Last night at the guest house and beyond....

Ok, so in an effort to update on our trip... The Vatican visit was super cool for the kids, but it was pretty crowded and stuffy at times. They got to see the Sistine chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. In comparison to lAst year, it was super crowded, but what a beautiful site for them to see. We squeezed in a delicious Italian lunch and then the students were able to go on a scavenger hunt throughout Rome. They had so much fun and did a fabulous job with it. I think it was fun for all, except one poor girl from the NY delegation who twisted her ankle and ended up on crutches... All is well with her now. From here we had dinner at a rest stop and headed back to our hotel. Ok... Onto day 10... Time for the Coliseum and the Roman Forums. The students couldn't believe how big it was and how much the forum was in ruins.... Unfortunately our tour of the Forum got cut a little short since it took students a bit longer than expected to use the bathroom, but they still got to see the massive span of all the ruins there. Hard to believe that is used to be filled with vendors, etc. once upon a time. From here we went to one of the prettiest places in my opinion... Assisi. Our first stop was a monastery where a friar from NEW JERSEY talked to the students about the church there and what is means to be a monk, a friar, etc. he talked about his family and how he is divorced from his wife, but not in the eyes of the church. It was very interesting and they got to see the tomb of St. Francis. The town/village of Assisi was magnificent.... A town on a hill is kind of how I would describe it. This is also where we stayed for 2 days and participated in a program called Full-on. The students had to work together as a team in small groups and go to repel off of a 100 ft castle wall. A few chose not to, which was a-ok... They were not forced to do anything they didn't want to do within reason. After an exhausting day doing Full-on we went to a Porcelein factory since this area is well known for for the production of it. The next morning we headed to one of my personal favorite cities in Italy, which is Florence. I soooo wish we had more time here each year... It is never long enough. We got to see the original statue of David, fit in some shopping time, and get a personal tour of Florence. It was super hot today especially since a good portion of Florence is covered in black stone. We headed to Pisa from here... On our way there our delegation manager told the kids a story about how there was a big earthquake here in Pisa a few months back and the tower fell, so now now people take pictures laying on the ground as if they are under the rubble instead of standing pretending to hold it. Yup.... The kids totally fell for it. Of. Ourse the leaning tower was still there and everyone was able to get their picture with the tower as far as I know. They had free time here to get pictures, shop, and some of them got to see the inside to the beautiful duomo church there too. Off to our hotel and bed soon after that. Day 13 was pretty cool. There is an American cemetery for soldiers of World War II. A lot of graves for unknown soldiers, but the rest were ones whose families were contacted about whether they wanted their loved ones shipped back to the US or buried there in Italy. It was a beautiful site and the man that was our guide was a retired American soldier. He did a fabulous job with the tour and I think the students got a lot out of it... They asked. Lot of great questions. The second half of the day was spent in a small town called Brecello where there apparently were a series of controversial political films made there... They got a tour of the town and some of the museums... Not sure the students really got much out of it and the town was super small and quiet... It was like a ghost town. But on a. Bright note we got to partake on some fabulous gelato. :-) well day 14 was certainly an event-filled one! Today was filled with train rides a LOT of walking and site seeing in Venice. It is such a cool city, but no majorly easy ways to get around other than by foot. The kids did a great job keeping up with the delegation manager and the tour guide... This was definitely another VERY crowded city... I think because this is a very popular time of year for Europeans to close up shop and go on "holiday" themselves. We got to go see a glass making/blowing demonstration at the Murano factory, ride a gondola, and they went on a lunch quest where they are given 7euros and have the find their own lunches and interact with the Italians to get it. After our afternoon tour, we headed to the train station for our overnight train ride. I do not recommend them if you are closterphobic in any way. Lots of stops throughout the night, but the kids did great. Me, on the other hand... Another story for another day...lol! Yay!!!! We are finally in France now and started off our time here taking a tour of the city walking around Notre Dame, getting to see some great street performers, watching the Olympics on a HUGE screen in the middle of a park, took pictures of the Eiffel tower, took a tour of the perfume museum, got a French lesson, and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe. The next three days we have been at the guest house, playing basketball, soccer, went on a scavenger hunt, got to make their own stained glass, shop, and had a talent show tonight. Two more days in Paris and then we come home!!!! Till then au voir.