Ok, the first group to leave for the airport left at 3:10 am, and the next group leaves at 5:30, so I have some time to make my last post from Italy. (you'll have to excuse me if there are more typos than normal) Our last day in Italy we traveled south to a place whose last day 2000 years ago was preserved forever. A few hours south of Rome on a big bay of the Mediterranean Sea near Naples, with the Isle of Capri in the distance stands the ancient city of Pompeii. We met our

We have very early wake-ups to get to the airport tomorrow, so I'll tell you about our last day when I get the chance. America, We'll see you soon!

First of all, I realized today that I didn't put the pictures in yesterday's Blog, so I added them if you want to go back and look. Today was one of the the busiest and most important days of the trip. We started with a 6:30 wake-up call and were on the road into the center of Rome by 8. I'm very proud of the kids, because this whole day leads up to our participation in the 5:00 pm mass at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. So we basically had to be in our performing clothe

After an exhilarating night at St. Francis in Assisi, it was back to an early wakeup so we could load all our luggage and start out on the way to Rome! We stopped along the way for an early lunch at a highway rest stop. Now, in U.S. terms, that would not sound like a positive thing. Over here the restaurant/convenient store/deli counter stretches over the highway and has all the great food you could want. My students got paninis, pasta, salads and all other sorts of lunches.

Preface to today's post.....Last night we arrived at our Assisi hotel to find the lost luggage of the last 7 people from or group to arrive in Italy. You can't imagine how happy everyone was for them. Now multiply that by 1000 and you'll know how happy they were to see their stuff! Now.... Imagine a 16 or 17 year old on spring break getting a wakeup call from one of their teachers every day at 6:00 am. Now imagine that same teenager being told they could sleep until 8:30. No

Today was our first "Moving Day". That means getting all that stuff back into your bags to go to the next hotel. We had another early wake up, although we had an extra half hour today. We had breakfast and then came the parade of 207 people down to the lobby with luggage. (this quaint old hotel has one elevator that will hold three people and the bags at a time.) Even with that, it was one of the most efficient moves in recent trips. We loaded up and had a two hour trip to th

Ciao from Montecatini! Preface to today's events: The forecast was for rain all day. While it did rain, it only did when we were inside. Every time we had something to do outside, it cleared up and stopped. It was truly remarkable and somewhat miraculous! Today was a busy and meaningful day. We started with another early wake up at 6:00. We had breakfast and loaded to the coaches to drive to the American Cemetery in Florence. Any American who visits Florence MUST go to these

Today was a great day for many reasons. We toured Florence, We sang our first concert, and best of all, the weary travelers who spent the last day and a half trying to get here after their cancelled flight finally arrived. There was great celebration by everyone once we were finally all together! Florence, or Firenza, is an amazing city and the home of some of the most important artists and thinkers of all time. We started the day with a 6:00 wake up call. Every single kid ma

Well, I've said before every trip we've taken that there is no such thing as a perfect trip. There is always a hiccup here or there. I just didn't think it would happen the day before we left. Due to a cancelled flight, We had 39 people who had to spend the night in Atlanta while the company scrambled to get them to Italy. They will be arriving Sunday afternoon and we can't wait to see them. I really won't feel like we've started until we have everyone with us! For those whos