Grazie Roma!

Our day started at the Museo Vaticano where Ceclia, our guide, took us to see the various pieces of art works including the famous "School of Athens" by Raphael and of course Michelangelo's "Sistine Chapel." We visited the Basilica of St. Peter's, saw Michelangelo's, La Pieta and various other works of art including Benini's Baldachin.

Nicolas & Sebastian are Debating as Plato and Aristotle are in the painting!

We had some free time and then prepared for our special dinner out to a restaurant near the Colosseum where we were entertained by some opera singers and had some delicious food. Excellent ambiance with lots of clapping, laughter and Bon divertimento!

We had so much fun that Teresa joined in with the singing and this carried on when we got back on the bus where she led us in singing "Marina! Marina!" we drove around the Colosseum at night and saw it lit up!

We returned back to our hotel in preparation for tomorrow's departure. Please refer to flight tracker once again for the status of our flight.

Message from Mrs. Meschino Now that the course is over and marks are submitted, I am happy to say that the course, ENG4U was a positive experience for me and the students. Studying sections of Machiavelli's The Prince gave students a better understanding of the Machiavellian villain seen so often in English literature. Journeying through Dante's Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso with the students sparked some very interesting discussion. Students were able to visit the tomb of both Machiavelli and Dante. Their impact on Italian culture was made clear by our excellent tour guides. Students also enjoyed Pirandello's, Six Characters in Search of an Author. His view of the permanence of the arts is evident in all of the cities we visited. Lastly, Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms described for the students the love story and war story during World War I. Students studied the assigned works, visited beautiful sites, and enjoyed their time together. By the end of the trip, we were considered a "famiglia." I will miss this famiglia! I want to wish all the students ( English and Art) all the best next year. Keep the beautiful moments from Italy in your hearts. God Bless! Mrs. Meschino (Aunt Lily)

Veni Vidi Vici

We have come to Roma and with these 3 words that summarize perfectly what these 3 days together will be about! To come! To see! To conquer!

We have gone to see the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona (Bernin's Four Rivers Fountain) and the magnificent Pantheon!

Luca says he is not leaving without his Pantheon!

Ms. Rocca's small group! (Uno, due, tre, quattro, cinque e sei! we're all here!)

Our guided tour with Cecilia. Arch of Constantine and the Colosseum.

All together...hands on experience touching history!

Talk to the hand...like Italians do so well. Jasmine with her expressive hand gestures Jason has become completely fluent in fan waving!

The tour of the Forum was so interesting. Although it was extremely hot it was such a learning experience. To end our day we had a most amazing meal at a pizzeria with salad, bruschetta, personal pizzas made for each of us from an authentic wood oven, topped off with tiramisu dessert! We hope you have been able to follow our Twitter feeds located at the sidebar of this blog detailing some of our experiences along the way with some photos of interest! Rico and Emily wore the perfect hats today...Roma! Italia!

Looking forward to our last day where I know we will be able to shout out that we have definitely conquered! Victory!

Time To Say Good-Bye

"quando sei lontana sogno all'orizzonte e mancare le parole...time to say good-bye...paesi che non ho mai veduto e vissuto con te adesso s li vivro...con te partiro..." It Is our time to say good-bye to Hotel Moderno, our home for a significant portion of our stay in Italy. We will always appreciate how you welcomed us and made us feel as though we were not just staying at any hotel, but with an Italian family instead. Each and every day the staff members were hospitable, friendly, accommodating and always went out of their way to ensure we were taken care of. Thank you to Riccardo, PierLuigi and Liliana for working behind the scenes to make our visit smooth running and genuinely comfortable. When we met Moira on our first day we knew we were in good hands because she embraced us with enthusiasm and excellent customer service! Paolo was always diligent, respectful and helpful if there was ever a need. Thank you for taking care of the details. To the chef, we send you our applause for preparing with care a great variety of dishes that were healthy and delicious (giving us a hint of that cucina Toscana). Bravo! The waiters were phenomenal! Grazie to Gabriele who would greet us with his wonderful flair each morning, "Buon giorno! Cafe! Pardon! Signoria Lei!" Thank you to Luigi who meticulously tended to the details and always asked if we wanted seconds. Your efforts never went by unnoticed. Thank you to Marco who made every task seem effortless and was never impossible to do. If ever we asked him for something he would always respond, "ma come no? certo...of course." As mentioned, the staff at this hotel treated us like family. Little did we know that they were family! Marco is related to Ms. Meschino...paesani! Un mondo piccolo!

To the cleaning staff who impeccably tended to our rooms each day and kept everything clean and refreshed. We will definitely miss how our bedsheets were so perfectly crisp and smooth...and those towels...ahhh! We thank you so much for allowing us to learn, paint, sketch, study, read, write exams and socialize in your dining hall, lobby, garden and living room area. Never once making us feel that our group was in the way but instead you appreciated the viva and energy that only a group of "ragazze" could bring! Hotel Moderno, "thank you" from all of and if by chance we missed anyone to thank please send them our appreciation! Our last night in Siena came with a great SURPRISE! Teresa our Italian nonna and exceptional tour guide came to travel with us to Roma! She entered our garden dinner area with a great round of applause!

Ms. Rocca spoke to the group and presented each student with a special momento as a token of appreciation on behalf of herself, Ms. Battista, Ms. Augustynek, Ms. Meschino and supervisors, Gary, Luca and Michael. It was a mini 2016 calendar that displays Italy. We thought it would be a sentimental way to enjoy memories of Italy every day for every month of the upcoming year! Students were invited to sign eachother' calendars as a keepsake!

We enjoyed our last evening in the campo under an unforgettable indigo sky!

We packed our luggages with sadness and excitement! Pronto per Roma! Our luggages by the door this morning ready for our departure to Roma. Right to the very end, Gabriele our waiter, helped us load heavy luggages full of memories onto our bus and stepped inside to say "ciao and buon viaggio!" Now that is the kind of class, care, respect and goodwill we were sent off with! Ciao tutti! Grazie Hotel Moderno!

Roma here we come!