Buon Giorno, Family!
We have been home for about 36 hours now. Italy and our travels are a beautiful memory, but already seem a lifetime ago. As I prepare to go back to school today, I think about our trip and the tense moments, the food, the people we met and the sights we saw and think that we, indeed, had a fabulous experience.
I haven't finished the blog until now because of our long, long trip home and the fatigue of changing time zones, so here's the last entry.
Friday in Rome was very intimidating, lots of crowds and big ancient structures of stone and marble. I think that when the coliseum and all the venues we visited were functioning in the early times of Rome, those who were brought to the city must have felt much the same; a little frightened, homesick, wishing to be back in the countryside with a slower pace and unsure of where they were and what they should do, amazed by these giant structures surrounding them.
We stepped into the coliseum first, and it was full of tour groups and noise. What an immense structure with the underground portions visible from above. We also toured the forum, the pantheon (beautiful inside with the remains of the painter Rafael in the building), and then we were to go to the Spanish steps. Our group was just too tired and hungry to continue without lunch. We realized on the last day that breakfast is rolls and juice and caffe, lunch is at 2 p.m. and is usually a quick panino, with dinner late (7:30 or 8 p.m.) started with pasta as an appetizer, then protein and salad followed by a light pudding or gelato. So, we left the main group to find our own way for the afternoon. We found a lovely little pizzeria and went inside to quiet and a lunch of insalata mista (house salad) and pizza (usually 12 inches and thin). After having some sustenance, we walked through Rome to the church of the crypt. The story, in brief, is that the friars of that church were to be buried in holy ground, which meant Jerusalem. So they brought in dirt from Jerusalem into the church and as the friars passed they would be buried right there. Eventually, the crypt was full, so to honor their code they began to remove the bones of those and to decorate the church with them in all kinds of intricate patterns on the ceilings and walls so that those who recently died could be buried in the holy soil. A bit macabre, but interesting.
Near there is the Hard Rock Cafe - Rome. We walked there for the key chain - and then started to make our way back toward our meeting place. We stopped and did some window shopping as this area is one of the most expensive in Rome; think Hermes ($5000 purses) and fur coats. After meeting the rest of the group, we headed to meet our bus and go back to our hotel which was a Holiday Inn basically. We had a nice dinner at the hotel and then off to pack and sleep a bit.
We were awakened at 3 a.m. for our 4 a.m. departure for the airport. It was actually a bit too close as there were many other groups there and the Lufthansa people were very confused as to how to check in a group. We made our flight, but with no time to spare. Short flight to Munich and then a bit of time to grab a bite to eat and find our next gate for boarding. Munich to Charlotte, NC was a 9 and a half hour flight - pretty brutal. The food on the plane was not as good as when we went over, but we slept as we could and tried to just be in the moment. Landing in Charlotte, we had to go through customs. Again not great planning by the airport, as we arrived with several other international flights and then long lines to go through customs. We thought we were fine as we had a couple of hours to make our connection. An hour later, and we were beginning to panic a bit, but the airport personnel, unlike the foreign airports, were holding flights to help everyone make their connections, and with really no spare minute, we passed through customs, walked to security, and right to our gate and on to the plane. The flight to Denver arrived 35 minutes early and we were so glad to be back in Colorado! Many of the parents and families were there to greet us, and we ended our trip having made all our flight connections, all our luggage was there and we managed to make the final lap of our journey with the school van back to Loveland.
Thank you to all of the parents and families who allowed your loved ones to travel with me. What an experience and privilege to have them on this trip. Ciao!
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