Nashville!

We are back in Nashville with all 19 still alive and well! (including one in Atlanta... Samantha)

What a day! It is currently 3am Italy time and we were up at 4:30am!

Back in the USA!

Waiting in lines and for baggage in Philadelphia!

Florence Day two- David and Fiesole

Quick update during a break!

Everyone managed to get up "early" (8:00) and we were inside the Galleria di Accademia by 9am! We took our time, listening to our wonderful guide Michele (or Mike or Michael) explain lots of amazing info about Michelangelo, Bertocelli, and the other awesome people. We saw some 17th century violins and pianos, unfinished works of Michelangelo, and of course David himself. We also saw some plaster models used to create the plans for some large marble sculptures we saw yesterday at the Duomo!

Then we hopped on a bus and took a ride up to Fiesole for some spectacular views of the city (although a bit hazy). We camped under a church corner and ate a makeshift lunch of bread, cheese, proscuitto/salami, and water. Maybe the simplest but tastiest meal of the week.

Now the kids are doing some last shopping before we meet up again for dinner.

Florence

Arrived safely in Florence early this morning, but we couldn't check into the hotel immediately because our arrival time was before check-in. So we pilled our bags into a spare room and we out for a general bit of shopping and wandering around the squares until we met our tour guide at 2pm.

We climbed 463 stairs inside the San Maria Di Fiore (or The Dome - Duomo) and had a complete view of all of Florence - pretty amazing! Afterwards, we did a lot of walking to various places around Florence. It was also discovered that Baylor has eaten over 50 flavors of Gelato since his arrival in Italy...I'm still amazed by this recent discovery!

Everyone is exhausted now and taking a quick nap before we head out to dinner around the corner. Italy has been an amazing adventure so far!

Ciao!

Venice and another day of travel

Ah Venice! We arrived safe and sound Wednesday morning at the Venice trainstation. I wandered ahead to figure out vaporetto passes and after some general confusion with their system of entryways (which are quite simple once you get the hang of it), we crammed into the #1 route, which drives straight down the Grand Canal (making eeeevery stop) to the south end of the island. Our first attempt at using the "roadmap" was confusing as the "roads" are teeny alleys (no cars!). We found the hotel and our tour guide had agreed to meet us at the hotel (we were running late!). We grabbed a quick lunch (sandwiches so cheap compared to Rome, and delicious!) and headed to San Marco (while the adult males raced ahead to get tickets to the Palace).

Saints Marks is amazing! Our tour guide was much better than our Rome guide, and everyone enjoyed him more. We got the full tour of the Ducal Palace, and we were shutting the place down since we were so late.

On the way home, we set a home base and sent the kids off in groups (to return in 90 minutes). It went smoothly and we enjoyed another group dinner. Most folks stayed in the hotel (Schaffers went out wandering- learning the vaporetto system and paths). Then another late night of cards at the hotel!

Thursday was generally a free day, with the students in groups and wandering Venice. Everyone hopefully will share their own stories!

Friday morning came early to make our train. A vaporetto strike made it interesting, but we are at the train station waiting for our track!

Tuesday!

We had an exciting group dinner at our new favorite place near the hotel, complete with several courses and a low price. Most folks stayed up late playing cards in the hotel until we got shut down by a phone call for noise.

This led to a late morning, with most people barely making it to breakfast by 10am. We finally got ready for the day and I figured out the bus system enough to get us close to Piazza Navona for a couple hours of browsing and lunch.

From there we wandered west across the river to the Vatican City and met our tour guide. The tour, complete with the Museum, tons of tapestries, statues, ceilings, and other artwork also included the Sistine Chapel and Saint Peters Basilica. The excitement of the day was definitely Baylor getting lost! He stepped aside to take a picture, rushed to catch up and sailed right on by the group, all the way down into the Sistine Chapel. We realized he was missing almost immediately, but he was long gone in his attempt to find us! He even heard our tour guide talking to him over the headset but had no way to respond. Eventually, a Vatican guide put word out for a missing tourist and Baylor was relieved when a guide walked up to him in the Chapel and said "what is your name?" then herded him back to our crew.

We were all fading fast by the end, and were relieved when it was time to head back to the hotel by bus. The bus filled up super quick ending with Samantha on Emily's lap and Baylor taking a snooze on Kaleb.

Now we are back on the town for dinner and festivities!

Monday morning

It was a confusing night with everyone's energy and sleep levels put of whack. That led to a delayed morning as well. Once we convened, we headed out to the Spanish Steps and shopping. Upon meeting at the fountain we found a horde of Italian boys flocked around our girls, generally flirting. Samantha stepped in and ran interference, saving Pearson.

Now we are walking in the direction of our bike tour, looking for lunch on the way!

Rome! Day one

Whew- everyone is exhausted!

We arrived safely, got our bags, and were immediately met by our bus! A 30 minute drive to the hotel followed by a bit of a wait wile our passports were copied and rooms acquired. We only got 4 rooms to start the day, but that was enough to dump our luggage and get dressed for a day on the town.

From the hotel, we wandered west and south, past the baths of Diocletian and the Fountain of the Naiads, pausing while your fearless guide hit a much needed ATM. We broke into two groups for lunch, with plenty of pizza, lasagna, and other delicious items. We almost left/lost Ashley and Vivian to shopping and then almost left/lost Pearson and Sarada who hit an ATM while we retrieved the first two! Forging onward to the Quirinale and it's plazza, then to the famed Trevi Fountain. Plenty of pictures taken and coins tossed (to assure a return to Rome), and even photos of a couple making out in the corner (awkward!).

Next up was the Piazza Venezia to meet our tour guide for Ancient Rome. Everyone was fading fast, with heads nodding off (or outright snoozing) from Kasha, Orson, Abby, Ashley, and Baylor. We powered through the Forums and climbed the interior of the Colosseum.

We hit a gelato stand on the way back to the hotel, fought our way through construction blocking our best path, and most folks are probably napping.

As with any trip, there have been issues! Cash needs are rising quickly, and credit card cash advances are not happy about international status (the Schaffer card is being denied!). We will need to figure something out soon! Always exciting!

We have landed!

We are in Italy! A long night, sleepless for most of us, at least for the first half! Hopefully everyone got a few hours in. Morning greeted us with a beautiful view of the Alps, poking through the clouds. We flew over the Mediterranean and had a smooth landing. Hurray!

On to Rome!

We made the final call at the gate, with Mr Moss and Emily sprinting through the airport with guitar over her shoulder! Naturally, our gate was the VERY last one in the whole place! Everyone on board, off we go!

One flight down!

We are in Philly, taking a bus between concourses. Mr Moss and Emily are waiting for the luggage that had to be checked on plane 1. One step down, one big step to go!

On the plane!

A little bit late, but hopefully we will get in the air asap! Tight connection in Philly.

Departure day

7 students and the Schaffers are loaded up on the Webb short bus! Just left Murfreesboro and heading for BNA. 8 more kids to find, plus the senior Mosses!

The Webb School goes to Italy!

Saturday, March 26! 16 students and 4 adults will be departing Middle Tennessee for an overseas adventure! 3 nights in Rome, 2 nights in Venice, 2 nights in Florence, 2 bus rides, 4 flights, 2 trains, bicycles, and boats await in Italy!

Born from a simple "hmm, what would be a fun trip?" and developing into a full-fledged school trip, this spring break trip will be an absolute blast.

More details and updates to follow!