The Vatican - Rome, Italy - Monday, March 24, 2014

We had a FULL day at the Vatican this morning - Mr. Stromberg estimated that we probably walked about 8 miles total just today! Here is a run down of our day at the Vatican:

* We met for breakfast in the convent's restaurant area at 7:15 am - an early start to our Vatican day because we wanted to beat the crowds to St. Peter's Basillica. One of the highlights of breakfast was the fresh from the oven croissants - we had a choice of either jam or chocolate inside. YUMMY!

* After breakfast our walk to the Vatican was about 45 minutes. When we got there it was quite a process to even get to the church - you have to go through security first, then it's at least a 5 minute walk from the security line to get to the church. It's not quite the same process of just walking right into church at home. Luckily we got there early enough that there was no line yet to go through security or get into the church. We enjoyed being among the first for the day in the massive Basillica to enjoy walking around the structure without any large crowds of people. While in St. Peter's, Cole gave his presentation on the history of the impressive church.

* Other interesting things we saw in the Basillica include Michelangelo's Pieta, Bernini's Baldeccino and Papal Alter, and some Papal tombs. 

* The whole group climbed Michelangelo's dome at the Basillica to the cupola. The views of Rome were gorgeous - check out pictures below. After we came back down into the church from climbing the dome, we had some journaling time in the church.

* One of the highlights today was getting to go on the Scavi tour at the Vatican. The tour explores the preserved ancient roman city that is under the Basillica, and you get to see St. Peter's burial place. Not very many people get to go on this tour - you have to put your name in months ahead of time if you're interested, and even then chances are slim that you will actually get to go on the tour. Mr. Stromberg has tried to go on the Scavi tour with past groups he's led to Italy, but it's never worked out. But this time around he got an official letter a few months ago from the Vatican saying that our group is welcome on the tour! So this was a very special and neat thing to be able to do. No cameras were allowed down there, so I don't have any pictures, but if you want, look some up online. Parents, make sure to ask your child about this tour and what they thought about it.

* After the Scavi tour, we had sandwiches and other snack items for lunch from a street truck vendor right outside the Vatican to fuel up for our visit to the Vatican Museum. We stood in line for about 45 minutes to get into the massive museum - there were so many people at the Vatican on Monday, it was a bit chaotic, especially inside the museum. While we were standing in line outside, I was impressed and happy to see how our group of students were interacting with each other - everyone gets along, and there were several times where I saw the whole group laughing and having fun together. As a teacher, I always enjoy seeing that with my student groups, whether in class or in a CFE setting. All three leaders have been very impressed with our group of students as a whole!

* Among other impressive works of art, the main attraction at the Vatican Museum is of course the Sistine Chapel, and it did not disappoint. The only unfortunate thing from my perspective is that there were so many hundreds of people in there at any one time that it was difficult to just take it all in and marvel at the beauty when it seemed like we were kind of just herded through. But I think everyone was able to see the beauty all around in the Sistine Chapel and appreciate what we were seeing.

* After we finished at the Sistine Chapel, we walked back to Fraternus Domus where we're staying and had a bit of free time before dinner in the convent restaurant downstairs. Our big meal of pasta, pork chops, green beans, eggplant, salad, and fresh fruit tasted so good after being on our feet all day and doing so much walking. After dinner some chose to go to bed after a tiring but good day, while others decided to go out for a short walk in the neighborhood to get, you guessed it, gelato!  We really are eating well on this trip.  :)  

It is Tuesday night right now, and we leave the convent by coach bus transport to the airport tomorrow morning at 4:00 am. So I'm not sure when I'll get around to posting about our Tuesday in Ancient Rome, but I'll make sure to get it done sometime in the next few days to complete this trip journal of sorts. I hope to print this off when we get back to school so everyone can have a copy to keep with their other trip memories. 

Update: I am sending this now on Wednesday night - we are home! I tried sending this on Tuesday night in Rome and Wednesday morning from the Amsterdam airport, but time/internet access/my almost dead iPad battery didn't allow the post to be published. I will definitely also do another post from our Tuesday in Ancient Rome to complete this blog journal.

Here are some photos from our excellent Monday in Vatican City - enjoy! 

Vatican City and St. Peter's Basilica 

Looking out from the Basillica's steps onto St. Peter's square.

Cole doing his presentation on the history of St. Peter's Basillica.

Michelangelo's Pieta

Pope John Paul II's tomb.

Bernini's Baldeccino and Papal Alter

Short service at Pope John Paul II's tomb.

View down from the climb up to the dome cupola.

Top inside of dome.

What a view - wow!

Kalli and Mrs. Johnson

Vatican Museum - below Mr. Stromberg is telling the group about the artwork in the Sistine Chapel.

Nightly gelato run!  :)

Florence to Rome - Sunday, March 23, 2014

Sunday was our transition from Florence to Rome, the final leg of our CFE 2014 journey. Here is a run down of what we did on Sunday:

* After breakfast at the convent, we headed out to the Uffizi Gallery Museum. We were there for a few hours, but it would definitively take a day or more to really see everything in the museum. While at the Uffizi, Stephanie presented on two of Botticelli's famous paintings, Birth of Venus and Prima Vera. 

* Lunch in the city center, back to the convent to grab our luggage, and a walk to the train station to catch our train to Rome. While on the train, group members journaled, read, painted, played cards, watched the scenery out the window, and napped. 

* Soon after we arrived in Rome, we took the subway a few stops from the train station to the Spanish Steps where we could walk the rest of the way to the convent Fraterna Domus where we're staying. We realized that we had arrived at the end of the Roman Marathon - there were crowds in the train station and a few runners finishing the race outside of the train station. 

* We had a few minutes to relax at the convent before heading out to enjoy the very cool Castel St. Angelo. There we were able to view some of the rooms in the castle, enjoy the awesome view of Rome, and hang out together and have a cup of coffee or hot chocolate. 

* We walked back to Fraterna Domus for dinner in their basement level restaurant. Fun fact: the nuns have some of Mr. Stromberg's art work on the wall in their restaurant. Isn't that cool? Our dinner there was fantastic - the food was amazing... fresh pasta, turkey and chicken, salad, and fresh fruit. Everyone was very satisfied after dinner and ready for an evening stroll in town. 

* We walked to Piazza Navona and (surprise!) got some gelato for dessert. What will we do when we are no longer in Italy and can't have gelato every night? ;)

Here are some photos for our Sunday:

Stephanie presenting at the Uffizi on Botticelli's famous paintings, Birth of Venus and Prima Vera.

Stephanie and Isabel were loving the Uffizi!

Getting ready to leave the convent in Florence to walk to the train station... below are pictures of the front desk at the convent B&B and one of the sweet nuns.

Views from our walk from Fraterna Domus convent to Castel St. Angelo and at the castle...

St. Peter's Basilica 

Piazza Navona - Bernini's fountain called The Four Rivers

More to come on our Monday at the Vatican...!

Medieval Tuscany, Italy Day Trip - Saturday, March 22nd, 2014

Today was one of my favorite days of the trip so far because of the sheer beauty that is Tuscany, Italy, and because of the picturesque and quaint little towns we got to explore. Here is a run down of what we did on Saturday:

* We boarded the SITA bus in Florence for Siena around 8:10 am. The bus was similar to a Greyhound-   type bus in the U.S.

* When we arrived in Siena we walked to the Piazza del Campo. Some chose to climb the bell tower above the Piazza for the amazing view of Tuscany at the top. We also had some free time to explore the town during the morning. 

* Visit to the Duomo of Siena / Santa Maria Assunta

* Lunch in Siena

* Boarded the bus to San Gimignano, a small Tuscan town that was about halfway back to Florence by bus. I LOVED this place! Both Sienna and San Gimignano looked to me like stage sets in a movie -  like stepping back in time to a completely different era and place.

* While in San Gimignano we toured the medieval center of town, saw the renaissance frescos at the Collegiata, some of us climbed the tower Torre Grosa, and most of the group did a bit of shopping. 

* Mr. Stromberg and Mr. Johnson (or as I call them for short, the misters) ordered traditional Italian pizzas for the group and brought them over to us still hot in the pizza boxes and we had a little pizza party on the front steps of the church in the town square. A really fun dinner!

* After pizza, we walked back to the bus stop and headed back to Florence for our last night there before we head to Rome for the final days of our trip. Several people in the group fell asleep on the bus ride back to Florence - we are all pretty tired from the long days on our feet that when we have quiet time to sit down, like on a bus or train, most tend to get a bit sleepy. A heads up to parents - your child will probably want to have a few long nights sleep next week when we get home!

* We again found some gelato on our walk back to the convent  - it's fun to try different flavors and combinations. We made it back to the convent and headed to bed... tired but happy from such an amazing day!

Here are some photos from the day:

Piazza del Campo in Siena. I sat at this cafe for a few minutes and had a cup of coffee while I used the cafe's wifi. Nice view!

Outside the Duomo of Siena / Santa Maria Assunta...

...and inside - beautiful! 

This is inside the library at the church. We have a nice library at Minnehaha, but it doesn't look like this! :)

Ceiling in the library - the vibrant colors and details were absolutely stunning.

Walking around San Gimignano - the picture below is what you see when you look out this door above. The landscape in Tuscany is very scenic and peaceful.

Looking out the window on the bus ride, Mr. Stromberg commented that the landscape in Tuscany looks similar to Northern California wine country. 

Hanging out on top of a small tower we climbed - a small tower with a big view.

This picture is very random and mainly meant for my little girls because they like braids... so I told Carrie we should take a picture of our braids because my girls would like to see them.  Miss you, Mckenna and Calla! 

Also, a cute story: several of the students have started calling me mom as a joke, mainly because I'm usually saying something like, "Does everyone have their passport?", "Don't forget to bring your water bottle with today!", "Did you sleep well last night?" Etc. They asked me jokingly if it's ok if they call me mom on the trip, and I answered jokingly, as long as they call me Mrs. Johnson when we get back to school.  Basically I think everyone misses their moms and dads and they want to feel a little parental comfort sometimes on the trip.  We are all excited to hug our families when we get back home on Wednesday! 

Stephanie, Isabel, Cole, Scott, and I climbed to the top of the Torre Grosa tower in San Gimignano.  Below are some pictures of the gorgeous view from the top of the tower. In the picture below you can see the long road through town leading out to the town gate. That road is lined with little shops and cafés - it's really fun to wander through those winding roads...

This faux nappers photo happened just before our pizza party. We've had long and full days, but we are seeing and learning so much!

I am posting this now on Sunday night from Rome, our final destination on our 2014 CFE journey. We made it here safely on the train this afternoon from Florence. Tomorrow (Monday) is a full day at the Vatican, and Tuesday will be devoted to ancient Rome. We leave early on Wednesday morning for the airport to come home. I don't know when I'll be able to post again before we leave, but I'll try if time and wifi access allows. Hope you have enjoyed following along with our adventures!  ~Mrs. Johnson