In a nutshell that describes the difference between the bustling city of Florence and the alpine village of Murren. What a difference a 7 hour train ride makes! We encouraged the students to take advantage of breakfast this morning (and most did) to give them energy for the looong travel day. It was another sun shining hot humid morning in Florence as we pulled out with our luggage to head for the train station for our "First Class" ride to Milano Centrale and onto Domodossola to cross the Swiss Border. We've decided... we REALLY REALLY REALLY like first class :-)
We had several train changes, and I really want to relate to the parents how absolutely STUNNING was your students' performance during the travel and the train changes. We all worked together getting the luggage on, getting the luggage off, hauling it from over and under to navigate to different platforms and different tracks and even helping a couple of senior citizen Italian ladies traveling with FIVE HUGE suitcases! Now why do 2 little senior citizen ladies need FIVE suitcases??? I dunno!
Our train changes went from huge stations with 45 minute layovers...with time to buy snacks
to tiny stations with 3 minute change times and not a second to lose.
Your students performed magnificently and here we are:
Our view from the gondola as we were whisked up to our last little train.
Poor Mr. Margene was so intent on helping the students grab luggage from the little train and run to the gondola that he forgot his OWN backpack and left it on the train. YIKES! But he managed to sprint all the way back to the train, grab the backpack and run BACK to the gondola before it departed. I guess that's why he's a CAK Track Coach, right???
I just want to take this opportunity to thank my daughter for all of the help she offers to this trip. She's not only well traveled (from family travels to these destinations), but she's also a first grade teacher at Inskip Elementary, and she has the "teacher instinct" and knows what needs to be done before we even say it. Thank you, Haley!
This place is stunning and no words or photos can do it justice. So I thought I would add photos of YOUR students attempting to take it all in with THEIR OWN photos.
Our wonderful home away from home for the next four nights, the Chalet Fontana (pronounced FON-tan-a).
The main meeting room / breakfast room in the chalet with Michael, Denise's god son, in the middle of your students. He very much wanted to meet our group and practice his English. He's a very nice young man and most of the girls are already swooning ;-)
Our dear dear friend Denise who has offered up the chalet to us for SOOOO many years. What a sweet lady she is - not to mention two EXCEPTIONAL teachers and chaperones.
After a bountiful meal at the Stager Stubli just across from the chalet we are feeling quite fine :-) courtesy of Mrs. Mynatt.
Chloe gives the horse steak a two thumbs up!
We told the students that Switzerland and tiny Murren would be their favorite destination. Sure enough as our tiny train rounded the cliff to bring us into Murren I heard Kyle Sparkman (who bragged about how beautiful Salzburg was) say "THIS place makes Salzburg look like NOTHING!!"
And Mrs. Cate, I'm sorry to give you the bad news, but Christian says he's moving here. I told him I would GLADLY be his neighbor!
Drew says his family is going to come here for a ski vacation...just in case the Deggs family needed a heads-up about that.
EVERYBODY loves Murren, and we've brought several dozen CAK Students here during the past few years. I've never heard anybody say they didn't like Murren - in fact most of the comments I hear are like the ones Kyle and Christian gave us today. It's a sweet little alpine village with eye-popping scenery right in your face. Quiet Quiet Quiet with only the sound of a waterfall in the distance and a few cowbells clanging somewhere in some far off pasture.
I have no doubt we're all going to sleep exceptionally well tonight! Goodnight from tiny Murren.
We had several train changes, and I really want to relate to the parents how absolutely STUNNING was your students' performance during the travel and the train changes. We all worked together getting the luggage on, getting the luggage off, hauling it from over and under to navigate to different platforms and different tracks and even helping a couple of senior citizen Italian ladies traveling with FIVE HUGE suitcases! Now why do 2 little senior citizen ladies need FIVE suitcases??? I dunno!
Our train changes went from huge stations with 45 minute layovers...with time to buy snacks
to tiny stations with 3 minute change times and not a second to lose.
Your students performed magnificently and here we are:
Poor Mr. Margene was so intent on helping the students grab luggage from the little train and run to the gondola that he forgot his OWN backpack and left it on the train. YIKES! But he managed to sprint all the way back to the train, grab the backpack and run BACK to the gondola before it departed. I guess that's why he's a CAK Track Coach, right???
This place is stunning and no words or photos can do it justice. So I thought I would add photos of YOUR students attempting to take it all in with THEIR OWN photos.
Our wonderful home away from home for the next four nights, the Chalet Fontana (pronounced FON-tan-a).
The main meeting room / breakfast room in the chalet with Michael, Denise's god son, in the middle of your students. He very much wanted to meet our group and practice his English. He's a very nice young man and most of the girls are already swooning ;-)
Our dear dear friend Denise who has offered up the chalet to us for SOOOO many years. What a sweet lady she is - not to mention two EXCEPTIONAL teachers and chaperones.
After a bountiful meal at the Stager Stubli just across from the chalet we are feeling quite fine :-) courtesy of Mrs. Mynatt.
We told the students that Switzerland and tiny Murren would be their favorite destination. Sure enough as our tiny train rounded the cliff to bring us into Murren I heard Kyle Sparkman (who bragged about how beautiful Salzburg was) say "THIS place makes Salzburg look like NOTHING!!"
And Mrs. Cate, I'm sorry to give you the bad news, but Christian says he's moving here. I told him I would GLADLY be his neighbor!
Drew says his family is going to come here for a ski vacation...just in case the Deggs family needed a heads-up about that.
EVERYBODY loves Murren, and we've brought several dozen CAK Students here during the past few years. I've never heard anybody say they didn't like Murren - in fact most of the comments I hear are like the ones Kyle and Christian gave us today. It's a sweet little alpine village with eye-popping scenery right in your face. Quiet Quiet Quiet with only the sound of a waterfall in the distance and a few cowbells clanging somewhere in some far off pasture.
I have no doubt we're all going to sleep exceptionally well tonight! Goodnight from tiny Murren.
So glad everybody is so happy. It is gorgeous there. Tell Christian as soon as he makes his millions from his big league contract he can move there and take us with him.
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