Day 3: Two Holy sees and One Hundred and Four sore feet.

Today was a long day, but that is how I like it.  Technology makes this blog possible, but it also allows me to tabulate information like never before.  We left the hotel around 8am.  We returned around 11pm.  In that time period, your kids walked over 20,000 steps.  That equates to just under 9 miles for me.  It might be our busiest day on tour, but even though it was exhausting no one was complaining.

Okay, in years past I've tried to make the titles of each post something witty or humorous.  The only problem is that my captions are usually only witty or humorous to myself, or a small group of people on the tour with whom I've shared a joke or two.  Beginning today, for these whimsical looks at our day, I think I will begin explaining.  Tonight's title is pretty easy to understand if you like puns and have been to Rome.

I have begrudgingly earned a reputation at SHS for telling puns.  I don't know where, or when, I earned it, but I have the badge nonetheless.  The Vatican is the Holy See of the Catholic church.  We visited it today.  [That part was easy] The Colosseum was our other major stop.  If you've "See"n it, then you know it has many "holes" in it....making it a holy see....get it, lol.  I am pretty good at these things and I am modest too.  My math is terrible, but I think 52 travelers, each with two feet, adds up to 104.  Not as funny, but I didn't want to have to take any more steps today, even if they were used to explain another pun.

It's 12:15am and there are now a herd of Italian middle schoolers hanging outside of my hotel window.  This night should go swimmingly.

This morning, we met for breakfast at our hotel.  It wasn't a large spread, but everything I had tasted really good.

The Hotel Villa Artemis in Nemi, Italy...our home for the past two nights.

A portion of our breakfast spread.  

 The kids I talked to were raving about the freshly squeezed juices and the Nutella Croissants.  I even heard some kids saying that they were going to get up early to make sure they had some croissants.  The joke here is that all of us will be up by 6am to get ready for tomorrow.

We finished up our breakfasts and hopped on the bus.  Our first stop was the Vatican.  We had an appointment so the normal wait period was greatly reduced for us.  John, our Tour Director, passed out Whisper headsets and told us we'd be using them all week long.  This allows all 50 of us to hear a tour guide without them screaming. We would use a separate set for the Vatican, but the principle was the same.  Our guide was Elaina.  She talked quickly and carried a stick with a big red scarf hanging on it. It was so that we could find her in the sea of people awaiting us.

Waiting...

...but not in that line.

Elaina showing us some maps and paintings before we entered.

Inside the Vatican, I didn't really take too many pictures. It was so busy, that I really didn't want to get distracted and have us lose anyone.  We did our normal crowd control apparatus.  A chaperon, or two, up front, most at the rear.  As the group makes its way through somewhere, the few in the rear rotate with a couple milling about the middle.  The whole time, a couple adults in the rear are solely making sure everyone knows where we are headed.  It hasn't failed us yet.  The kids, however, never seemed to stop taking pictures.  Be sure to ask to see them!!!

Many of the kids were super impressed with the paintings on the ceiling that simply looked 3D.  They had depth and matched the columns coming up from the floor.  Watching different sets of kids realize it throughout the tour was wonderful. I kept on thinking if this is impressing them, what about the Sistine Chapel.

I don't think it failed in their expectations.  The chapel is much bigger than most people imagine and the whole thing was painted by Michelangelo.  They don't allow talking or pictures...so I shouldn't talk about the picture I took inside.

Bad picture.

 After the Vatican, we followed the queue into St. Peter's Basilica.  It is also much larger than people think, but this time, they let us take pictures. It is also not nearly as crowded as the museum, but we still maintained our vigilance watching the kids.

The top of the dome is over 400 feet tall.

The designs are so intricate.  I am always impressed with churches in Europe.

Praanav enjoyed his visit to the Basilica very much!!!

Our group, with Elaina on the left, posing in front of St. Peter's.

  I was a little surprised. I thought we had a good chance to speak with the Pope today, but he never called for us.  I sent him a tweet last week, but I can imagine he has a busy schedule.  Oh well, maybe next time.

After the Vatican, we grabbed some lunch and went shopping.  Some kids bought gifts for home, so I won't spoil the surprise.  Most of us got pizza, I think, but hey, when in Rome...right.  Afterwards, we went by Bus to the Colosseum.  Our tour guide for this part of the day was Susan (I think, my Whisper headset was left on the bus).  We entered through security and made our way to the second level.  We stopped for photos and reflected on the stories that must have come from the building's history.  A lot of kids were asking questions.  I love that part of touring.  They realize they may never be back.  They get curious.  They combine those two elements to overcome shyness.  Angelo asked a really good question about the Popes taking the marble from the arena to build their churches throughout the city. I made my think for a bit.  Nicely done.

A colossal selfie.

Mikayla in deep thought during one of our guide's talks.

Happy to be in Roma!!!

Erin within the arena.  The bottom part would have been covered with a wooden floor.

Angelo and Jeff.  You can see some restoration work behind them.

Panorama

Duel Camera pic from my phone. Facebook friends will recognize this App as how I seemingly am on every Jumbotron

The group!!!

Liv and Ari.

Darian, Nick, and Pedro.

  Just up the hill from the Colosseum is the Imperial forum.  We made our way there, but had to have a couple of stops.  It had been a long day and some needed to use the facilities, while others were thirsty, and one of us made a shocking discovery.  It seems that Nick A. is a bit of an inventor and wanted to leave his mark on Rome. I was hoping he would do this in the fall, but he was able to spring into action while we waited for others.  Nick discovered gravity!!!  While sitting on a railing, he kind of lost his balance and got a little scrape on his arm.  He asked me for a paragraph, lol, and as you can imagine, he is in good spirits.  [On a side note, I thought it humorous that his mom noticed a bandage on his arm from a Facebook photo]  We checked it out before bedtime and it is healing nicely.

Ari filling up her water bottle with free Roman water.  One of the many perks of the city.

An old sign, translated it says, Don't sit on railings!!!

A forum picture.

The group listening to Susan, I think.

The Vestal temple ruins.  They have an interesting story.

I liked this angle.

 After the forum trip concluded, we headed to dinner across town. To our surprise, dinner was Pizza...hey, when in Rome, right?

My pie!  We each got our own!!!

Strangely Jello-like.  I thought it good. 

When we finished our meal, we once again drove on the bus to a different section of Rome.  This wasn't really on our itinerary, but John thought we should see the Spanish Steps and Trevi fountain at night.  The Steps are under renovation, but some kids got great shots of the Roman skyline.

As I walked down the stairs, I thought that I have been lax in one of my most treasured passtimes.  I used to be a master impressionist...comedian, not painter.  So, at the bottom of the stairs, I decided to do my Nick A. impression.  I missed the 136th step and tumbled to the ground.  Just like Nick A, I got right up and brushed off the dust.  I then realized I needed a Cappuccino.  It was delicious.

The Barista made me photograph it, lol. He's humble too.

  We met and continued our journey to the Trevi Fountain. John was great.  He stopped us and reminded us about keeping our possessions close and being watchful of each other.  The fountain is very busy and tonight was no exception.  The kids all tossed some spare change into the bustling waters below in hopes of one day returning to Rome, finding their true love, or just having their wish come true...Ironically, I think for many, their wishes are coming true on this trip.  They are so energetic and polite.  They have great attitudes and are mindful of their peers.  It is a wonderful group...Thank You, Parents and Guardians!!!

It was at the Trevi that I found myself most reflective of past trips to Rome.  I know Angela had had a moment earlier near the Spanish Steps.  She showed a store that sold gloves and explained that every time she visited Rome, our former colleague and friend, Nancy Lemoine, would ask her to buy a pair for her.  We lost Nancy, after a brave fight, three years ago...tonight.  We, Angela and I, were both on tours hundreds of miles from home (and each other) and it was one of the single most difficult nights of my life.  How do you tell your students that one of their teachers had passed away....somethings we cannot prepare for.  At the Trevi, I thought of my last visit there, about 12 years ago.  I was with Nancy, and we heard a church bell start ringing.  Another began to ring, and then more...and more...and more.  It was a signal that a new Pope had been elected.  I remember standing near a shoe store and the owner came out to us. He yelled something to the effect of "They chose a new Pope."  It was in English...at least I remember it in English, but perhaps I just automatically translated it.  Nancy and I went to him and he explained it was Ratzenberger...the German.  Tonight, while watching kids making wishes, and standing by the very same shoe store, I wished for one more tour with Nancy.  Somehow, I think, she is probably with us.

Ms. Payne making a wish!

Liv wished from both shoulders!!!

Pranaav checking his distance!!!

A traveler made a request for this special picture at one of the world's most Romantic spots.

The beautiful Trevi fountain.

To some, a shoe store, to me a memory that will last forever.

The Trevi from where I first heard the bells toll.

Well, it's just past 1am now.  The middle schoolers have gone to bed.  A few dogs are barking and the hum of traffic is passing by my window.  I've wiped away a few tears (of which I never thought I'd see tonight) and I have a little too much caffeine.  Our wake-up call is 6am and we depart for Naples and Capri around 715.  I'm told the pace of the tour will slow down a bit, from here on out, but the new experiences will pick up quickly.  We have our first ferry, the ruins of Pompeii, and I'm guessing a couple of more Pizzas in our horizon.

I never really plan these posts out...I start typing and remembering.  I leave things out and I spell things wrongly.  I just kind of go with it...sometimes, I am quick.  Sometimes, I take my time.  I got emotional while writing this, but I was not so at the fountain. I started the blog off trying to be funny and making references to sore feet.  I ended up a little more introspective than I imagined...but that's a good thing.

Good night everyone...until tomorrow.

Mr. Lavoie taking a minute or two to remember his past.