Bella Italia, Part Two

Want to see more of our trip? Great! Here's the second installment of photos from bella Italia.

Okay, so we're still in Rome. After our visit to the Vatican, we spent some time around the Trevi Fountain and had more shopping time (another pair of shoes for me). One of our chaperones actually lost his wallet at the Trevi Fountain - he was pick-pocketed! I would have been traumatized but he was so positive about it and just looked upon the experience as a lesson learned.

 

 We also went to the Spanish Steps.

 

Later on, we attended cooking school where we learned to make fettuccine, ravioli, two kinds of sauces, and rice balls.

 

The girl in the red coat is our tour director, Claudia. She was such a sweetheart. She didn't cook, but she helped with "quality control".

 

Our culinary creations were being judged by the hotel staff, including the chef!

 

And, believe it or not, my team won!

 

Upon return to the hotel that night, we discovered that one of the hotel rooms had been broken into and items were stolen from two of the girls. It could have been a very negative turning point for the trip, but we had such a great group of students (not to mention our wonderful tour director). The girls whose items were stolen were very upset at first, but soon decided not to spoil the rest of their trip with worry over the situation and they put their best faces forward to enjoy the remaining days. It was amazing to see how everyone stuck together and did their best to comfort the girls.

Here's our Claudia the next day, pretending to drive the bus. She can't drive at all...luckily our bus driver was excellent.

 

Our students attended a painting class.

 

I briefly considered participating in the class but I'm not so good with a paintbrush so we chose instead to take advantage of the hotel's WiFi (free with purchase of cappuccino!) and I spent a couple of hours on Skype with the OnlyChild.

 

Our next excursion was to Pompeii, which is an awesome place.

Group photo in the theatre!

 

And then an impromptu performance of a song from The Evil Dead by a couple of our very talented students.

 

Tres amici (three friends).

 

Frozen in time (teeth intact).

 

And then on to Sorrento (another of my favourite places). The scenery is so gorgeous!

 

We went down to the beach by our hotel. Yes, our hotel was right on the beach!

 

Sunset over the Bay of Naples.

 

And I'll finish off today's installation with supper.

Pasta e fagioli (pasta and beans).

 

Eggplant - delicious!

 

We ordered something special too - a plate (or two) of seafood. Heavenly!

 

There are a few more...but I'll wait until tomorrow to post. Ciao!

Bella Italia

Finally! Now that things have calmed down somewhat at work and home (and the four-day weekend certainly helped), I have a few minutes to post some pictures of my wonderful trip to Italy. Are you ready for photo overload?

Our trip took us through the airport in Frankfurt, where there are pretzel and sausage stands everywhere. No, I did not succumb to the temptation (but I should have taken a picture).

 

When we arrived in Rome, all tired and disheveled, it was early afternoon. In order to adapt to the time change, we resisted going to the hotel for a shower and a nap. Instead, we spent some time around the Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. I introduced the students to some of the best gelato they'll ever have at Blue Ice. We made a return visit a few days later.

Here is a view from inside the Pantheon.

 

The next day, we visited the Colisseum. Perfect spot for a group photo!

 

While we were waiting inside, we spotted this amorous couple. They were undeterred by the kids' hooting and picture-taking. That's Amore, indeed!

 

The inside of the Colisseum is so very cool. There is nothing like it!

 

We also had a tour through the Forum. This stuff never gets old for me (no pun intended...). I love the history and the stories.

 

In the afternoon, we had lunch at Gladiator School just outside of Rome.

 

Then the kids (and a couple of teachers) geared up for some training.

 

 

Followed by a fight to the death (well, not really).

 

We ladies were just interested in having our picture taken with the very charismatic Marco.

 

 

The next day took us to Assisi, which in my opinion has one of the best views of the countryside.

 

Dragons singing karaoke?

 

Then we went to Florence. This is one of my top 5 favourite cities in the world (yes, I have such a list).

 

There was some kind of "new year's" celebration going on.

 

And I found a pig. I'm always on the lookout for pigs (such as here).

 

Here I am with my amazing group on the Ponte Vecchio. We divided the students up among the chaperones for check-ins and passport control. This is why I can only count to seven in Italian...just kidding.

 

And the chaperones on the Ponte Vecchio.

 

I met a new friend, too. 

 

We attended a fresco workshop.

 

 

The kids loved it. Look how engrossed they are in their works of art.

 

Obviously, the adults enjoyed the activity too. I'm quite proud of my creation.

 

We went back to Florence the next day (we actually changed our itinerary a bit so we could have some free time there...I might have twisted a few arms to do that.)

Breakfast - cornetto e nutella!

 

Supper - pizza!

 

We did more than paint and eat in Florence. We shopped! I packed so inappropriately for this trip that I pretty much had to buy a new wardrobe while I was there. I know...poor me! The weather forecast called for clouds and rain and, indeed, up until a couple of days before we arrived, it was quite chilly there. Not so during our visit. Sunshine and temperatures in the 20s Celsius (high 60s to low 70s Fahrenheit). It was great, but it did necessitate a few short-sleeved tops, a couple of dresses and (ahem) three new pairs of shoes.

Okay, moving on...

We went back to Rome and visited the Vatican. I didn't take many pictures this time (probably because I have tons of Vatican pics from the last two trips), but I did capture this beauty:

 

And, of course, we took another group photo. I kind of got cut off here (on the far left) so you can't really see the new shirt I bought in Florence *wink wink*

 

Alright, that's enough for today. There are tons more but I'll save some for tomorrow. Thanks for making it this far.

April Fools?

I'm back! I arrived home at 2:45 this morning. One of the kids had nobody meet him at the airport - apparently his parents fell asleep waiting to go and pick him up. He did get a hold of them, but it would have taken another 40+ minutes for them to get to the airport (and I had to wait until all the kids were back in their parents' care before I could leave) so Mr. P and I drove him home.

So, we finally get home. But there's no bathroom because the renovations that were supposed to be done over the Spring Break are not yet finished. I should have taken a photo - the bathtub and floor are in but, as far as I can see, that's all. No taps or shower, no toilet (we had one installed in the laundry room down in the basement), no sink, painting not even started. There are lights, but not what I remember requesting. Plus - and you know this is true - a renovation in one room seems to expand to other rooms so we now have a hole in the kitchen ceiling because a leak needed to be fixed, all the bathroom stuff dumped in my pretty spare room, and a hole in the sewing room wall (where the bathtub plumbing is). Sigh. Who knows how long this will take to be finished and cleaned up.

I unpacked my big suitcase, packed a small one, and headed to a hotel. After 24-ish hours of travel, I desperately needed a shower. I also have a crapload of school stuff to do before I go back to work tomorrow. I need a nap first, though. I think.

I am sooooo tired. My body isn't sure if it's 2 o'clock in the afternoon or 11 o'clock at night.

I can't wait to show you some photos of the trip. We had such a great time with the kids and I had the best bunch of chaperones I could hope for.

When things are back to normal (tomorrow, I hope) I'll fill you in on all the details.