A Traveling We Go...

Venice is wonderful and idyllic and welcoming in so many ways, but as usual our time has drawn to a close.  After an easy morning breakfast of fresh baked croissants and jam and hauling all of our many luggages to the ground floor where we embark on our first Vaporetto ride (instead of private water taxis). Vaporettos are the equivalent of public buses and they move the vast majority of people around the city.  They're cheaper,  easily available and usually CROWDED and this morning was no different.  We shared the water bus with people from all over the world and even a few Venetian residents.

We finally make it to the train station in enough time so that the students can grab a few snacks for the train.  Your students have learned to pile their luggage into a nice concise pile while a chaperone is stationed to guard over it until we all return with our snacks. Thank you, Miss Haley :-)

After hauling all of that luggage onto the train and stowing it as best we can our 3.5 hour train ride to Rome is a pleasant one and we can nap, play cards, read a book, get up and walk around and even make our way a few cars down to the food car.  

Yes, as Mr. Margene has said...a 3.5 hour train ride is better than a 1 hour plane ride AND has the advantage of delivering us right into the city center where we can easily walk to our VERY nice Hotel Napoleon.  The kids love the Hotel Napoleon.  Obviously it has been a posh place back in its glory days.  Today it's a bit faded, but still has the charm and the grandeur from yesteryear.

Wasting no time at all we unload, freshen up and meet back in the salon in 15 minutes for our adventure to the little Tempio Mecenate Restaurant just around the corner and pizzas and pastas and sodas and LOTS of water on this sweltering Rome Day - all paid for by Mrs. Mynatt.

Now onto the big site for the day...

We had our reservations in place so that we could avoid the crazy throngs of tourists that choke this site.  Unfortunately we had too many of those spikey gladiator helmet purchases that weren't allowed into the Colosseum so Haley and I agreed to hold them outside of the Colosseum while the other travelers  went inside to explore.  That's OK - Haley and I have seen this magnificent edifice a few times and we're happy to hold all of the shopping bags so the students can explore and see first hand this feat of engineering from centuries ago.

From there our journey leads past the forum and over to the Mamertine Prison which consists of two gloomy underground cells where Rome's vanquished enemies were imprisoned and usually died of either starvation or strangulation.  Peter and Paul were both imprisoned here.

Just a few more steps away we find ourselves being whisked up to the top of the Vittorio Emanuele II monument all the way to the top (much to the chagrin of Drew D.)  FABULOUS views of the city can be had from here.

Finally it's time to begin making our way back to our hotel as THANKFULLY the storm clouds form in the distance and give us some relief from the Roman Sun.  Tonight's dinner is at Trattoria Vecchia which is literally just around the corner from our hotel.  Yeahhhhh!  We've walked quite enough for today and this will be a very nice dinner in a place that looks as if it could have been here since pre-World War I.  They have really great Italian food for your travelers.

We finish out the evening by taking the students to a favorite "big" ice cream parlor where we explain "how to successfully navigate" the ordering and obtaining of ice cream.  First you go tell the cashier what you want, you pay for it, take your receipt over to the actual ice cream counter and try your darndest to get one of the ice cream workers to choose YOUR receipt next.  We explain to your students that "there IS no such thing an orderly line in Italy" and this store is no different.  You make your way to the front and push and crowd and finally you're rewarded with what you actually paid for earlier ;-) It's a strange concept to the students, but it's just a part of the culture and it's expected.  So far I've only EVER seen Americans and Britons queue for anything - and ice cream is no different!

We choose to stay in the city centers of the destinations we visit...and everything you've read from today and previous days are examples of "why" this is our choice.  To step out of your front door and see the Colosseum open up in front of you or walk around the corner and dine at a Trattoria that's been in existence since the previous century is what we want to show the travelers.  To see how the locals live you've got to be where the locals ARE!  One of the favorite things of all student groups has been learning how to ride the Metros, U-Bahns, Tubes and Trains.  Seeing how residents live their lives day by day including their methods of transportation (sometimes completely without their own cars) is a breath of fresh air to Americans who can't possibly fathom living WITHOUT a vehicle.  I can't wait until we get to Switzerland and show your students some really spectacular modes of transportation :-)

It's late and your little ones have been tucked in and checked on and are out like lights.  Tomorrow is a long day in the Vatican where we'll go through the Vatican Museums, St. Peter's Basilica, Climb the Cupola and maybe even send a postcard from the post office of the tiniest country in the world...Vatican City.  If you're lucky you might even RECEIVE said postcard before school starts in August - after all, this is Italy where schedules are not exactly the norm.

Good night from Rome :-)