up, rolling out their pasta sheets with increasing speed and precision. Ben’s turtle shaped pasta was also quite original. Tonight’s cooking lesson is on how to make the classic tiramisu, something Michelle is rather excited about. This really is la dolce vita!