Day 17: Heading Home

Time to head home... what a bittersweet day it is today! We had a 7:30 flight, so the bus picked us up at 4:00 am...ugh... but all the kids were ready to go in their teal shirts... boy, were these shirts life-savers today! (We had an extremely short lay-over in Paris that I had to snake us in lines to cut and make our flight).
Here are some girls jumpin' for joy... either to go home or about their amazing 2+ wks in Europe, or that Kathryn finally got her ticket figured out so that we didn't have to sprint thru the Paris airport again! lol
Tyler is all excited as well :)

Mario took us thru check-in and up until security and then we had to say our good-byes.
Many hugs were given, laughs exchanged, no good-byes - just see you soon!!!
We made Mario an honorary teal shirter and the kids all signed the back of the shirt. We were all humbled that he wore it to the airport to see us on our way, and to head back to his hometown in Sicily. The kids really bonded with Mario & I love how they took to him but more how he took to us. Not all TD's are like Mario - he really went above & beyond with 'my' kids, and I am quite protective of them on tour but didn't need to this time. He listened to them, played soccer with them, took them to the beach, for gelato almost every night, found fun things for them to do, judged their photo competition (Team Senorita!), played music & movies that they would like, told stories they would enjoy and could relate to...treated them with much respect...he was all they could talk about on their way home. A Tour Director can really enhance a tour and Mario helped shape the minds for travel & tolerance and foster a love for travel so much that many cannot wait to travel again!
Making kids life-long learners is what this whole process is all about. Watching how they mature & grow over the 17 days is the most priceless part of my job. I love watching kids come in who know no one and after only 17 days, have now bonded and made life-long friends, no matter the age-level. Although this was my biggest group ever, it really didn't feel like it... the kids meshed extremely well and got along - no drama! I was reflecting about that on the plane home (when I was conscious - woke up sick on Sunday - ugh). On the flight over, the kids were moving seats so they could sit next to their friends... on the way back, no one switched because they now had 19 other friends they could sit next to. Just watching them mesh together makes my heart sing.
So, I sit here this morning, finishing up my blog, but not wanting to since that means our trip is over... but it's really not. It will live in the hearts of these kids for the rest of their lives. They will always laugh when they hear Single Ladies, when they think of Platform 9 3/4, when they hear the word "Cuckoo", when they 'drive' thru McDonalds, anytime they eat ice cream and compare it to gelato, when they watch Gladiator, etc...
I am so honored to have been able to take these amazing, worldly kids on a trip of a lifetime. Yes, I'm exhausted, yes I'm a bit bruised, but it's all worth it.
As one of the kids wrote in my journal, "There are many moments I'll remember. I can always go back to these places, but our group on this trip is something I could never replace or re-do."
Well said, well said...

So for now, I saw Ciao. Not sure if July travels will happen... my passport still has room for more stamps... I need to get going to catch up with 91+.

Hope you've enjoyed our blog - we started at 5500 hits going into this trip... the last I looked we were over 11,000!!! WOW!!! Thanks for reading and following along! Thanks for the continuous support you've given us over the 17 days and beyond! I'm hopeful the kids thanked their parents for making this trip-of-a-lifetime come true! They will be forever changed for the good! Thanks for all the airport hugs - I missed having breakfast with you all this morning and our "Wakey Wakey".

Abrazos to you all!
~steph :)

Day 16: CAPRI :)

What a gorgeous day for a boat ride! Today we headed out on a ferry to the island of Capri (stress on the A, not on the 'I' like a type of pants). The weather was perfect - as you can see, barely a cloud in the sky! We first took a boat cruise around the islands with our local guide, Luigi. Then we took the funicular up to the town - saw this outlook - and had lunch. What a quaint little town. I can see why many rich & famous come to this town - it would be a great get-away!
After lunch, we headed down to the beach for some sun & sand and some, sadly, found the rocks - yikes!
Of course, it wouldn't be a day in Italy with some gelato! Had to eat it quickly as it melted in the Italian sun!
We caught the ferry back to Naples - I snapped pics of all their smiling, sun-soaked faces before they conked out for a nap!
We made the journey back to Rome to get dinner... our Last Supper together... bittersweet... I was reflecting on the trip as we were walking to the bus after dinner, thinking about how the kids have changed over the past 17 days. On the first few days of dinner, they were so quiet, only hanging out with the friends they already knew. But, on the way back from dinner, boy were they all chatty- chatty...love how they formed themselves into a mini-family. :)

What great chaperones!! Couldn't have asked for better people to come along on this adventure with me!!
After dinner, we had our final pow-wow meeting with Mario - made him an honorary teal shirt member - kids signed the back and had also written him notes. Many hugs were exchanged, many laughs as we reminisced on the amazing 2.5 wks...Mario talked on how much he truly enjoyed our group... I also commented on my little 'family' and how much I will miss them... sigh...what great kids... :)

~steph :)

Day 15: Pompeii & Sorrento

Today we headed south to Pompeii. Boy, if we thought Rome was hot, Pompeii was just as hot. Luckily there was a breeze or we would have died from heat...no shade out there in Pompeii.
Here we are in the main square in Pompeii with Mt. Vesuvius in the background.

Our wonderful local guide, Roberto, showed the place off to us...and showed us where to get some water.
Oh, roomies!! One of the precious moments on tour when they're not stealing each other's stuff, hiding sheets and matresses not clothes :)At the end of our tour, Kimberlyn won a cameo made from shell rock - gorgeous!!
After lunch near Pompeii, we headed to Mount Vesuvius - the drive up was gorgeous, overlooking Pompeii and Bay of Naples. Above is a picture of all the brave souls who did the climb up - WOO HOO!!
We checked into our lovely hotel and immediately headed to the beach!

Sadly we were only down there for about 1/2hour, but it was ll worth it! Cedric even had a great time!
After dinner, we headed into town for our last gelatto stop...sigh... one of the main things we will miss about Italy!
After a round of hugs, Tyler showed me the heart-leaf that he found.
What a lovely city - so quiet & quaint! There were even fireworks going off...sadly couldn't see them.

Tomorrow is our last day.... sob sob...

~steph :)

Day 14: Rome Part 2

Rome, Round 2 today!! Another gorgeous day in Rome - we started off with a tour of the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica.

Of course, all shoulders and knees were to be covered during our visit. Everyone did well, but Theja & Trisha forgot their shawls when we went to St. Paul Outside the Wall...but no worries, they sported these lovely mesh shawls. :)

A big bathtub in the Vatican Museum - don't we all look fascinated?!?! lol
After our Vatican visit, our wonderful TD Mario pointed out our meeting point and some restaurants for lunch.

After lunch, we went to visit St Paul Outside the Wall, 2nd largest church in Rome with the portraits of all the Popes - as you can see, what a gorgeous place!!

After St. Paul's, we headed to the Catacombs...not as creepy as Palermo's, but what a labyrinth - luckily no one got lost. It was creepy being down in those depths and quite chilly.

All in all, the kids really enjoyed Rome - I think it's a place they'd only dreamed up and it just became a reality for them!!

~steph :)

Day 13: ROMA - Part 1

Buon Giorno from ROMA!! Typical what we're doing over 2 days is combined into one, so the kids were quite grateful for the pacing of the next two days. Today's Part 1 took us to the Colessuem and to the Forum. The kids were in awe over the Colessuem and amazing at the size and enormity of it all. We climed up to one of hte top floors for a great birds eye view.

It was a hot one in Roma today - we heard in the 40's...which would be around 100. Not much shade in theis pic from the Forum... luckily we came prepared with water and snacks.

After grabbing some lunch near the Pantheon, we caught a bus to Hard Rock so some kids could shop, others chose the Bone Church and they were set free on the streets of Rome for 3+ hours. No worries - everyone made it back safe & sound!

After dinner, we did a Rome by Night Tour...Katelyn & Kathryn hang on for dear life. We got to see many of the amazing sites all lit up.

One of our pit stops was Trevi Fountain - these were all the kids I could round up quickly and still keep people out of getting into my photo.
One Coin over your Right Shoulder = make a wish
Two Coins = you'll come back...maybe with a novio/novia

Three Coins - you'll have a new relationship/marriage/divorce

Our last stop was to see if Benedict was up...so such luck. We'll go bother him tomorrow. Our day will be the Vatican & St. Peter's and then off to the catacombs!!

I'll try to blog tomorrow, but can't make promises :)

~steph :)

P.S. thanks for all your comments & sweet words - it's amazing how many are logging in to check out our many adventures - thanks - Merci - Grazie

Day 12: Pit Stops

Sorry I didn't get this blog up yesterday - didn't have time as we traveled from Florence to Rome and had to check into a new hotel...busy busy.

As you can see from these 2 first pics, this is how their time is spent on the bus...sound asleep! They don't know I took these - sorry girls!!

Our 1st stop was a ceramic factory that also had food testing. Some kids bought some stuff...some kids just sampled... sorry I can't tell you who did what otherwise I'd be ruining the surprises coming your way!

Our lunch stop was at this quaint house out in the Tuscan countryside...gorgeous! We had homemade pasta - DELICIOUS - then saw a cooking demo on how they make it... kids really enjoyed the food!

Our big stop of the day was Assisi to see St. Francis' cathedral and buiral grounds... what an amazing place! I know I was quite convicted coming out of there. The mosaic tiles, the marble, the paintings...priceless!

We arrived into Rome fairly late - 8 pm - and had to make a run to the grocery store to stock up for the warm weather awaiting us in Rome.

Kids are amazing - they are kind of getting tired of the rigors of travel...maybe missing home a bit... but are loving what they are seeing and doing. Travel is exhausting - but well worth the ride!

~steph :)

Day 11: Firenze & Pisa

Today we headed into Florence (Firenze) for a morning tour. We started with a leather demonstration and purchases were made...that's all I can say :) We then were taken around the city by a local guide. You can see the kids below listening to the guide as well as capturing some great Kodak moments.

Hunter's new friend :)

After our tour, we had to stop for some world famous Gelato from Grom...yummmm!!!

"Got Gelato?!?"

Next up was a quick trip to Pisa...so we got a nice nap in the bus on our way. I know it's just a leaning tower but it was actually pretty cool to see. I got surprised by it...we were walking thru all these vendors when we turned a corner and BAMN! there it was. Pretty cool! The church to the side of it was amazing!

Of course we had to do a jumping picture...our Tour Director, Mario, joined in this time!

We had a bit of free time and, as you can see, we have some Jersey kids!! These 3 lovely ladies went shopping in Paris and matching dresses - too cute!!

After a long day, we made our way back to the hotel and went our for dinner. Tonight was dinner on our own, so we went for pizza!!! Got a great deal: French Fries, Pizza & a coke for 10 Euros. Of coure, after dinner, we 'had' to go for gelato in the town square...super delicious!!

After dinner and gelato, we headed back to the hotel. The above photo is a typical night for us, with everyone on the cheap Wi-Fi. In our current hotel, we can get the Wi-Fi in our rooms, so we were all hanging out in the lobby. Nice, quite night.

Tomorrow we're packing up again and heading to ROMA!! We have a couple activities planned along the way: a ceramic demonstration, a cooking lesson, a stop in Assisi, before heading to dinner and our hotel near Roma.

Hard to believe we've been gone for 1.5 weeks...and harder to believe we'll be home Sunday already...where has the time gone?!?! London feels like forever ago!

Roma, here we come!!
~steph :)