Day 1 and 2-
Challenging is a good word to explain the first couple of days of a tour with a big group. We finished our first day of land and air travel while also experiencing our first glimpse and taste of Rome the eternal city. Flights went well aside from a security issue. One of our students had to be run through the screening process twice due to a false positive scan on chemical residue. The student even got taken to a private room for additional security screening. Lucky for us we arrived a couple of hours early to the airport to give us additional time for any issues that might develop. We had no problems with flights and we made all of our connections as did our baggage. The overseas flight offered a variety of experiences as some of our students were cold and others were soaking with sweat due to heat. Location, location, location seemed to play a role in the various climate zones in the aircraft.
As our flight reached Europe we were also reaching the daylight hours. We were greeted by amazing views of the Alps, the stars and the mediterranean coast line. When we arrived in Rome we had no lost luggage and no problems getting through passport control and customs. Linda our guide met us on the other side of customs and we were off to the city center. Arriving in the morning can be challenging for students as many might not have been able to sleep on the plane do to the excitement of the upcoming experience. The key to getting the kids circadian rhythms reset is to hit the group running and Linda did this for us.
We first visited the Trevi fountain. We learned that this fountain was part of the ancient Roman’s water systems aqueducts. The fountain was completed in 1762 when the ancient aqueduct that fuels it was reopened. The water from this duct goes on to the Piazza Navona and Bernini’s Four Rivers fountain. The scene here is really as cool as the breeze that comes off the cascading water. One of the local tourist legends states that if you throw in a coin over your shoulder into the fountain you will one day return to the Eternal City. I have done this each time I have visited since 1989,and I have been back about a dozen times so I guess there is something to this. After visiting the fountain we were given some time to explore the streets and have lunch. I went exploring for the nearest gelato stand.
After lunch we went on to explore the Pantheon. This is an amazing structure that once served as a temple for the gods and later a church for christians and today a mecca for tourists. The original temple was built in 27 BC but the one that we visited today was actually rebuilt and completed by Emperor Hadrian in 120 AD. The most beautiful and inspiring feature of the temple is the interior dome. It is simply amazing. It is said to be the inspiration of lots of the great domes of the world including Michelangelo’s dome at Saint Peter’s which we will visit later. My favorite part of the dome is the oculus. The beams of sunlight that come through looks like a spotlight on the people milling below. This temple of all the gods survived to us today because it became a church for all the martyrs of the Catholic Church. The building is so inspiring that you cannot and should not blame the re-imagining of the place. In fact the re-imaging is what has saved it for the tourists of today.
After our day of hitting the streets of Rome we boarded our bus and ventured out to our hotel which was located in the vast suburbs. Our hotel was directly across from a field which contained the ruins of a set of ancient aqueducts. We went to dinner at a local restaurant and had lasagna- which was good. Ricotta cheese is a feature of American-Italian food and not the traditional roman manner of making lasagna. I have to say I liked it- maybe even better than our ricotta cheese version. Needless to say it has been a long two days and with digestion setting in our students were tired and we headed back to the hotel it was no problem encouraging them to go to their rooms for the night.
Challenging is a good word to explain the first couple of days of a tour with a big group. We finished our first day of land and air travel while also experiencing our first glimpse and taste of Rome the eternal city. Flights went well aside from a security issue. One of our students had to be run through the screening process twice due to a false positive scan on chemical residue. The student even got taken to a private room for additional security screening. Lucky for us we arrived a couple of hours early to the airport to give us additional time for any issues that might develop. We had no problems with flights and we made all of our connections as did our baggage. The overseas flight offered a variety of experiences as some of our students were cold and others were soaking with sweat due to heat. Location, location, location seemed to play a role in the various climate zones in the aircraft.
As our flight reached Europe we were also reaching the daylight hours. We were greeted by amazing views of the Alps, the stars and the mediterranean coast line. When we arrived in Rome we had no lost luggage and no problems getting through passport control and customs. Linda our guide met us on the other side of customs and we were off to the city center. Arriving in the morning can be challenging for students as many might not have been able to sleep on the plane do to the excitement of the upcoming experience. The key to getting the kids circadian rhythms reset is to hit the group running and Linda did this for us.
We first visited the Trevi fountain. We learned that this fountain was part of the ancient Roman’s water systems aqueducts. The fountain was completed in 1762 when the ancient aqueduct that fuels it was reopened. The water from this duct goes on to the Piazza Navona and Bernini’s Four Rivers fountain. The scene here is really as cool as the breeze that comes off the cascading water. One of the local tourist legends states that if you throw in a coin over your shoulder into the fountain you will one day return to the Eternal City. I have done this each time I have visited since 1989,and I have been back about a dozen times so I guess there is something to this. After visiting the fountain we were given some time to explore the streets and have lunch. I went exploring for the nearest gelato stand.
After lunch we went on to explore the Pantheon. This is an amazing structure that once served as a temple for the gods and later a church for christians and today a mecca for tourists. The original temple was built in 27 BC but the one that we visited today was actually rebuilt and completed by Emperor Hadrian in 120 AD. The most beautiful and inspiring feature of the temple is the interior dome. It is simply amazing. It is said to be the inspiration of lots of the great domes of the world including Michelangelo’s dome at Saint Peter’s which we will visit later. My favorite part of the dome is the oculus. The beams of sunlight that come through looks like a spotlight on the people milling below. This temple of all the gods survived to us today because it became a church for all the martyrs of the Catholic Church. The building is so inspiring that you cannot and should not blame the re-imagining of the place. In fact the re-imaging is what has saved it for the tourists of today.
After our day of hitting the streets of Rome we boarded our bus and ventured out to our hotel which was located in the vast suburbs. Our hotel was directly across from a field which contained the ruins of a set of ancient aqueducts. We went to dinner at a local restaurant and had lasagna- which was good. Ricotta cheese is a feature of American-Italian food and not the traditional roman manner of making lasagna. I have to say I liked it- maybe even better than our ricotta cheese version. Needless to say it has been a long two days and with digestion setting in our students were tired and we headed back to the hotel it was no problem encouraging them to go to their rooms for the night.
Day 3- “All Roads lead to Rome” but the driving and the traffic leave a bit to be desired. It was nice to have an extra bit of sleep as it is much easier to sleep in a bed than in a plane that is for sure. That extra sleep paired with a good breakfast does a body and mind good to prep for the experience of the roads of Rome. We were on our way to the Colosseum and had not even made it out of the parking lot when we came across a tractor trailer going the wrong way on a one way. Watching and experiencing the driving here is an interesting experience to say the least. Just last night our bus driver did a three point turn in the middle of a two lane highway in the middle of rush hour when he was lost trying to find dinner. We created quite the backup in rush hour. Linda our tour director let us know that the biggest car usually wins these traffic showdowns. We won twice last night but today we were the smaller car and we really didn’t have anywhere to go so we had to wait for this truck to somehow manage to back out. We survived but some of the beautiful trees that lined the drive way were worse for the wear. There are a lot of crazy traffic stunts that are played out here. I am guessing there is no drivers education in the schools.
After arriving to the Colosseum we found it to be very crowded. This would have been much like it would be at the height of the performances that were held at this ancient wonder which was build in 80 AD and held some 50,000 fans. We learned about its storied and bloody history. I imagine the scene to be somewhat like a Nascar or Wrestlemania event. We took a group picture inside and outside. The inside picture was taken in the area that is believed to be the Emperor’s private box. This box is where the Gladiator would ask the Emperor whether or not to end the life of his downed opponent. The Emperor sometimes allowed the crowd to make the call with the infamous thumbs up or thumbs down sign.
We learned lots of interesting facts about the building. It was originally named Flavian’s Amphitheater. There was once a lake here. The events were free to the public and lots of animals and people died here. There was once a 100 foot statue of Nero made out of Bronze outside the building. The Gladiators’ fights were the main event at this venue. The Colosseum is most likely not the scene of Christians being thrown to the lions although gladiators might have fought the beasts as well as tigers, hippos, elephants, bears and even crocodiles. (Christians were being thrown to the lions at other venues). The weapons of the games included swords, spears, tridents, nets and shields. The animals would actually be brought up from underneath the battle floor through trap doors. Just like baseball stadiums today protect the fans from foul balls the lower seats had netted protection. A loose lion leaping through the seats for lunch might be a bad headline.
We also learned about the Arch of Constantine ( later copied by the French Emperor Napoleon). The time this Arch was built marked the arrival of Christianity as the state religion. When the Emperor Constantine defeated his rivals he changed the state religion. This arch is dedicated to Constantine and his victory. The Arch is decorated with great moments of Roman history and ties Constantine to this glory. It is ironic to think that at one time in Rome you could be thrown to the lions for being a christian and now it was dangerous not to be one. This all took place in early part of the fourth century.
Next we took in the Roman Forum. Here we saw many of the important buildings, monuments and temples. Most of it was buried under ground just less than three hundred years ago. We saw and walked on the spot of the House of the Vestal Virgins. The women who made up the house served thirty years and were chosen for the title before they reached the age of ten. Legend holds that these women were held in such high regard that they even had seats across from the Emperor at the Colosseum. I read that if these girls failed to hold their vow they would be buried alive. A couple of the boys in the group said if the offending male was found out that he had an equally gruesome fate.
Another important building to many of our students was the Temple of Julius Caesar. A number of them of course have read Shakespeare’s account of the story and now they were able to see the spot where his body was burned after his assassination. By having a temple dedicated to him the Romans looked at Caesar as a god after his death. He had been keen on rebuilding Rome and the forum to continue on a path of greatness and thanks to required high school reading is perhaps the best known Roman to our students. A really cool thing about this temple is that people still flock to it leaving fresh flowers to this day- just like Elvis fans flocking to their “King” at Graceland.
After these two tours we had lunch and split up. Some explored the streets around the Panthenon while I kept the remainder of the students and stayed in the city center to view a couple of other interesting places. Before exploring we found lunch and an interesting group of street dancers. After the entertainment we then headed to the Cappuccin Crypt. This is an interesting place where a number (over 3,000 to nearly 4000)of dead monks had to be moved when the new monastery was build. Over three hundred cartloads of bones were moved over to the new complex. They even brought in soil from Jerusalem to rebury some of them. However most of the bones were used as decorations which some might see as gruesome or bizarre. One monk, a father Michael, seemed to do most of the decorating. You are not allowed to take pictures because it is a sacred site. But you are allowed to buy bookmarks, books, post cards and t-shirts as tokens for remembrance.
After this visit we broke up into small groups and explored the streets before meeting back up at the Pantheon to go for pizza dinner. It was a really nice typical Roman style pizza which is quite different from American style just as the lasagna was last night. But once again different is not bad as in this case it was quite good in my opinion. Finally, my major achievement today was to get an avid olive hater to try one- just a bite. I was successful as he didn’t just try one but he ate three. The only reason he only had three as we had ran out of then and out of time as we had to scoot off to dinner.
A special thanks goes out to Ms. Perkins and Mr Davis for helping coordinate to day and our many groups.
After arriving to the Colosseum we found it to be very crowded. This would have been much like it would be at the height of the performances that were held at this ancient wonder which was build in 80 AD and held some 50,000 fans. We learned about its storied and bloody history. I imagine the scene to be somewhat like a Nascar or Wrestlemania event. We took a group picture inside and outside. The inside picture was taken in the area that is believed to be the Emperor’s private box. This box is where the Gladiator would ask the Emperor whether or not to end the life of his downed opponent. The Emperor sometimes allowed the crowd to make the call with the infamous thumbs up or thumbs down sign.
We learned lots of interesting facts about the building. It was originally named Flavian’s Amphitheater. There was once a lake here. The events were free to the public and lots of animals and people died here. There was once a 100 foot statue of Nero made out of Bronze outside the building. The Gladiators’ fights were the main event at this venue. The Colosseum is most likely not the scene of Christians being thrown to the lions although gladiators might have fought the beasts as well as tigers, hippos, elephants, bears and even crocodiles. (Christians were being thrown to the lions at other venues). The weapons of the games included swords, spears, tridents, nets and shields. The animals would actually be brought up from underneath the battle floor through trap doors. Just like baseball stadiums today protect the fans from foul balls the lower seats had netted protection. A loose lion leaping through the seats for lunch might be a bad headline.
We also learned about the Arch of Constantine ( later copied by the French Emperor Napoleon). The time this Arch was built marked the arrival of Christianity as the state religion. When the Emperor Constantine defeated his rivals he changed the state religion. This arch is dedicated to Constantine and his victory. The Arch is decorated with great moments of Roman history and ties Constantine to this glory. It is ironic to think that at one time in Rome you could be thrown to the lions for being a christian and now it was dangerous not to be one. This all took place in early part of the fourth century.
Next we took in the Roman Forum. Here we saw many of the important buildings, monuments and temples. Most of it was buried under ground just less than three hundred years ago. We saw and walked on the spot of the House of the Vestal Virgins. The women who made up the house served thirty years and were chosen for the title before they reached the age of ten. Legend holds that these women were held in such high regard that they even had seats across from the Emperor at the Colosseum. I read that if these girls failed to hold their vow they would be buried alive. A couple of the boys in the group said if the offending male was found out that he had an equally gruesome fate.
Another important building to many of our students was the Temple of Julius Caesar. A number of them of course have read Shakespeare’s account of the story and now they were able to see the spot where his body was burned after his assassination. By having a temple dedicated to him the Romans looked at Caesar as a god after his death. He had been keen on rebuilding Rome and the forum to continue on a path of greatness and thanks to required high school reading is perhaps the best known Roman to our students. A really cool thing about this temple is that people still flock to it leaving fresh flowers to this day- just like Elvis fans flocking to their “King” at Graceland.
After these two tours we had lunch and split up. Some explored the streets around the Panthenon while I kept the remainder of the students and stayed in the city center to view a couple of other interesting places. Before exploring we found lunch and an interesting group of street dancers. After the entertainment we then headed to the Cappuccin Crypt. This is an interesting place where a number (over 3,000 to nearly 4000)of dead monks had to be moved when the new monastery was build. Over three hundred cartloads of bones were moved over to the new complex. They even brought in soil from Jerusalem to rebury some of them. However most of the bones were used as decorations which some might see as gruesome or bizarre. One monk, a father Michael, seemed to do most of the decorating. You are not allowed to take pictures because it is a sacred site. But you are allowed to buy bookmarks, books, post cards and t-shirts as tokens for remembrance.
After this visit we broke up into small groups and explored the streets before meeting back up at the Pantheon to go for pizza dinner. It was a really nice typical Roman style pizza which is quite different from American style just as the lasagna was last night. But once again different is not bad as in this case it was quite good in my opinion. Finally, my major achievement today was to get an avid olive hater to try one- just a bite. I was successful as he didn’t just try one but he ate three. The only reason he only had three as we had ran out of then and out of time as we had to scoot off to dinner.
A special thanks goes out to Ms. Perkins and Mr Davis for helping coordinate to day and our many groups.
Day 4- There are upsides and downsides to group travel. We started off the day with a rare June Roman rain as we pulled out of the hotel in the morning. Today’s first goal was the Vatican Museum. Sometimes the downside of group travel is you have to wait on people but sometimes the advantage is that you get to go around people. In the case of our journey to the Vatican we got to go through the speed line- membership has its privileges as the old American Express commercial used to brag. It was very nice as our rain shower turned into an out and out down pour and the people in the long line were getting a thorough soaking. The downside of popular places are the crowds while the upside are the sales people that come out of the wood work. In our current situation the sale people came with $3 and $5 umbrellas.
We saw lots of important works in the museum but my highlight is always the Sistine Chapel. Thinking about the marvel of this accomplishment is a true inspiration despite the crowds, despite the rude people taking pictures and being loud, despite the guards yelling “No Photos” and ironically yelling “silence”- the place still moves you in a positive regard. The highlights of the Sistine Chapel included the ceiling artwork done by Michelangelo. The creation of Adam is my favorite panel as the painting of the two hands meeting conveys the transfer of energy from the dynamic hand of God to the limp hand of Adam. I heard a crazy theory a few years back that is not well accepted yet I found it intriguing. If you look at this painting closely it almost looks like the cross section of the human brain the seed of our creativity. Could Mike have been showing us the true nature of the creativity of the human spirit?
The students enjoyed learning about the painting of the “Last Judgement” which takes up the wall near the alter of the Chapel. Several cool things can be learned and seen in this work. The work is of the final judgment as discussed in the Bible, and the painting is divided into two halves- those that will be saved and those that will be condemned. The right side you will see the punished while on the left side you will see the blessed. Michelangelo places one of his top critics in the depths of hell wrapped in a snake. He even placed himself in the judgement scene. He is leaning toward the side of hell his face hidden in flayed skin. The original painting has been touched up to cover up certain parts of the human body, and it has recently been cleaned and torched up again for continued viewing for more generations. I have to wonder though with the crowds being so huge might there be a future when the viewings of this room will be managed differently? I am thinking it should be to help maintain a more spiritual environment for all of those who choose to view.
Other must sees that our students saw included the Apollo Belvedere, the Laocoon Group, the Tapestries room, the map room, and the Belvedere Torso. Two fun facts surround a couple of these works. The “Torso” was one of Michelangelo’s favorites. He even modeled core of Christ in the “Last Judgement” on parts of this torso. He liked it as it was more grounded in reality of what people really look like not the human ideal as seen in the Apollo Belvedere. Another fun fact is the story of the Laocoon group. Later in this tour we will visit Mycenae which plays a role in the story of Troy. The statue represents the story of the high priest that warned the people of Troy, “Beware go Greeks bearing gifts.” As we know the Trojan horse was not what it seemed and when the priest tried his best to spread the warning again we learned who the gods favored in the war as he and his sons were wrapped up by a giant snake to keep them silent about the secret. The Greeks won and we have this cool statue to look at today.
After the Museum we were able to go through the special Jubilee Doors at St. Peter’s. These doors are only opened by degree by the Pope to celebrate special significance. We saw pilgrims marching through this door which marks this special year of “Mercy” as designated by the Pope. The larger than life church is made to feel a bit more grounded by all of the oversized statues and art works. Even the text around the dome is over six feet per letter. The cool thing is all the paintings in the church are not paintings at all but mosaics. Parts of the church where sectioned off for a special service so it felt more crowded than normal. After learning we went out to eat.
Our meal was finished with a gift shop stop and then we split up for the afternoon. A little over half the students went to the catacombs while I took the other group to the Church of Saint Peter in Chains. This church features the relic chains that held Peter captive and the unfinished tomb of Pope Julius the second. It was made by the big guy Mike (of sistine chapel fame) and is pretty dynamic. I will share more details on this amazing place in the day five notes. The evening dinner featured pasta while we strolled for Gelato afterwards in the Plaza Navore,
We saw lots of important works in the museum but my highlight is always the Sistine Chapel. Thinking about the marvel of this accomplishment is a true inspiration despite the crowds, despite the rude people taking pictures and being loud, despite the guards yelling “No Photos” and ironically yelling “silence”- the place still moves you in a positive regard. The highlights of the Sistine Chapel included the ceiling artwork done by Michelangelo. The creation of Adam is my favorite panel as the painting of the two hands meeting conveys the transfer of energy from the dynamic hand of God to the limp hand of Adam. I heard a crazy theory a few years back that is not well accepted yet I found it intriguing. If you look at this painting closely it almost looks like the cross section of the human brain the seed of our creativity. Could Mike have been showing us the true nature of the creativity of the human spirit?
The students enjoyed learning about the painting of the “Last Judgement” which takes up the wall near the alter of the Chapel. Several cool things can be learned and seen in this work. The work is of the final judgment as discussed in the Bible, and the painting is divided into two halves- those that will be saved and those that will be condemned. The right side you will see the punished while on the left side you will see the blessed. Michelangelo places one of his top critics in the depths of hell wrapped in a snake. He even placed himself in the judgement scene. He is leaning toward the side of hell his face hidden in flayed skin. The original painting has been touched up to cover up certain parts of the human body, and it has recently been cleaned and torched up again for continued viewing for more generations. I have to wonder though with the crowds being so huge might there be a future when the viewings of this room will be managed differently? I am thinking it should be to help maintain a more spiritual environment for all of those who choose to view.
Other must sees that our students saw included the Apollo Belvedere, the Laocoon Group, the Tapestries room, the map room, and the Belvedere Torso. Two fun facts surround a couple of these works. The “Torso” was one of Michelangelo’s favorites. He even modeled core of Christ in the “Last Judgement” on parts of this torso. He liked it as it was more grounded in reality of what people really look like not the human ideal as seen in the Apollo Belvedere. Another fun fact is the story of the Laocoon group. Later in this tour we will visit Mycenae which plays a role in the story of Troy. The statue represents the story of the high priest that warned the people of Troy, “Beware go Greeks bearing gifts.” As we know the Trojan horse was not what it seemed and when the priest tried his best to spread the warning again we learned who the gods favored in the war as he and his sons were wrapped up by a giant snake to keep them silent about the secret. The Greeks won and we have this cool statue to look at today.
After the Museum we were able to go through the special Jubilee Doors at St. Peter’s. These doors are only opened by degree by the Pope to celebrate special significance. We saw pilgrims marching through this door which marks this special year of “Mercy” as designated by the Pope. The larger than life church is made to feel a bit more grounded by all of the oversized statues and art works. Even the text around the dome is over six feet per letter. The cool thing is all the paintings in the church are not paintings at all but mosaics. Parts of the church where sectioned off for a special service so it felt more crowded than normal. After learning we went out to eat.
Our meal was finished with a gift shop stop and then we split up for the afternoon. A little over half the students went to the catacombs while I took the other group to the Church of Saint Peter in Chains. This church features the relic chains that held Peter captive and the unfinished tomb of Pope Julius the second. It was made by the big guy Mike (of sistine chapel fame) and is pretty dynamic. I will share more details on this amazing place in the day five notes. The evening dinner featured pasta while we strolled for Gelato afterwards in the Plaza Navore,
Day 5-Travel can help uncover new meanings, new understanding and a sense of being connected not only to the world around you but to the past as well. Speaking of the past I thought I might share a few more things about our final visit yesterday.
In the afternoon we visited St. Peter in Chains. This church is one of the oldest in Rome dating back to 440 (It has been modified over the years). One of the gems of the church is Michelangelo’s Moses statue which was meant to be part of a piece in a huge monument dedicated to Pope Julius the Second. Mike never finished it. There were a couple of reasons for this: first- the Pope reassigned him to paint the sistine chapel, and second- the pope up and died before the tomb monument was finished and the funding for it was redirected to other projects. So instead of Julius having this massive tomb monument in Saint Peters he was buried in a simple grave in the church.
A couple of interesting things I read about the statue and the tomb is that the statue of Mose (which is larger than life) was just one small piece of the overall intended monument. Another interesting fact is that Moses appears to have horns. These horns were suppose to represent a halo or rays of light. These horns or halo were based on word play of a translation error in the Hebrew word for halo. The statue was also suppose to be looking away from the unfinished center piece portion of the Statue- the Pope himself. Mike was never one to shy away from using art to make a point as we saw earlier in the day when he calls out a top critic by placing him on the wrong side of the scales of judgement and in the “hot seat” for the life of the painting which has been around for a while now. It is nice to now that artists have been using their work for generations to bring to light the corruption and controversies of their time periods.
On this morning we had a late start on an early start. We had two cases of misplaced passports that created a bit of a worry. As we were scheduled to travel to Pompeii and our ferry to Greece. We did not have a lot of wiggle room in the schedule today. Lucky for us and the two students involved the passports were located. The stop of the day was the lost city of Pompeii. I say lost because it was lost to us under tons of ash from the eruption in 79 AD. But like our “lost” passports the “lost” city was also rediscovered in the 1600s. We learned that volcano Vesuvius that destroyed the city is still active with its most recent eruption coming in 1942. I already knew of this not because I was around in ’42 but because one of my great uncles was a service man in the Second World War He was part of a corp that was attacking Germany and the Axis through the soft underbelly of Europe. He had taken a photograph of Mount Vesuvius erupting while passing it with his group. That picture is still with our family today.
The first thing our guide Fabio pointed out to us as we entered the uncovered city was random pieces of graffiti on some of the city walls. As I was pointing out one of these pieces of graffiti of a horse to the students I received an interesting question—-“what is the significance of this horse and all of this graffiti?” This is a great question as the answer to this question is the most enduring story of Pompeii. We get a glimpse of the daily life of normal people in this time period. The eruption preserved this moment in time for the ages, and we get to see the day to day existence of a whole lot of people from that one event. We see the layouts of the original buildings, streets, businesses, activities, temples and belief systems. We see all of the layers of society in the layers of ash as the ash has preserved them for us. It is a very cool place although the bright sun had us all feeling pretty worn out by the end of the tour. We visited a typical home, a “Mission Hills” home, a bakery, a gym, a sauna, a business that featured the “oldest of all professions”, and so much more. Our journey into the past was in many ways a reflection of our current times. I hoped that it built these bridges for our students.
After the tour we had a chance to try the style of pizza that is preferred in Naples. The wood fired pizzas seemed to have just the right mix of cheese and sweet tomato sauce. The lunch closed with a small portion of gelato which would be our last meal in Italy. We hit the bus again on a quest to make our ferry on time and head off to the wonders of Greece.
Today’s group photo is from Pompeii with the volcano lurking in the background-
In the afternoon we visited St. Peter in Chains. This church is one of the oldest in Rome dating back to 440 (It has been modified over the years). One of the gems of the church is Michelangelo’s Moses statue which was meant to be part of a piece in a huge monument dedicated to Pope Julius the Second. Mike never finished it. There were a couple of reasons for this: first- the Pope reassigned him to paint the sistine chapel, and second- the pope up and died before the tomb monument was finished and the funding for it was redirected to other projects. So instead of Julius having this massive tomb monument in Saint Peters he was buried in a simple grave in the church.
A couple of interesting things I read about the statue and the tomb is that the statue of Mose (which is larger than life) was just one small piece of the overall intended monument. Another interesting fact is that Moses appears to have horns. These horns were suppose to represent a halo or rays of light. These horns or halo were based on word play of a translation error in the Hebrew word for halo. The statue was also suppose to be looking away from the unfinished center piece portion of the Statue- the Pope himself. Mike was never one to shy away from using art to make a point as we saw earlier in the day when he calls out a top critic by placing him on the wrong side of the scales of judgement and in the “hot seat” for the life of the painting which has been around for a while now. It is nice to now that artists have been using their work for generations to bring to light the corruption and controversies of their time periods.
On this morning we had a late start on an early start. We had two cases of misplaced passports that created a bit of a worry. As we were scheduled to travel to Pompeii and our ferry to Greece. We did not have a lot of wiggle room in the schedule today. Lucky for us and the two students involved the passports were located. The stop of the day was the lost city of Pompeii. I say lost because it was lost to us under tons of ash from the eruption in 79 AD. But like our “lost” passports the “lost” city was also rediscovered in the 1600s. We learned that volcano Vesuvius that destroyed the city is still active with its most recent eruption coming in 1942. I already knew of this not because I was around in ’42 but because one of my great uncles was a service man in the Second World War He was part of a corp that was attacking Germany and the Axis through the soft underbelly of Europe. He had taken a photograph of Mount Vesuvius erupting while passing it with his group. That picture is still with our family today.
The first thing our guide Fabio pointed out to us as we entered the uncovered city was random pieces of graffiti on some of the city walls. As I was pointing out one of these pieces of graffiti of a horse to the students I received an interesting question—-“what is the significance of this horse and all of this graffiti?” This is a great question as the answer to this question is the most enduring story of Pompeii. We get a glimpse of the daily life of normal people in this time period. The eruption preserved this moment in time for the ages, and we get to see the day to day existence of a whole lot of people from that one event. We see the layouts of the original buildings, streets, businesses, activities, temples and belief systems. We see all of the layers of society in the layers of ash as the ash has preserved them for us. It is a very cool place although the bright sun had us all feeling pretty worn out by the end of the tour. We visited a typical home, a “Mission Hills” home, a bakery, a gym, a sauna, a business that featured the “oldest of all professions”, and so much more. Our journey into the past was in many ways a reflection of our current times. I hoped that it built these bridges for our students.
After the tour we had a chance to try the style of pizza that is preferred in Naples. The wood fired pizzas seemed to have just the right mix of cheese and sweet tomato sauce. The lunch closed with a small portion of gelato which would be our last meal in Italy. We hit the bus again on a quest to make our ferry on time and head off to the wonders of Greece.
Today’s group photo is from Pompeii with the volcano lurking in the background-
Day 6- Our first night on the boat went well. We did not lose anyone at sea nor did anyone lose their lunch. The sea was like silk as we sailed along Adriatic sea to the Ionian sea. The sunset view was a spectacular mix of shades of blue and hints of pink and orange. There was just enough cloud cover to restrict the stars but not enough to restrict games of Uno, hearts, and the Euro-cup. In the game of Uno- Brian won for the boys and Oreana won for the girls in the hotly contested matches. One thing I forgot to mention yesterday is that we visited a specialty Jewelry factory that focused on Cameos. This jewelry features finely carved sea shells that normally feature faces. We got to see a master carver at work which was amazing. Of course after the demonstration our group got a chance to buy samples. Even if cameos are not your style the craftsmanship that goes into the production of the piece makes it a true work of art.
We arrived to Greece for the second part of our three part adventure around noon. As we drove to our lunch spot we noticed these little churches on top of poles along the highway. Sometimes it wasn't a building on the pole but a single clear box with a cross on top. These road side shrines were all over the place. They are meant to help with safe passage to your next destination. They are taken care of and cleaned by local families and are sometimes a tribute to a god, saint or person. My first assumption that the shrines my witness a spot where someone had had an accident as they do back in Kansas but this was not the case.
Our drive featured fantastic countryside with rolling hills and olive groves. Speaking of Olive groves we stopped for a bathroom break at a store that featured among other things olives and olive oil products. We were able to see, smell and taste a number of oils and olive types. I Have a feeling our stop for the bathroom benefited both us and the shop owners as the line at the cash register was mighty long.
As we arrived to Olympia we started off with lunch. Our group tried a number of interesting greek foods. My focus was gyros and greek salad. I will post pictures later of my dinner. (we have a complete section dedicated to the students thoughts on their foods in both Italy and Greece.) I can share with you my reflections on the meal—-excellent!
We walked down to the ancient Olympic park and visited the site museum. We learned a lot of history about the games including the goals of the Games: Union, Brotherhood and Peace. The modern games are suppose to share these goals. In fact wars that the ancient greeks were involved in stopped during the games. Further proof that the games had peace as an aim: the champions were crowned with an olive wreath. Why an olive wreath?— because the olive branch is a symbol of peace. There was also an Olympic code to participate in the games: you had to be male, you had to speak greek, you had to be a freed man, and you had to worship the 12 gods. We learned lots of fun facts: boxing gloves were strips of animal skins wrapped around the fists, wrestling winners were determined when the losers back touched the ground three times, and they could/would cover themselves in olive oil to make holds more difficult. There were a number of wonderful artifacts from the site on display.
We passed the torch lighting area and headed to the 2,500 year old stadium. The word “stadium” back in this time period did not refer to the arena area itself but a standard distance that was to be run by the contestants. Our group had two sets of volunteers both boys and girls race against one another. In the boys race Tristan pulled of the win and with the girls it was Chandler. I think most of our students ran the race fair and square. But if they had cheated the Greeks would have posted statues of them in their infamous “Hall of Shame.” This walkway featured the statues of known cheaters in order to shame them for history’s sake and scare others into playing fair.
Our last visit at the site was the Temple of Zeus which we strolled around and imaged how it might have been. This temple held one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World: a statue of Zeus. That statue of Zeus was the highlight of the temple it stood 40 feet tall and was made of wood covered in ivory. Zeus was dressed in cloths and sat on a throne made of over 500 pounds of gold plate. The statue was here for over 900 years. What happened to it remains one of histories great mysteries. Most likely it was destroyed by earthquakes and then pillaged- gut no one is sure. We do know why this place was selected for the Temple to the King of the gods because Kronos Hill near where the temple is located is believed to be the birthplace of the big guy Zeus himself. Pictures were snapped and the bus was loaded and off we headed to the Olympic village our home for the evening.
Today’s photo is the group at the tunnel archway of Olympia headed to the track/stadium
We arrived to Greece for the second part of our three part adventure around noon. As we drove to our lunch spot we noticed these little churches on top of poles along the highway. Sometimes it wasn't a building on the pole but a single clear box with a cross on top. These road side shrines were all over the place. They are meant to help with safe passage to your next destination. They are taken care of and cleaned by local families and are sometimes a tribute to a god, saint or person. My first assumption that the shrines my witness a spot where someone had had an accident as they do back in Kansas but this was not the case.
Our drive featured fantastic countryside with rolling hills and olive groves. Speaking of Olive groves we stopped for a bathroom break at a store that featured among other things olives and olive oil products. We were able to see, smell and taste a number of oils and olive types. I Have a feeling our stop for the bathroom benefited both us and the shop owners as the line at the cash register was mighty long.
As we arrived to Olympia we started off with lunch. Our group tried a number of interesting greek foods. My focus was gyros and greek salad. I will post pictures later of my dinner. (we have a complete section dedicated to the students thoughts on their foods in both Italy and Greece.) I can share with you my reflections on the meal—-excellent!
We walked down to the ancient Olympic park and visited the site museum. We learned a lot of history about the games including the goals of the Games: Union, Brotherhood and Peace. The modern games are suppose to share these goals. In fact wars that the ancient greeks were involved in stopped during the games. Further proof that the games had peace as an aim: the champions were crowned with an olive wreath. Why an olive wreath?— because the olive branch is a symbol of peace. There was also an Olympic code to participate in the games: you had to be male, you had to speak greek, you had to be a freed man, and you had to worship the 12 gods. We learned lots of fun facts: boxing gloves were strips of animal skins wrapped around the fists, wrestling winners were determined when the losers back touched the ground three times, and they could/would cover themselves in olive oil to make holds more difficult. There were a number of wonderful artifacts from the site on display.
We passed the torch lighting area and headed to the 2,500 year old stadium. The word “stadium” back in this time period did not refer to the arena area itself but a standard distance that was to be run by the contestants. Our group had two sets of volunteers both boys and girls race against one another. In the boys race Tristan pulled of the win and with the girls it was Chandler. I think most of our students ran the race fair and square. But if they had cheated the Greeks would have posted statues of them in their infamous “Hall of Shame.” This walkway featured the statues of known cheaters in order to shame them for history’s sake and scare others into playing fair.
Our last visit at the site was the Temple of Zeus which we strolled around and imaged how it might have been. This temple held one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World: a statue of Zeus. That statue of Zeus was the highlight of the temple it stood 40 feet tall and was made of wood covered in ivory. Zeus was dressed in cloths and sat on a throne made of over 500 pounds of gold plate. The statue was here for over 900 years. What happened to it remains one of histories great mysteries. Most likely it was destroyed by earthquakes and then pillaged- gut no one is sure. We do know why this place was selected for the Temple to the King of the gods because Kronos Hill near where the temple is located is believed to be the birthplace of the big guy Zeus himself. Pictures were snapped and the bus was loaded and off we headed to the Olympic village our home for the evening.
Today’s photo is the group at the tunnel archway of Olympia headed to the track/stadium
Day 7- We got up early to travel the Peloponnese and make our way towards Athens. Our first stop was the archeological site of Mycenae. This was home of Agamemnon. He is the Agamemnon from the story of Troy and the Trojan war/horse story. The Trojan war from the Iliad and the Odyssey. The site itself is amazing in size and scope. We learned about how such a construction project could have been attempted and completed at that time. The blocks of rock are so huge it was thought that a group of cyclops must have built these wall hence this is why the term “Cyclopean” is associated with this ancient sites building style.
We had a beautiful day to explore the old citadel on the hill. Our guide Sophie drew our attention to a picture of an ancient death mask of the period. She proceeded to show us a profile of the mask and then pointed to a nearby mountain. The outline of the mountain looked like the profile and body of the long gone King Agamemnon. Some people believe his ghost still haunts these hills.
An interesting note was all of the bugs in the air. Lots of different types of beetles. I had no idea that so many kids were scared of flying beetles. Even our guide Sophie freaked out a little later in the day when she was saying good bye to us on the bus.
The complex is pretty cool in that archeology is able to validate aspects of the past. The grand Lion’s Gate must have struck awe in the visitors of the past as it does with us visitors of today. The complex was dug up in 1876 and the search for understanding of these people and their past began and the search for the truths of the past legends of this once great city-state also began. One of the legends involves the heads of the missing lions. Since those heads are missing we do not know exactly what they looked like or what they were made of. Some speculate that they were made of solid gold. If so where are they? Some also speculate that they were stolen as so much of the ancient world’s golden artifacts have been taken throughout the ages.
We then traveled down and across the road and explored a giant bee hive tomb. This tomb very well may have been Agamemnon’s burial site. It was most likely robbed since nothing has been found here since it was rediscovered. We were suppose to be able to see orbs of light that locals hold to be some sorts of spirits when you shoot your camera into the small dark storage room behind the main chamber. Several of our students got the shot. If you look closely at the pictures below you might see the ghost of Agamemnon himself.
After these two tours we headed to lunch and a pottery demonstration. The next stop was perhaps the greatest mystery of all. We visited the ancient healing center known as Epidavros. This was believed to be the birth place of Apollo’s son Asklepios the god of healing and medicine. The mystery is in the theatre. The acoustics here are amazing and no one quite knows how to explain them. This theater which is over 2.400 years old is still used today. We had a couple in our group demonstrate that it was still up to standards. I dropped a coin that students could hear all the way at the top and Emily sang a song that carried to the top as well. I am truly amazed by this place. Our group photo today will come from the beehive tomb and the theater.
After leaving Epidavros we headed towards Athens and got to pass over the Corinth Canal. The canal is what separates the Peloponnese from the rest of Greece. It was first opened in 1893 after construction began in 1881 by the French. It is a very narrow channel and mostly tourist travel through it today. It is at sea level so no locks are needed.
We pulled away from the site and put our sights on Athens. We would just overnight here but a few of us would have a chance to play in the sea. Some for the first time.
Off to bed and then off to the boat—-
We had a beautiful day to explore the old citadel on the hill. Our guide Sophie drew our attention to a picture of an ancient death mask of the period. She proceeded to show us a profile of the mask and then pointed to a nearby mountain. The outline of the mountain looked like the profile and body of the long gone King Agamemnon. Some people believe his ghost still haunts these hills.
An interesting note was all of the bugs in the air. Lots of different types of beetles. I had no idea that so many kids were scared of flying beetles. Even our guide Sophie freaked out a little later in the day when she was saying good bye to us on the bus.
The complex is pretty cool in that archeology is able to validate aspects of the past. The grand Lion’s Gate must have struck awe in the visitors of the past as it does with us visitors of today. The complex was dug up in 1876 and the search for understanding of these people and their past began and the search for the truths of the past legends of this once great city-state also began. One of the legends involves the heads of the missing lions. Since those heads are missing we do not know exactly what they looked like or what they were made of. Some speculate that they were made of solid gold. If so where are they? Some also speculate that they were stolen as so much of the ancient world’s golden artifacts have been taken throughout the ages.
We then traveled down and across the road and explored a giant bee hive tomb. This tomb very well may have been Agamemnon’s burial site. It was most likely robbed since nothing has been found here since it was rediscovered. We were suppose to be able to see orbs of light that locals hold to be some sorts of spirits when you shoot your camera into the small dark storage room behind the main chamber. Several of our students got the shot. If you look closely at the pictures below you might see the ghost of Agamemnon himself.
After these two tours we headed to lunch and a pottery demonstration. The next stop was perhaps the greatest mystery of all. We visited the ancient healing center known as Epidavros. This was believed to be the birth place of Apollo’s son Asklepios the god of healing and medicine. The mystery is in the theatre. The acoustics here are amazing and no one quite knows how to explain them. This theater which is over 2.400 years old is still used today. We had a couple in our group demonstrate that it was still up to standards. I dropped a coin that students could hear all the way at the top and Emily sang a song that carried to the top as well. I am truly amazed by this place. Our group photo today will come from the beehive tomb and the theater.
After leaving Epidavros we headed towards Athens and got to pass over the Corinth Canal. The canal is what separates the Peloponnese from the rest of Greece. It was first opened in 1893 after construction began in 1881 by the French. It is a very narrow channel and mostly tourist travel through it today. It is at sea level so no locks are needed.
We pulled away from the site and put our sights on Athens. We would just overnight here but a few of us would have a chance to play in the sea. Some for the first time.
Off to bed and then off to the boat—-
Day 8-Sailing away is not a painful thing at all. We arrived in Athens late last night and woke this morning to start the third part of our trip which is to explore several of the Greek Islands. The hotel that we stayed at was right next to the sea so several students had a sneak preview of the upcoming days on our boat. It was hard to get sleep with the anticipation of the days ahead and the drag strip outside the hotel. We were on a straight stretch of road that seemed to be a testing ground for the neighborhood speed demons testing their cars against one another. Managing speed is one thing managing the process of the boarding of a group of thirty-five is challenging but Linda our tour director made it look as easy as our teenage speed demons and their BMWs and such did last night. I do have to say that our big group is managing itself pretty well and making all of our jobs easy. After boarding and getting all the mandatory information the students explored the ship and the ship set out just not as fast as the dragsters last night nor as loud.
We made it to the island of Mykonos. We took a group shot at “little venice” and spent the rest of the time exploring, enjoying and perhaps even learning something a long the way. The island is well known for its small and maze like streets that are surrounded by tiny blue and white homes, businesses and churches. It is easy to get lost roaming through the maze but as we told the students just start heading down hill and you will eventually make it to the shore. The sunset we had that night was spectacular. I will be honest and tell you I spent at least an hour just setting back and absorbing the scene. I walked just above the windmill hill and climbed over a ridge to find a section of rocks with the ocean slowing gliding into the rocks. Aside from the other students that were absorbed into the sunset there was not the distraction of the hustle and noises of the shopping district. I felt completely isolated in this sea of humanity. It was a night I will not likely forget.
As we were loading the ship earlier in the day I talked to each of the students and had them share at least one or more thing that they had learned or experienced on the journey - (it is a very random list)
*the original gladiators were short and fat not like the ones in the movies
*I am amazed at how everything is so small and condensed.
*I found it interesting how the buildings in the old city center were not that tall
(this is because Rome has a rule regulating height as not to block views)
We caught our cruise ship and had a great day- I will send you details later in the day-
We made it to the island of Mykonos. We took a group shot at “little venice” and spent the rest of the time exploring, enjoying and perhaps even learning something a long the way. The island is well known for its small and maze like streets that are surrounded by tiny blue and white homes, businesses and churches. It is easy to get lost roaming through the maze but as we told the students just start heading down hill and you will eventually make it to the shore. The sunset we had that night was spectacular. I will be honest and tell you I spent at least an hour just setting back and absorbing the scene. I walked just above the windmill hill and climbed over a ridge to find a section of rocks with the ocean slowing gliding into the rocks. Aside from the other students that were absorbed into the sunset there was not the distraction of the hustle and noises of the shopping district. I felt completely isolated in this sea of humanity. It was a night I will not likely forget.
As we were loading the ship earlier in the day I talked to each of the students and had them share at least one or more thing that they had learned or experienced on the journey - (it is a very random list)
*the original gladiators were short and fat not like the ones in the movies
*I am amazed at how everything is so small and condensed.
*I found it interesting how the buildings in the old city center were not that tall
(this is because Rome has a rule regulating height as not to block views)
- I didn’t realize that Mount Vesuvius was still an active volcano- It has erupted as recently as 1944 (Mr. Platt’s great uncle was a serviceman in WW2 and was part of a corp that was attacking from the soft under belly of Europe during this eruption and took a Photograph of it that is still in the family)
- The lemons are larger
- No sales tax
- not much grass in the Rome
- First time gladiators only lasted one minute
- pedestrians don’t have the right a way
- traffic lanes are suggestions
- there are 80 arches in the col
- it took 24 elephants to move one statue of Nero
- I liked how we learned about the daily life of Pompeii
- my experience so far is that Europe was not designed for tall people
- you can find friendship through sour patch kids
- i didn't think the sistine chapel was going to be that beautiful and colorful
- I didn't know that the battle Caudine Forks had actually happened
- I liked the use of visual illusions to make St. Peters seem more welcoming and not so large (super-sized letters for example)
- Olive trees can heal themselves by twisting and making knots to protect themselves
- People in some areas get all their food in a fifty mile radius
- The letters in the St Peters were six feet tall
- There is a great public drinking water system in Rome
- I didn’t know that the Vatican City was actually its own country
- Sleeping of a boat is so amazing I felt like I was being rocked to sleep
- Watch for dive bombing pigeons at the Vatican- john
- I don’t like being put on the spot to sing in Pompeii
- lots of the street vendors in Rome are from Senegal
- Pope Francis does not live in a royal palace - just humble small quarters
- I loved the stepping stones in Pompeii - they were helpful for the ancients to keep their sandals clean of horse crap
- lots of street vendors (official and non official) selling junk everywhere
- I love all their coffee
- In gladiator fights it was not a thumb down that meant death but a sideways thumb that meant to kill them by a nice quick cut to the throat
- You have to pay to use many of the bathrooms or tip the guy that is watching the door
- I didn't know that Michelangelo painted his own face on the painting of the last judgement
- I didn’t like that you have to pay for refills
- most places only serve canned or bottled soda not off of the fountain
- I didn't know that St Peters was built above a cemetery from the time of Nero and that the alter is build right above the bones that are believed to be St. Peters.
- guides don’t like it when you try to cut into their lines…..”Do you speak any languages?”
We caught our cruise ship and had a great day- I will send you details later in the day-
Day 9- two island kind of day
We started at 4:30 in the morning with a wake up call. The reason we had to start so early is our boat is headed to Turkey. Since the US government has issued a travel warning to Turkey EF has arranged for us to stop at another island on the way to Turkey. Samos is a Greek island that I had never ventured to before so the job was to try and figure out how to best use our time. There was an optional excursion offered but since I myself had never tried it nor had I talked to anyone that had I decided to encourage people to stay behind on the island and explore parts of it on our own with small groups. We arrived around six and meet at a restaurant that has been designated the EF zone. The place served us breakfast but it did not include crepes which I found interesting since the place specialized in them and it was in the name of the restaurant. All of that aside the food was very decent.
After a brief debriefing some of our bolder students went out even with the threat of rain (which it did rain for about an hour and a half lightly) A group of us engaged in cards while others just napped to catch up on needed sleep. I took a small group to explore a monastery at the top of a hill above the small port town that we entered. It was amazing. First the hike was longer and steeper than it looked. Second the monastery offered a few surprises- including a very cool cave/grotto/cistern behind its main buildings. When you crawled underneath you could see your own breath due to the temperature change. In the back of the cave was a tine blue chapel designed to be reflect the intentions of Mary, the mother of Jesus. It was fun to explore this underground world. As we returned home we explored and ancient amphitheater. It was very cool and looked like it was still in use today as it had two modern day bathrooms.
We returned for lunch and a surprise birthday party for me from the kids and adults in our group. I say surprise but I admit that I did catch Angelia and Linda in the hallway with a cake - I didn't want to break the illusion of the surprise so I fibbed to Linda that I had no idea of the setup. The students asked me to blow out the candle like also asked me to make a wish. So I made thirty five of them. I wished that I would have an opportunity to travel with each and everyone of them someday in memory or in genuine actual travel. As Chole said to me this morning, “What a perfect way to celebrate going over the hill in age with climbing a hill.”
The second stop was one of my favorite islands. Yes it is a beautiful island but that is not why I loved it . It is a powerful spiritual place for some and draws both the curious and the pilgrim. The Island is Patmos and it is said to be the location of where St John had the visions in a cave to spur his writings of Revelations the final book in the New Testament. Thoughts of the four horsemen and the mark of the beast were born in visions/dreams that he had here as a hermit. The dreams were to have taken place in a cave that is on the island. Of course you can tour the cave and a monastery above that was built by the order of St. John. The monastery has a vast collection of ancient documents that just blow me away. Some of our students opted to take the professional tour with guides that offered expert opinion ( which I would really like to do some day) while I led the students on a cheaper version using taxicabs. The art and locations are interesting - the driving skills of the cab drivers are impossible to describe with out words alone. Some of the students just ended up exploring the island and its small beach.
We returned from the day and ate dinner and I now type these notes I have to say I could not have found a better way to celebrate a birthday from this 35 friends of mine adult and student alike. I thank Linda for the special efforts she made to have a cake made and organize the event with Perkins.
Good Night- I will not be able to send these notes or the picture until I get better internet.
We started at 4:30 in the morning with a wake up call. The reason we had to start so early is our boat is headed to Turkey. Since the US government has issued a travel warning to Turkey EF has arranged for us to stop at another island on the way to Turkey. Samos is a Greek island that I had never ventured to before so the job was to try and figure out how to best use our time. There was an optional excursion offered but since I myself had never tried it nor had I talked to anyone that had I decided to encourage people to stay behind on the island and explore parts of it on our own with small groups. We arrived around six and meet at a restaurant that has been designated the EF zone. The place served us breakfast but it did not include crepes which I found interesting since the place specialized in them and it was in the name of the restaurant. All of that aside the food was very decent.
After a brief debriefing some of our bolder students went out even with the threat of rain (which it did rain for about an hour and a half lightly) A group of us engaged in cards while others just napped to catch up on needed sleep. I took a small group to explore a monastery at the top of a hill above the small port town that we entered. It was amazing. First the hike was longer and steeper than it looked. Second the monastery offered a few surprises- including a very cool cave/grotto/cistern behind its main buildings. When you crawled underneath you could see your own breath due to the temperature change. In the back of the cave was a tine blue chapel designed to be reflect the intentions of Mary, the mother of Jesus. It was fun to explore this underground world. As we returned home we explored and ancient amphitheater. It was very cool and looked like it was still in use today as it had two modern day bathrooms.
We returned for lunch and a surprise birthday party for me from the kids and adults in our group. I say surprise but I admit that I did catch Angelia and Linda in the hallway with a cake - I didn't want to break the illusion of the surprise so I fibbed to Linda that I had no idea of the setup. The students asked me to blow out the candle like also asked me to make a wish. So I made thirty five of them. I wished that I would have an opportunity to travel with each and everyone of them someday in memory or in genuine actual travel. As Chole said to me this morning, “What a perfect way to celebrate going over the hill in age with climbing a hill.”
The second stop was one of my favorite islands. Yes it is a beautiful island but that is not why I loved it . It is a powerful spiritual place for some and draws both the curious and the pilgrim. The Island is Patmos and it is said to be the location of where St John had the visions in a cave to spur his writings of Revelations the final book in the New Testament. Thoughts of the four horsemen and the mark of the beast were born in visions/dreams that he had here as a hermit. The dreams were to have taken place in a cave that is on the island. Of course you can tour the cave and a monastery above that was built by the order of St. John. The monastery has a vast collection of ancient documents that just blow me away. Some of our students opted to take the professional tour with guides that offered expert opinion ( which I would really like to do some day) while I led the students on a cheaper version using taxicabs. The art and locations are interesting - the driving skills of the cab drivers are impossible to describe with out words alone. Some of the students just ended up exploring the island and its small beach.
We returned from the day and ate dinner and I now type these notes I have to say I could not have found a better way to celebrate a birthday from this 35 friends of mine adult and student alike. I thank Linda for the special efforts she made to have a cake made and organize the event with Perkins.
Good Night- I will not be able to send these notes or the picture until I get better internet.
Day 10- All Roads (Seas) lead to Rhodes
First- it is hard to believe that this show is coming to an end. We had a wonderful day- Today was spent on Rhodes and the students had the full day here to explore at their interest and pace. Most of our students explored the old town with its massive fortress walls. The walls date back to the time of the crusades as this was by the knights of St John in their quest of the holy land. The walls are separated by a moat and very cool gates. My favorite building is the old hospital building. The hospital now houses a museum. Before the crusaders this island was known for housing one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. This ancient wonder of course is the Colloseus of Rhodes. No one really knows what it looks like but there are several theories. One of the most common images is a giant standing across a gap in the harbor near new town. The problem with this is that a construction that could span this distance would not have been structurally sound. Another theory is that the statue was actually closer to the ancient structures not far from old town. That the statue was on a hill side and perhaps was not even a light house. It may have just by happenstance that the sun shined off the statue to signal inbound ships. What ever the case there is not a signal remaining known artifact from the statue. Also we know that this area is certainly earthquake bound which might have led to the destruction of the statue. We know that ancient peoples always thought green and many times repurposed materials from structures that were old, ruined, taken over or destroyed.
There are lots of activities taking place here because of the long shore lines and beautiful stone beaches. (look closely and you will find stand ones as well) Most of our students took time to check out the long stretching Elie beach with the famous iconic high dive (reconstructed within the last 8 years). In fact some of our students jumped off of it and enjoyed the oceans.
Tonights dinner featured the captain and crew in the formal dinning area. Through out the day students did a variety of activities including cards, dancing and eating . The students were glowing from a great day and a little sunburn. It truly is a great day to be a lion.
First- it is hard to believe that this show is coming to an end. We had a wonderful day- Today was spent on Rhodes and the students had the full day here to explore at their interest and pace. Most of our students explored the old town with its massive fortress walls. The walls date back to the time of the crusades as this was by the knights of St John in their quest of the holy land. The walls are separated by a moat and very cool gates. My favorite building is the old hospital building. The hospital now houses a museum. Before the crusaders this island was known for housing one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. This ancient wonder of course is the Colloseus of Rhodes. No one really knows what it looks like but there are several theories. One of the most common images is a giant standing across a gap in the harbor near new town. The problem with this is that a construction that could span this distance would not have been structurally sound. Another theory is that the statue was actually closer to the ancient structures not far from old town. That the statue was on a hill side and perhaps was not even a light house. It may have just by happenstance that the sun shined off the statue to signal inbound ships. What ever the case there is not a signal remaining known artifact from the statue. Also we know that this area is certainly earthquake bound which might have led to the destruction of the statue. We know that ancient peoples always thought green and many times repurposed materials from structures that were old, ruined, taken over or destroyed.
There are lots of activities taking place here because of the long shore lines and beautiful stone beaches. (look closely and you will find stand ones as well) Most of our students took time to check out the long stretching Elie beach with the famous iconic high dive (reconstructed within the last 8 years). In fact some of our students jumped off of it and enjoyed the oceans.
Tonights dinner featured the captain and crew in the formal dinning area. Through out the day students did a variety of activities including cards, dancing and eating . The students were glowing from a great day and a little sunburn. It truly is a great day to be a lion.
Day 11- Santorini and Crete last day at sea
Well yesterday was a four in the morning wake up call so we decided to let students sleep in today. When you land in Crete you are in an industrial section of the city and the only real way to get out and about today was to take one of the ships excursions- We had one student do this. The excursion is cool because I have done it a couple of times—- but you always need a reason to come back and it is expensive- For a bit of history on this excursion it explored the ruins of Knossos. It is considered Europe’s oldest city and the home of the legendary story of the minotaur. There are lots of cool stories here.
The afternoon featured our final island Santorini which use to go by the name Thira. This island was once much larger than the current one. That is because the island is a volcano that erupted in ancient times and is considered one of the greatest blast in recorded human history. The resulting tidal waves most likely paid tremendous damage to surrounding islands. It is still an active volcano and a large part of our group decided to go out and explore the lava dome forming in the center of the donut shaped island. This group also got to swim in ocean water that has been heated by the volcanic vents below the sea.
The island is still inhabited and has a beautiful set of homes that ring the cliffs of the exposed walls created by the volcano. Part of our group set out to explore one of these villages on the far side of the island while the final group stayed in the major port town and explored that area. You can get up to the top by cable car, mules on a path or by simply walking. The cable car proved interesting to the students that were afraid of heights. Some of the students that took the cable up decided to walk down the path that switched back on the steep hills. It provided a challenging game of dodging the mule piles.
This island is truly stunning and should be a place that many of these students return to some day. We were able to celebrate Vivica’s birthday today as well
Well yesterday was a four in the morning wake up call so we decided to let students sleep in today. When you land in Crete you are in an industrial section of the city and the only real way to get out and about today was to take one of the ships excursions- We had one student do this. The excursion is cool because I have done it a couple of times—- but you always need a reason to come back and it is expensive- For a bit of history on this excursion it explored the ruins of Knossos. It is considered Europe’s oldest city and the home of the legendary story of the minotaur. There are lots of cool stories here.
The afternoon featured our final island Santorini which use to go by the name Thira. This island was once much larger than the current one. That is because the island is a volcano that erupted in ancient times and is considered one of the greatest blast in recorded human history. The resulting tidal waves most likely paid tremendous damage to surrounding islands. It is still an active volcano and a large part of our group decided to go out and explore the lava dome forming in the center of the donut shaped island. This group also got to swim in ocean water that has been heated by the volcanic vents below the sea.
The island is still inhabited and has a beautiful set of homes that ring the cliffs of the exposed walls created by the volcano. Part of our group set out to explore one of these villages on the far side of the island while the final group stayed in the major port town and explored that area. You can get up to the top by cable car, mules on a path or by simply walking. The cable car proved interesting to the students that were afraid of heights. Some of the students that took the cable up decided to walk down the path that switched back on the steep hills. It provided a challenging game of dodging the mule piles.
This island is truly stunning and should be a place that many of these students return to some day. We were able to celebrate Vivica’s birthday today as well
Day 12- We arrived early to the port in Athens. After check out we starting our day with a city bus tour to orientate ourselves to the city. I will be honest that our bus tour early in the morning after a 4 day cruise of the Greek Islands may not have been the most productive or fruitful moment of our two weeks. We did make one pretty cool stop which was to the first modern day Olympic Stadium. The Olympics were revived in 1896 and are still going strong today. This stadium was used as recently as 2004 olympics as the end point to the marathon of that particular set of games. It made for a good bathroom/coffee/photo stop. (Not necessarily in that order)
The crown jewel of the city has to be Parthenon. It sets on top of the Acropolis and might be one of the most perfectly designed of the ancient temples. The Greeks played around with the dimensions to create a complex that looked perfect to the human eye/brain. We walked up to the Parthenon which sets upon the second highest hill in the city. We entered the Propylaea which is the grand entrance gate to the complex. The temple was dedicated to Athena for whom the current city is named. The legend holds that the city naming was a competition between Athena and Poseidon. Both offered gifts to the citizens which were then voted upon. The true beauty of what the Parthenon represents to the Greeks is democracy, philosophy and drama. Our city guide Rebecca shared a lot of history with us and finally let us explore the Acropolis.
One of the biggest controversies that surrounds the Parthenon is its missing pieces. At one time the temple was completely covered in statues and colors. Of course over time the sun and weather have faded the colors and over time humans have raided the statues and stones from the temple. One event that aided in the stealing of stones is when the temple exploded in 1687 in a freak accident. In 1801 another big event occurred that left parts of the Parthenon bare. Lord Elgin was the British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. He visited the sultan in Constantinople and was able to work a deal to retrieve some of the Parthenon marbles and freezes. He shipped them back to England and they now reside in the British Museum. The Museum decided not to return them because they felt that Greece could not properly protect them. The Greek people have pleaded for the return of the national treasure even building a world class modern museum to hold them and show them to the public at the base of the Acropolis. As of this time the British have still not returned them but we were able to explore the museum which is amazing. But first we ate lunch.
The Plaka district is great place to find a traditional Greek lunch. The shop and restaurant owners where happy to see us and our money has Greece has been hit hard by the troubles in the world economy and their particular situation with the European Union. This area was far less crowded than the last time I visited but it was just as warm and inviting. I even did a little shopping myself.
After lunch and last minute shopping we ventured to the museum and learned more about the marble debate. The museum has so much to offer. The site itself is an archeological dig. During construction the workers kept uncovering layers upon layers of ancient civilizations. So they built in glass floors and made the uncovered ruins into part of the museum. They have many of the original statues from the Acropolis housed right here in the museum as well. They have replaced a number of the ones up above with duplicates. After a huge day we packed up and headed to the hotel london where we packed for our morning flight.
The crown jewel of the city has to be Parthenon. It sets on top of the Acropolis and might be one of the most perfectly designed of the ancient temples. The Greeks played around with the dimensions to create a complex that looked perfect to the human eye/brain. We walked up to the Parthenon which sets upon the second highest hill in the city. We entered the Propylaea which is the grand entrance gate to the complex. The temple was dedicated to Athena for whom the current city is named. The legend holds that the city naming was a competition between Athena and Poseidon. Both offered gifts to the citizens which were then voted upon. The true beauty of what the Parthenon represents to the Greeks is democracy, philosophy and drama. Our city guide Rebecca shared a lot of history with us and finally let us explore the Acropolis.
One of the biggest controversies that surrounds the Parthenon is its missing pieces. At one time the temple was completely covered in statues and colors. Of course over time the sun and weather have faded the colors and over time humans have raided the statues and stones from the temple. One event that aided in the stealing of stones is when the temple exploded in 1687 in a freak accident. In 1801 another big event occurred that left parts of the Parthenon bare. Lord Elgin was the British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. He visited the sultan in Constantinople and was able to work a deal to retrieve some of the Parthenon marbles and freezes. He shipped them back to England and they now reside in the British Museum. The Museum decided not to return them because they felt that Greece could not properly protect them. The Greek people have pleaded for the return of the national treasure even building a world class modern museum to hold them and show them to the public at the base of the Acropolis. As of this time the British have still not returned them but we were able to explore the museum which is amazing. But first we ate lunch.
The Plaka district is great place to find a traditional Greek lunch. The shop and restaurant owners where happy to see us and our money has Greece has been hit hard by the troubles in the world economy and their particular situation with the European Union. This area was far less crowded than the last time I visited but it was just as warm and inviting. I even did a little shopping myself.
After lunch and last minute shopping we ventured to the museum and learned more about the marble debate. The museum has so much to offer. The site itself is an archeological dig. During construction the workers kept uncovering layers upon layers of ancient civilizations. So they built in glass floors and made the uncovered ruins into part of the museum. They have many of the original statues from the Acropolis housed right here in the museum as well. They have replaced a number of the ones up above with duplicates. After a huge day we packed up and headed to the hotel london where we packed for our morning flight.
