Highlights!

"Education is a life long journey whose destination expands as you travel." Jim Stovall We can not even begin to summarize the highlights of the day because there were so many to choose from. Andrea, our guide underpinned the lessons we learned from our Visual Arts and English classes by reviewing the contextual references found by touring the Santa Maria Novella Duomo and Accademia where we were taken aback with the site of the "real" Davide. We had a fabulous day in Firenze as students took advantage of their second day to explore the city and sites with greater confidence and familiarity. All the while the conversations among the group demonstrated that they were really making some solid connections to their learning. In abundance and in total immersion is how best to explain this enriching educational experience. This evening we celebrated Roman's 17th birthday with a cake presented to him by Ms. Battista. as an added sentiment our travel family also presented Roman with a print of Firenze as a keepsake with written sentiments on the reverse. We hope that this will become a special reminder of the unforgettable memories we are making together. Teresa has become our most cherished guide ensuring that everything is organized like a Swiss watch, adding those special little extras that we appreciate very much. We have heard the kids say " she is like my nonna!" and although Teresa doesn't look a nonna we have to think that it is the best compliment one could receive. She sang to us today on the bus, "o sole mio" and how could we forget the wonderful detour she allowed us to take yesterday to the incredible vista of Florence called Piazzolo Michelangelo. The best gift she gave us was this evening where she co ordinated a trip to Montecantini Alto! AH! Simply stunning! We took the funicolare to the top of this mountain top where the view was picturesque with an ambiance resembling that of an old Italian movie. There were live musicians, people strolling, children playing and a starry evening sky. Thank you Teresa for all you do! The students are in their rooms getting ready for a good night's rest as tomorrow we have an early wake up call and then traveling to Assisi! Notte!