Day Five: New Adventures and Old Memories

 

Let me start with a quick update...we hit a bit of an issue with the train from Florence back to Montecantini and the Hotel Piccadilly.  It led us on an adventure of sorts all over the city and ultimately, we boarded into Taxi cabs to get home.  We are all back and in our rooms, safely home from an interesting night to say the least...I will expand on this scenario later, but didn't want anyone at home to worry.  We were never in any danger, or anything like that, we just hit inconvenient set back after inconvenient set back....and I must add, with positive attitudes abounding.  The kids were amazing!

Okay, lets get back to blogging, because it is just about midnight and I have 38,000+ steps under my belt.  

The Hotel Piccadilly, as expected, had a modest breakfast. It wasn't the same luxurious spread we saw in Rome, but things are a bit more laid back here. I made a small plate, pictured below, but was blessed with no lines at the coffee machine!!! I needed that extra kick to my step today!

After we all ate our breakfasts, we began our trip to Pisa.  I had previously shown Kent a photograph of Prince Pizza and he was impressed by how close it actually looked!!! He even referenced it along the way.  It was on our drive to Pisa where our adventure started.  Apparently, there had been a pretty bad rail accident in Italy and it disrupted traffic all up and down the boot. A drive that typically takes 45 minutes took us closer to two hours because of the back-up delay, some construction, and a traffic accident earlier on the highway.  We were able to manage those disruptions by calling our different guides and rescheduling things a bit. It was here that Kent's organizational skills kicked in and mitigated any real disruptions.

We pulled into Pisa and left our bus behind to walk to the site.  We could catch glimpses along the journey, but we couldn't really get a clear view at first.  The location of the leaning tower is in a fairly small piazza. It shares the location with a Baptismal Chamber, a Church, and the tower...there are also a ton of touristy places selling trinkets, drinks, and snacks.  The place was buzzing with excitement.  We met Irena and began our tour.  I was very pleased to hear, throughout the day, that the kids liked her style when presenting information.

Irena with our group inside the gates to Pisa

My attempt to correct the construction error from 600 years ago

Inside the Baptismal chamber, we were able to witness an audible event.  They locked the doors behind us and one of the docents, walked to the other end of the bath. She sang some lovely notes and those notes began to echo throughout the chamber...it was surreal.  Check out my TikTok to listen to her...the account is OneMustTravelToLearn.

The Pulpit overlooking the Baptismal bath

We then entered into the church located on the grounds. There was a really interesting story from inside these walls...I hope it translates through the blog.  It starts with a young medical student attending a church service where the windows were left open and it ends with the birth of modern science and the establishment of the scientific method.  The young man is Galileo and he happened to see a chandelier swaying during mass one day. He observed the speed and distance of the sways and theorized that there was something rhythmic about it. This led, not only to further understanding physics and gravity, but also to mechanized time keeping.

After touring the church, we had some free time to take photos of the tower and explore the grounds. The kids went to Irena's recommended spot and tried their hands at the classic Leaning Tower of Pisa trick-shot.  They were having a blast.  I went to another spot where Irena said you see that the tower doesn't actually lean, but it kind of curves...you guys can judge that.

Look at the top section of the tower, notice it leaning inward? They called it the Banana effect. What do you think? Comment on this blog and let me know.

Our adventure in Pisa concluded as we boarded the bus and left for Florence. The weather report was rain and we were all prepared this time...but it never really came. We had high winds for a minute and a few sprinkles, but overall our visit was clear from weather mishaps.  We were able to get lunch before meeting Leonardo for a quick demonstration at a leather factory. EF puts these types of visits into a tour to give the kids a little history lesson and also to show them a reputable shop. Some kids bought presents, so I didn't take pictures of them shopping. I want it to be a surprise if you are getting something!!!

The display item was a replica of a present made for Catherine De Medici when she left Florence.

We then met our Florence local guide....I apologize but I didn't catch his name. He was wonderful. He had a calm soothing voice and demeanor and when we experienced our ten minutes of poor weather, he brought us to a dry underhang.  He took us to all of the key spots in Florence...because of the hour (12:42), I am just going to showcase a few photos of the day. I will try to get into Facebook and label most of the photos tomorrow.

Cupid? I think that is him, but I don't have much interaction with him, so I'm not sure, haha.

Sorry for the nudity, but this replica of David is hanging out in Florence 

The Uffizi 

Ponte Vecchio

The Duomo

After our tour concluded, we went to dinner at a new stylish looking pizza place. It was on the same street as all of the fancy designers.  As we walked there, I looked in all of the store windows and didn't see a single pair of convertible pants. I happened to be wearing a pair today and transformed from pants to shorts and back again when needed!

The pizza was pretty good, but to be honest, I don't think they gave us enough.  Oddly, a pair of EF employees joined us for dinner to evaluate the restaurant's quality. I shared my thoughts with them and they already had it in their notes.  It was fun, for me, to see behind the curtain as to how EF works.

Olive, no cheese...and one slice already eaten

Our after dinner plans, this week, were always to buy train tickets and spend a few hours extra in Florence. We had planned on watching the sunset, too.  The traffic delay, in the morning, messed with these plans a bit, but the real wrench occurred during our tour. Kent had gone off to buy our train tickets only to find that the train would not be operating tonight.  The attendant told him that we could catch a bus to the station in Montecantini.  It would even save us a few dollars! He purchased the tickets and met us for dinner.  Because of this disruption, we decided to cut out the sunset and meet a little earlier than expected to begin the journey home.  As a reminder, Italian law prohibits a driver from accumulating too many hours in one day, so we could not rely on Joseph to pick us up if we wanted extra time.

This meant we needed to catch a tram to the correct bus station.  

What have I got myself into?

We arrived at the correct bus station about thirty minutes before the bus was supposed to arrive. As we waited additional train passengers arrived and confirmed the location for us.  The kids, throughout this whole ordeal, were absolutely amazing.  They were laughing and going with the flow. Even the kids who were extra tired were smiling and trying to stay positive. It was, admittingly, not ideal...but that's when a few of last year's travelers started explaining to other kids that this stuff happens.  They remembered our train, in Paris, being shut down and having to take a bus to a place near to the hotel. They knew it would work out and helped the other kids feel reassured as well.  These conversations awoke, in me, memories from other trips with travel issues.  In 2012, I led a trip to Amsterdam and Paris. The Dutch train was not operating...we took busses back to the hotel. In 2013, on an 8th grade trip, our bus driver was well over an hour late.  In each instant, to reinforce positive attitudes, I asked the kids to follow my instructions and I took some photos...try guessing what I asked them to do?

This was a fun memory down memory lane, but it didn't help the bus show up...it was time to turn to Kent for some assistance from above.  He called the EF emergency assistance line and informed them that the train was canceled and the bus never showed up.  They worked to see if a new bus could be hired as an emergency, but ultimately could not find one...instead, they arranged for a series of taxis to arrive and shuttle us back to the hotel.  They also told us that if the kids bought a small snack, and kept their receipt, they could be reimbursed for up to 5 euros. The drinks and snacks went a long way to put some pep back into our steps and the taxis arrived in short order.

I preach at pre-departure meetings that a positive attitude works wonders. I tell the kids we can handle rain and delays.  I remind them that we hold the key to our own positive experience in Europe. The little hiccups that happen can derail your spirit, if you let it, or you can chug on forward.  Tonight, even though our train never showed up...we chugged on. I am extremely blessed to have such a fine group of kids with me. I am grateful for Kent and his experience.  I am also not alone here...each chaperon did an amazing part of reinforcing the idea that this was an adventure and we'd remember this part of our trip more than any narration. Megan, Guilherme, and Dawn...Thank you!!! I really appreciate it and I know the kids (and Kent) do too.

It is just past 1am and I am about to wrap up...we leave tomorrow morning for a long bus ride. We will stop in Verona for lunch and make our way to Austria for one night. In the midst of all of our troubles tonight a few kids were excited to think we might be able to hike the Alps for a bit...we shall see, but tomorrow we leave Italy. We ate pasta and pizza and gelato. We saw ruins and art and Jon Luigi! Our trip is still in its infancy with new adventures in front of us and memories to keep us smiling!

Mr. Lavoie, currently snacking on trail mix instead of going to the fast food joint down the street...making healthy choices for one!!!