Day 9 - Capri

Due to wifi issues, I decided to wait until I got home before I updated the last entry of my tour. Thanks for your patience!

Our excited anticipation of visiting Capris was slightly dampened by a jaunting 1/2 hour boat ride to the island. At first, it was a lot of fun riding the large waves; we screamed and laughed as the sea tossed us up and down. Within 10 minutes, however, I could suddenly hear the muted silence of queasiness on the boat. I don't usually get motion sickness, but even I started to feel sick after about 20 minutes. Someone outside on the top deck puked over my tour guide and friend. Yuck.... So, on the ride to Naples after Capri, which was one hour, I took a Gravol -- highly recommended for anyone who gets motion sickness easily.

But, the view of Capris was spectacular and well-worth that tumultuous boat ride. Capris is the most expensive place to live in Italy and it is the origin of pizza.

This was the last day of our tour. Tomorrow is a travel day. (Turned out that on our third and last airplane ride, we had to turn around in mid-air to Pearson Airport in Toronto because of fuel problems on the plane; this after being on the flight for one hour already. Better safe than never, right? Our flight was delayed for another two hours and my students, who were starving for Canadian food, lined up at Tim Hortons and A&W Burgers. I'm so glad to be home.)

Day 5-8 of Spring Break Europe

 Finally got WiFi again! However, it's very spotty, so I'll post photos another time.

Day 5 - Paris

At the Louvre, I expected the Mona Lisa to be tiny with a gazillion people crowded around to try to see it. It was true. I did not expect to fall in love with Spartacus...and the other sculptures of the Cour Marly and Cour Puget collections. Paris was so hard to leave behind.

Day 6 - Rome

Today, we visited the Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basilica. I was stunned by how beautiful the ceiling and walls were of the Sistine Chapel; too bad we couldn't take photos of that particular room.

Day 7 - Rome

The Colosseum was the highlight of the day, but our tour guide, Gianmarco, took us on an unscheduled walking tour of Rome, which included the Roman Forum and Trevi Fountain. It is a city of exquisite beauty. I was awestruck by how buildings that are thousands of years old are still standing. If I thought saying goodbye to Paris was hard, then I am not looking forward to leaving Rome. I could see myself living here and wished myself at the Trevi Fountain to be surrounded by extraordinary beauty again.

Day 8 - Pompeii and Sorrento

Pompeii was a haunting classroom. It was eerie to walk around an ancient city that has been extinguished by lava and ash in 79 A.D. and re-discovered in 1748.

Sorrento, on the other hand, was a vibrant place despite the hail storm. The view from my hotel room was gorgeous.

Day 4 - Paris

We started the day with some sightseeing on the bus. Then we went to Versailles.

Visiting the Palace of Versailles had been a dream of mine since I started teaching Social Studies 9. The opulent palace was spectacular and I'm excited to include new information I've learned into my curriculum.

Next, we visited the Arc de Triomph.

After dinner, we visited the top of Montpamasse Tower for a bird's eye view of the city.

We ended the evening with a boat tour (which would be better if we could go outside to take pictures) and more sightseeing of Paris (ie. Eiffel tower) lit up at night.

Day 1-3 - London & Paris

So to recap... (More for my mom's sake because she doesn't have Facebook):

Day 1 - London

We arrived safe and sound! The plane ride was so smooth and the landing impeccable! Thank God! I do not handle turbulence well. But the view of Greenland at sunrise is absolutely stunning.

We visited Trafalgar Square and Convent Garden today.

Day 2 - London

One of my students lost his passport, so I had to accompany him to the Canadian Embassy. We left our group, who went to see Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. But, thank God, when we arrived at the Embassy, we were told that the passport was found! We traveled back to the airport where it was held at the Air Canada counter. Since it was too late to rejoin our tour, my student and I did a little sightseeing ourselves. We saw Big Ben and the Parliament buildings, which our tour group only saw from the sightseeing bus, so we were fortunate enough to get up close and walked around.

We joined our school group for a classic fish and chips dinner. Then we all split up: half of us did a Jack the Ripper tour and the other half was a Harry Potter tour.

Day 3 - Paris

This was a very busy day! We took the train from London to Paris (about 2 hours) and then we visited Notre Dame. After dinner, we explored Montmartre Hill.

Madrid, Day 4

Our final day was spent having breakfast at 100 Montatidoes, lunch in the Mercado San Miguel, dinner at Casa Lucas, and just chilling out. We are sad to leave Europe and are already planning our next trip!!! But, I am looking forward to coming home and being with family, friends, and familiar foods. And even a bit of routine is nice, too.