Our last week in Italy

Okay, so now it's really hard to believe that our time in Italy is drawing to an end. After the drama getting back from Venice because of the volcano, everyone had a bit of a sleep in on Monday morning, which meant no lesson for the kids with scary Ersilia and Michelle also opted to skip her 4-hour session with Marcella ie Loud and Louder. Priority number 1 for me was to get down to the station to sort out our tickets for Milan on Friday, which was much easier than I had thought it would be. Of course, few things here are absolutely straight-forward, so the sideshow in the station that morning involved various police officers with sniffer dogs arresting some undesirables. Not sure precisely what they had done, but obviously they'd been naughty.

Rebecca spent the day with her aunt and uncle who had driven up from the south (as had Rachel's cousins last week - more family reunions!) so, since the sun was out, we decided to go to Assisi for the afternoon. Well, all the girls decided to go but the boys missed the meeting time and ended up staying in Perugia instead. On the bus ride there, Rachel continued the proud Carpentieri tradition of suffering from motion sickness. Luckily though she came well prepared with a sick bag that she had collected from our flight to Italy, and her incident was without the explosive effect that Rocco (and Ramon) suffered. She quickly recovered when the state of her makeup distracted her, and as soon as we arrived in Assisi, she claimed to be hungry. Naturally then, after lunch in one of the little bars, we set off for a stroll around the quaint streets of this beautifully maintained town, visiting the churches of St Clare and St Francis and predictably, a number of shops for last minute purchases. Just as we were preparing to leave, a menacing thunder storm developed, leaving us shivering in phone boxes awaiting our bus back to PG.

By Tuesday the university routine was back in place, along with more visits to favourite cafes. As the number of days left in Perugia decreased, our round of farewell visits began in earnest. The following day, one of my friends from the last time I studied in Perugia arrived for a visit, causing much laughter with her stories, and on Thursday we squeezed in a visit to the Perugina factory. We were accompanied by a group of Italian school students on our tour who were so loud that they made Rachel seem quiet in comparison Since most of us had already begun packing, the luggage reality had already hit so purchases this time were relatively light. Upon our return back up the hill to Perugia via the MiniMetro, the 'last visits' continued, mostly to the internet cafe and various lookouts to savour the views one more time. Apparently there was even time for one last game of indoor volleyball for the boys in their appartment. Our final dinner in Perugia was in one of the traditional restaurants before the final packing up was completed.

Friday meant another very early start to get all of our luggage (and ourselves) to the station in a fleet of taxis ready for our 6:40am train to Milan. This meant only moving the luggage once since the InterCity train came directly here. The luggage piled up in the First Class corridor caused some problems when the food cart arrived, but otherwise it was relatively stress-free and after almost 6 hours, we had made it to Milan and were ready to find some lunch, after dropping off the luggage of course. Top of the list of Milan sites was a visit to San Siro to check out the third biggest soccer stadium in the world. It wouldn't be an exageration to point out that the boys were just a tad excited on the tour, especially when they saw the players' rooms. Nick was transformed into a ninja due to the height he reached leaping in front of the stadium, while Luke was overcome with excitement when he sat in the chair once occupied by David Beckham. More shopping completed our visit before we headed back to the Metro station, via McDonald's for a toilet stop and a snack as well as Tiramisu` milkshakes. The next place on our list of things to see was the famous Duomo with its striking gothic architecture and breathtaking stained glass windows, then it was time to window shop in the Galleria's very stylish shops before our return to the hotel. Dinner in a local pizzeria finished off our day, leaving last minute reorganising to do before our trip out to Malpensa in the morning. Next update hopefully will be Singapore!

Verona & Venezia

Our last weekend in Italy saw us getting up in the very early hours on Friday morning to be able to catch our 6:40am train to Verona via a stop in Bologna. Wake up calls made it obvious that some members of the group (ie Nick) really are not morning people due to his unintelligible grunting, and most people snoozed for at least part of the journey. This was despite it being a 'Harry Potter' train with compartments. However, Jennifer 'unleashed her inner gamer' and spent most of the journey in a virtual battle with Luke's PSP, complete with a subsequent headache. A short stop in Bologna gave us the chance to restock our caffeine levels before boarding our Freccia Argento high speed train to Verona.

Our visit to Verona gave us the chance to check out the elegant pink and white terrazzo-tiled streets around Piazza Bra' and the Arena, Verona's mini Colosseum, and of course, Juliet's balcony and statue. A stroll around Piazza delle Erbe meant opportunities to sample some snacks and gelati before we headed back to check out the market stalls in the main square. Michelle's weakness for ciambelle was again in evidence, so we walked it off with a visit to the crenellated Ponte Scaligeri before returning to the train station ready for our next stop, Venezia.

As we approached Venice, Anastasia was very happy to discover that we did not, in fact, have to swim with our luggage or that the train did not have to go inside a ferry to complete the last part of the journey. Since we were staying in two different hotels, Michelle and I, along with the boys, headed off to our hotel while the girls stayed and watched the world go by along the Grand Canal. The boys discovered that their hotel room had a terrace overlooking the Canareggio Canal, while Michelle and I had difficulty just finding our room. It ended up being in the attic, with the room number written in pencil in tiny numbers on the door jamb. Once inside, we could fully appreciate our 'Alice in Wonderland' room - or we could have, if we had been able to stand upright in it. A few close encounters with smacked heads on beams followed, and Michelle still has a bump after a particularly heavy hit. I'm sure that it will go away in a few days! Returning to the train station, we collected the girls and headed off to find somewhere to eat on the way to their hotel. It wasn't the best choice of eaterie in the end as they were expecting a big group in and hustled us out. Oh well, at least Sharon got hers for free - although that was simply because she didn't know that the cashiers were in fact there to collect the money. By this time everyone was more than a little tired so sleep was a fantastic idea.

Saturday meant a day of shopping for those whose list of things to buy hadn't quite been exhausted yet. We collected the girls and headed for San Marco, stopping to begin our negotiations for a gondola ride along the way. This worked perfectly as we haggled with two very entertaining gondolieri. As we floated along, Gloria discovered her 'inner flirt' using a range of whistles and eye contact as our gondoliere pointed out suitably cute candidates. Success or failure was indicated with a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, accompanied by a lot of laughing. Our next stop was a visit to la Basilica di San Marco with its leaning columns, wavy floor and beautiful mosaics. Back outside, it seems that the pigeons are too well fed in the warmer months to be willing to dive bomb people in quite the same way that they do in winter, so we let them to scavenge for crumbs and checked out the Bridge of Sighs instead. Shopping then began in earnest on the Rialto with many masks and glass jewellery being purchased, just to further complicate the luggage issues. We wound our way back to Canareggio to drop off our bags before getting lost in the tiny, winding calli on our way back to the girls' hotel, so that they could also drop off their purchases before dinner. In the light drizzle we headed back to the La Serenissima restaurant where Gloria was overjoyed to have pizza with corn on it and some of the girls indulged in some flirting with the locals at the next table. This time though, the speed-eating challenge came from the boys, who claimed they were starving. A final coffee at the little restaurant next to the girls' hotel rounded off the day, much to the merriment of the waiters as uncontrolled laughter broke out due to Anastasia's confusion over many things (Michelle pointed out that eventually she would realise that she was in Italy, as if this hadn't occurred to her before) and Jennifer's wishful thinking that there was free pizza on offer. No-one knows where that one came from though! When we finally left, the light drizzle was distinctly heavier so Luke 'invested' in a broken umbrella for 1.50. Well, you do get what you pay for!!!

Sunday meant preparations for our return to Perugia, which wasn't without its own dramas. Michelle headed off with the boys to meet the girls so that they could go up the bell tower for its fantastic views over Venice, while I spent a stressful two hours in a queue for train tickets. Due to the Icelandic volcano, people were coming off cruise ships and heading straight to the station to try and get tickets north for any time in the next week. The ridiculous queues from Saturday were even worse but everyone was upbeat - I was just happy to get tickets south, even though it meant a long journey on regional trains. A cruise on one of the many traghetti plying the Grand Canal gave everyone a different view of Venice when we all met up again and this was followed by a quick lunch. Before we knew it, it was time to collect our bags and stake out seats on the slow train to Bologna. This worked okay, but then our next train, an InterCity coming through from Milan, was much busier especially since they had just announced that all trains heading north were already fully booked until at least Friday. We stood up until Florence, with ourselves and our bags blocking the corridor, but then we claimed two compartments and it was all okay. We finally made it back to Perugia at about 11:30pm, just in time to pile into taxis and get back for a quick pasta dinner at midnight. After all, travelling makes you hungry!!!

Another quick update

Latest news is that Singapore Airlines has reinstated all flights so we'll be at the airport very early on Saturday!!! Fingers crossed it will all work out...I'm sure we'll all be fine!

A quick update

Time really is flying by now. It's hard to believe that we really have only a week left in Italy before we commence our long journey home.
At the moment the students are in the Language Lab for their last session for the week. I decided that we all needed a bit of culture so after lunch today we checked out the National Gallery of Umbria, which is bursting with amazing paintings by people like Fra' Angelico and Piero della Francesca. Michelle and I made a purchase for our new Language Centre - a picture of 'The Annunciation' by Fra'Angelico since our building will be named in honour of St Gabriel. From the sublime to the ridiculous, the students then rushed off to the laundromat to ensure clean clothes for our trip up to Venice tomorrow. Much to their shock, a 6am bus ride to the station awaits them, but then I think there might be a little bit of snoozing on the train. We're back on Sunday night, so no doubt I'll do a big update at the start of next week. Tonight we're dining out to have a typical Umbrian dish called 'torta al testo', perhaps followed by a crepe or two. Then it will be time for a quick passeggiata before a very early night. Venice, via Verona, beckons!

Little G does Tuscany

As you can see, Little Gloria enjoyed a spot of sightseeing!

Tripping around Tuscany

Ciao!

It's a sunny, yet rather fresh, Monday back in Perugia after our Tuscan adventure. We set off on Friday morning via Perugia's MiniMetro for the station to catch our regional train to Florence. The MiniMetro is easily the most convenient way to get from the centro storico to the bottom of the hill ie to the station - when it hasn't 'lost its memory', that is. More on that later. Anyway, for some members of the group, this was their first experience riding the little monorail, which starts off a bit like being on a roller coaster before you cruise over roads, passing apartment buildings and the like. It's very cute.

Anyway, we made it to the station with enough time to savour a coffee at the bar before we installed ourselves and our supposedly light luggage for the two hour train ride. Note to the boys - you really don't need to bring 3 different outfits in your hand luggage, thus leaving no room for your shampoo, or alternatively, any purchases that you would subsequently make! Our train ride past Lake Trasimeno (Italy's largest lake) was beautiful and relaxing, and almost before we knew it, we were pulling into Florence's main station. A short walk around the corner had us checking in at the amazing Hotel Aprile before demands for lunch drove us in search of food. A visit to a little osteria with an extremely helpful waiter luckily replenished our energy because by now the thoughts of Florence's shopping delights were calling, or maybe yelling. Our first stop was the Mercato Nuovo, otherwise known as the market with the bronze Porcellino. This was followed by a longer visit to the bigger San Lorenzo markets, where the first forays into bartering started. An hour later, and laden with shopping, we headed back to the Aprile to drop off our bags. Another coffee stop along with a ride on the carousel in Piazza della Repubblica preceded a spot of sightseeing this time - the Ponte Vecchio with its shops of impressive bling and Piazza della Signoria with its impressive statues. We took some time to observe the locals out for their passeggiate in the dusk, while Dee-Arna caught up with an old school friend, Cheylie, and some of the girls were chatted up by some brave local teenagers. One claimed to have his heart broken after Jennifer declined his own invitation to come to Australia and marry her. Mopping up the tears, it was clearly time to leave the piazza. Dinner at the restaurant just down from the hotel finished off the day, before a small group of us accompanied Cheylie back to her hostel, via another stroll past Piazza della Signoria so that the boys could enjoy the views once more.

Saturday dawned beautiful and sunny. Sharon nervously awaited the arrival of her long lost half-sister from the UK, along with her brother-in-law, niece and nephew. Once they met though, it was all smiles and Sharon was whisked off to spend the day with them. The rest of us jumped on a train to Pisa (according to Jennifer, it's 'just like pizza with an s') where, after some confusion regarding exactly which bus we needed and being adopted by a local nonna who pointed out the sights as we travelled, we made it to the Piazza dei Miracoli for the obligatory photos holding up the Tower. The students declined the opportunity to spend 15 euro to climb to the top, pottering instead in the many souvenir shops along the side of the campo. Then it was just a matter of catching the bus back to the station for a bit of lunch before our return to Florence. Because of the perfect weather, Michelle accompanied Gloria, Anastasia, Dee-Arna, Nick and Luke up the 414 steps to enjoy the view over the city from the Belltower, while Rachel had her caricature drawn. After the descent and subsequent recovery, as well as a visit inside the Cathedral, some bartering over 'real fake' sunglasses took place before we decided to take advantage of the perfect light by climbing to the top of Piazzale Michangelo. This gave us a breathtaking view over the city, and the chance for tired muscles to rest from all the walking before we headed back to the hotel and dinner at the same restaurant. While some people declined the chance to have a post-dinner passeggiata, others set off to savour the sights. This included observing the antics of the street sellers bundling up their wares in large white sheets and hiding behind lamp posts each time the police did a circuit. As this happened every few minutes, making purchases of bags or more sunglasses became a little fraught at times. However, it was highly amusing when they stalked us around corners after deals were interrupted in this way. One more look at the Ponte Vecchio and the lights reflected in the river and it was definitely time to return to the hotel for a well-earned snooze.

Unfortunately, Sunday brought rain and cold winds - a huge contrast to the preceding days when everyone had been out basking in the unexpectedly balmy weather. Sharon once again met up with her family so the rest of us took the opportunity for one last shopping splurge, an extended lunch at one of the pizzerie near the big markets (where Gloria astonished us all with the ability to devour her pizza in record time, although to be fair she was 'starving'!), and a visit to Santa Croce with its tombs and memorials to famous Tuscans such as Michelangelo, Gallileo and Leonardo. Michelle was especially thrilled to note the many statues of Dante to be found around Florence, and will undoubtedly be rushing off to buy a new copy of La Divina Commedia as I write this. By now it was time to return to the hotel to pick up our bags and collect Sharon for our train ride back to Perugia. The journey passed quietly as many people snoozed, although Sharon's impromptu beauty salon and make-over of Rebecca brought some entertainment. A ride back on the MiniMetro was scuppered by the strange sign indicating that the little train had lost its memory and was therefore not allowing anyone to actually ride the empty carriages, so we braved the eratic bus system instead. Finally arriving in Piazza Italia, the only things that remained for our weekend to be complete was a quick dinner and a relatively early night in order to prepare for another week of full on lessons. Ah, but it was fun!!!

Visitors on our trip

You may be aware that our official trip mascot is a bright pink monkey named Mojo. Upon our arrival in Italy, we also discovered a new one - Little G, hand crafted by Michelle Jeczalik. In addition to these two, we also have Uncle Gavin and his family who pop up in front of important monuments.

I thought they merited their own post, which we will add to as our trip continues...

Pottering about Perugia

Well, we've been in Perugia for a week already - time is flying by. Classes have started and everyone is getting used to different teaching styles (scary Ersilia and fun Luisa for the students, while Michelle has Marcella aka 'Loud and Louder' due to her vocal strength). Classes go for 50 minutes, all in Italian, with a 10 minute break to run down to the uni bar for a coffee and a snack before the next round starts. At the moment, the kids are all doing a session in the Language Lab where they get to work on their pronunciation. Listening to the tape and then recording your own version is quite entertaining, especially if the teacher is listening in and you have no idea that she can listen to people at random. No doubt, we'll hear all about it when the class is over. Rebecca and Sharon are also hugely excited because tonight's free movie at the uni is one of their favourite films, Tre Metri sopra il Cielo. Frances will be bit envious back home perhaps. Yesterday, Lori departed for her early return to Australia, via Frankfurt. She should be just about in Adelaide by now, and reliving her stories of meeting her Italian family members with everyone back home.

Tomorrow we're off to Florence so there will be a lot more to report on when we return. In the meantime, enjoy the photos of us enjoying life here in Perugia!