Pickup Reminder

Mrs. Savage called to remind everyone to be at Terminal E no later than 4pm.  Hopefully, the Customs process will be speedy because I'm sure you're ready for your traveller's first-hand account.

Rome Update (from TX)

Mrs. Savage called and said that they arrived in Rome safely and had a great day at Vatican City.  With such a large group, I'm sure it was a chore for everyone to stay together due to the number of other tours mingling in limited space. 

Tomorrow will be the guided tour of Rome where the group will see sights most only read about or see in the media. Hopefully, they will get some rest tonight for their super-busy day!

More details to come...

We are bringing an I.T. technician on our next trip...Florence "free" day post went "poof."

I typed a lovely account of todays events, only to have the Italian Gnome (as opposed to the American one that lives in my computer at home) eat it.

As exhaustion is setting in, just know we shopped til we dropped, saw Michelangelo's David today, some groups paid to climb to the top of the Duomo today, see the inside of the Santa Croce (tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, Dante, Machiaveli, etc.) and did I mention that we shopped? Leather in all shapes, colors and sizes, t-shirts, jewelry, and the list goes on and on and on and on...I'm really not sure how all of this is going to make it back home.

We get up in the morning and leave for Rome as we have an appt to see the Pope at noon. Well, in actuality, we are hoping to see the Pope but we do have an appt to see the Vatican and are very excited indeed.

Until I have internet access again....

Buena Notte,
Mrs. Savage

Florence or Bust!

See post below for retroactive Venice update.

So this morning we left Venice for Florence. I think the jetlag finally hit us and many people took advantage of the bus ride to lean over on their neighbor and get some rest. Once we hit the Appenine mountains in Italy (also called the backbone as they are a low elevation mountain range that runs down the center of Italy) we crossed over into typical Tuscan lanscapes. Rich, colorful homes, olive groves, vineyards (bare this time of year) and those beautiful cypress trees. We stopped only once in route at the Autogrille.

A side note about "Autogrilles": Plain and simple, this is the Italian version of a Buccees. Though there are no autogrille nuggets, or coffee mugs, t-shirts etc. you can purchase just about anything else you might want and the restrooms are plentiful. We've had fun stopping here and seeing what it is that the Italians buy when refueling their stomachs while on the road.

We arrived in Florence and it's certainly a panorama to remember. The skyline here is a post card, prettier than you can imagine if you've never seen it. We turned the corner to find the Cates family, who skipped Venice to spend time with their family in Turin, waving at us from the side of the road, proof the the world is smaller than you might think. We park, unload and walk to a leather demonstration so that we know how to spot quality leather while shopping in the leather capital of the world. And like all good demonstrations, they dump out into fantastic shopping experiences, this time...LEATHER. Quite a few travelers bought themselves and even some of you, beautiful leather wallets, purses and I saw a couple of jackets and even a couple of college book bags! ("Is there a place where my parents can wire me more money?")

We walked through the streets of Florence, stopping in front of the Santa Croce (do please look this one up if you are not familiar with it...St. Francis of Assisi founded this church.) to meet our guide, Christina, after lunch. She did a great time of walking us through the most important parts of the city center and of course, inside the famous "Duomo" cathedral made famous due to the large, unsupported dome created by Brunelleschi's dome began in 1432 and the Ghiberti's baptistry doors just behind it. We stopped at the Uffizi gallery to do two wonderful hours of some of the most important Renaissance works in the world. Carravagio, Boticelli, etc. As we exited the museum, the portico in front would provide us the most wonderful, unique experience. In celebration of the unification of Italy (150 years) there was an Italian Orchestra playing/singing under red/green/white lights, which were reflecting off of amazing replica sculptures surrounding, such as Michelangelo's David.

After such a long and magical day, we headed to dinner at a quaint restaurant in town and had wonderful lasagna, then chicken cacciatore with fresh creen beans, followed by fresh fruit for dessert (not what the kids had in mind but wonderful for their bodies) which meant we then had to venture out and chase all of that with some gelato on the way back to the bus.

We've checked into our FOUR STAR hotel just outside of Florence (about 30 minute drive) and it's very very nice. The hotel is large and is being shared by several other tour groups. How do we manage this you ask? Simple..tonight we've changed up the rooming assignments a bit and taped the outside of their doors. This will ensure that your wonderful children are right where they need to be. In their own rooms, getting a good nights' sleep.

Tomorrow morning we will sleep in (until 7:30!) and then head into the city again for a free day with our smaller walking groups. The following message is an open letter to all parents, from all students: "Send more money!" as the big agenda for tomorrow is shopping, casual strolling, sitting to eat a nice lunch, etc.

I am off to get some sleep myself and look forward to the next update. I am eternally grateful that this is the first time I have been able to blog while abroad without having to work at the hotel for a bit each evening to do so. 10 euros bought me an internet cord to use from the privacy of my room. Magnifico!

Bouna Notte!
Mrs. Savage

Ciao, Ciao, CHOW! from Italy! Finally!!

Before updating you with fantastic stories, I'd like to note that my husband has more than earned his "lousy t-shirt" (see below) because he's most fantastico for taking off of work to take care of our children all week so that I can be here with your children AND for being our amazing Blogger-by-proxy, complete with historical links. I may buy him a second shirt tomorrow.

So...let's begin with our journey here. It was long. We had no problems navigating the airport. The kids were great. They watched movies, ate their funny little meals and slept some. It was long. We arrived safely. It was long. Our clothing stunk. It was long. THE END.

Now to the goods stuff. We arrived in Venice on the lesser Lido (the blue collar one) in time for a wonderful meal of salad bar, pasta al dente with tomato sauce, breaded veal cutlets ("tastes like chicken"), french fries and pudding. Red eyed and weary, we were all asleep by 10pm.

Okay, really..now the good stuff. Our wonderful chartered bus driver, Nitalia (means, Christmas in Italian. Since he does not speak English, I've just fabricated the story that he must have been born on Christmas, somewhere in a small village in Naples some oh...maybe 60 years ago.) took us to the wharf about 30 minutes from our hotel. Thanks to Carmen, our wonderful, seasoned tour guide, we were first there waiting to meet our water taxi (more like a small ferry for maybe 100 people) to go across the lagoon to the island of Murano. We took the opportunity to take a group photo with the lagoon behind us (very foggy, drizzly, but not raining) and line the kids up who decorated their backpacks. And the winner issssss.....oops, too hard to choose just one so Addy and Hannah are both enjoying a free Gelato in each city on Ms. Satterwhite and I for having the most fantastic backpacks. The runner(s) up were applauded and will also get to eat a gelato in each city, at their own expense. :)

Here comes the taxi and the excitement! All Aboard! The lagoon is beautiful and eery all at the same time. It's about a 30 minute ride across to Murano and we pass only deserted little islands with ruins for buildings and some industrial areas. Then all at once we ascend on Murano and dock just outside one of many glass blowing factories. Inside, we sit stadium style with another EF group from Canada and watch "Jo-Jo" who is continually announced as "75 years old!" (Jo-Jo has every right to accidently drop globbenous hot glass on this man, I think. Good thing he is charming and seems proud that he's still cranking out beautiful glass each day as he's done for over 50 years.) I think I will let you kids explan what happens next, but just know it is miraculous to see something very beautiful be born from a lump of red hot glass, in only minutes. And just like Disneyworld, they dumped us out into a gift shop. Yay! The kids all seemed to make wise choices and most of them are shopping for all of you and not themselves. At least this is what they are telling me when I ask them "who is that for?" After about an hour on Murano, we board for the "fish" as Venice proper is called due to it's shape. We dock at St. Marco square and walk with Carmen to meet our arranged city guide, Matteo. Matteo works for the University (He didn't say which one and if he hadn't been so darn smart, I might've thought he was just making this up.) likely teaching history of some sort as he seemed very passionate about his Venice. The kids (and adults) were snapping photos, very engaged, followed my lead to fill their water jugs from the public fountains (very safe and delicious) which made them excited. After a walking tour of the area around San Marco (the Basilica deserves its' own blog...look up "St. Marks Basilica"), the huge piazza, the Doge's (rulers/kings) palace that is now a museum, we split up into smaller groups for a walk through the alleyways, past the most fantastic shops filled with clothing, shoes, murano glass, pastries, gelaterias, etc. and made our way to take away places for inexpensive lunch a la sandwiches or pizza. We made our way back to one big group and it was time for GONDOLA rides! This was as magical as you might imagine in scenery, but your children were just as fun to watch as the Venice that was rolling by. One boat full (6 per boat) was singing silly songs that were bouncing off of the alley walls, in my boat, Amanda was invited to stand and row with our gondolier (while I made a squinty face, peered through my fingers and managed to also take a video clip) and little Amelie Satterwhite got to do the same in their boat. After this unforgettable 30 minutes, we made our way as a group to the Venitian Lace school and watched a demonstration and did a little shopping. By the looks of things, all of you are making out pretty well back home. All of these boys are dutifully shopping for their "mammas" and I've told them what good boys they are each time. Amazingly, we still had a couple of hours left to break back up into our groups and do a little shopping. I cannot speak for all of the other groups, but I certainly enjoyed my time with my little group of girls. Having been here twice before, I let them lead and I followed them into any and all shops they wanted to go in and yet I still managed to spend the most money. The nicest surprise happened at the end of the day. We met back in San Marco square as the thick fog was rolling in and the sun was setting and ran right smack in to the Alvin High School group that is also here on the same tour. What a fantastic reunion, quick exchange and on our way.

If you've ever ridden away from a coast line and had sentimental thoughts, then you know how we felt watching Venice dissapear on the horizon. Everyone had that satisfied, if not "pinch me" look and certainly were very tired. We arrived back at the hotel around 7pm and just in time for salad, pasta bolognese, rosemary chicken, roasted potatoes and flan. With stuffed minds and stuffed bellies, we trickled off to bed. In the morning we would pack our bags, breakfast, say arrevaderci to a rainy Venice and make our way to Tuscany.

Second Italy via Texas update

Apparently there were some connectivity issues at the hotel, so I'm working on my, "I blogged for the Italy trip from Texas and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" souvenir.  I did hear, however, that your kids are amazing and that all are having a wonderful time.  Mrs. Savage said that they all had the "best day" in Venice today.  Once settled in Florence, she promises a more complete update.

Through the efforts of the experienced tour guide, Carmen, the group will get to skip the meal at the hotel in Florence and will dine at the city's center.  This is significant because tomorrow is the sesquicentennial of Italy's unification and there will be an elaborate parade/celebration/spectacle for our travellers to behold.  I have included a link to give some background on the event.

http://www.i-florence.com/florence-live-events/special-event/notte-tricolore-150th-anniversary-of-the-italy-16th-march/

You can look forward to a first-hand account of the trip soon!

Trip Update...via Texas

(from Mr. Savage)
I received a voicemail from Mrs. Savage around 4:30am (TX time) letting me know that all arrived safely in Paris and were lounging about the concourse enjoying the haute couture and fine dining...well, at least as haute as you can get in the airport. 

Mrs. Savage called at 2:30pm (again, TX time) from the hotel in Italy.  Everyone arrived safely and had just enough time to get settled into their rooms before meeting downstairs for their first Italian meal together.  At this point, the crew is tired from the journey/time change and will likely crash after the meal so they can enjoy their day in Venice tomorrow.  Sweet, gelato-filled dreams to them all.

Air France is departing from Terminal D. D as in Dog. D as in "Dang, I can't believe I am going to Italy with my favorite teachers!!"

Just a quick update so that there is no confusion...our AirFrance flight is departing from terminal D at Intercontinental airport. Please make sure you are in the right place, for those of you who have made direct arrangments with Ms. Satterwhite to meet directly at the airport. The large majority of you are meeting at 1:45 at MHS and we will repeat this information there.

For those of you who arranged to report to the airport directly, you MAY not attempt to check in before Ms. Satterwhite or Ms. Savage arrive. We MUST check in as a group. Just go inside the glass doors and have wait for us all to arrive.

Please check the weight of your luggage (tip in case you don't have a luggage scale: weigh yourself on a scale. Step off. Then pick up your luggage and weigh yourself again. Subtract your first weight, minus the bag, from your new weight, with the bag and you'll have a pretty good idea of what your luggage weighs). One check in bag and one carry on (personal bag like backpack or messenger bag.)

Check check and check again to be sure you have your passport and your money, before you leave your home.

Daylight savings time is this Saturday. Hour forward. BE AWARE of departure time.

Travelers, a real potential problem is in our midst...please be aware that Saturday night is the time when we "Spring forward" an hour. If you fail to do this, you will be late to the airport by an hour. This cannot happen for a long list of reasons so please make sure to spring forward and be on time so that we can "set sail" smoothly. Only 4.5 days until we depart! Bellisimo!

Call your Credit Card companies now, if you wish to use them abroad

For any traveler intending to use their regular ATM cards or credit cards, you MUST call the customer service lines for each and make sure they note on your account that you will be using these in Italy from 3/13 to 3/21 or else they will flag your account as stolen and you won't be able to use it.

Make sure you have your phone options in order and working. Make sure you have the appropriate converter/adapter (Target has one for $19.99) and make sure you understand when to use what component.

Reminder: one checked luggage, one personal bag for the plane. Please be sure to see the suggested packing guidelines below. The weather will avg. 50-55 degrees during the day and 35-40 degrees at night. Think Layers.

If you have not signed on to be a "follower" of this blog, now's the time. This will become our primary form of communication once we land in Europe.

Airplane "kit" and a word about your feet. Yes..your feet.

Dont' forget that you cannot have more than 4 ounces of anything liquid in your carry on and it all must fit into ONE quart size bag, or else you'll have to throw it away. In that bag, you should have a travel deodorant, travel toothpaste, toothbrush and whatever other sacred liquid you cannot be without. In your carry on, you should also bring a pair of underwear, t-shirt and pair of socks in the event your luggage were to be lost, to hold you over until we could get you what you need.

Feet. There is nothing more derailing than horrid blisters or toenail issues (broken, cracked, ingrown, etc.) so bring some serious bandaids and be sure to bring a pair of nail clippers (clippers must be in your checked luggage, NOT your carry on.)