This morning we left our cozy hotel in Barcelona and boarded the AVE (bullet) train for Madrid. The train was very clean and new and we enjoyed a nice quiet ride to Madrid. Thanks to the high-speed train we arrived at Madrid around noon and literally walked across the street from the Atocha train station to our hotel.
Once at our hotel we tossed our bags into one room (not all our rooms were ready yet) and we split up for lunch. Several groups found a place that was serving paella (a typical Spanish rice dish). It was a challenge to find a place that was serving lunch as early as 12:30 since the lunch hour in Spain is really 1:30-3pm. We had an appointment at 2pm with our Madrid guide and had to eat fast.
We met up with our guide who took us on a panoramic view of the city of Madrid. We started at the Palacio Real (the Royal Palace) -the king no longer lives here but rather in a smaller palace just outside of Madrid. The palace is something akin to Versailles and is now used by the King for hosting special guests and for other ceremonies. Students were impressed by the palace but couldn’t believe that an 800 room palace didn’t have a swimming pool!
After touring the palace we made several other sites stopping at the: Plaza de Espana, Real Madrid stadium, and the Prado museum. Our guide said goodbye to us at the Prado museum and we spent about one hour running around the museum hunting down different masterpieces that we wanted/needed to see. We saw works by Goya, Velazquez, Greco, and many others! Since we had just been in Greece and heard the mythical story of Cronos eating his children the students were especially interested in seeing Goya’s Saturnino devorando a sus hijos (Saturn/Cronos eating his children). It’s a very dark painting painted by the Spanish master at the end of his life.
After the musuem we took the metro to dinner at the Museum of Ham, a local chain around Madrid. While we didn’t have any ham, we did have two authentic dishes, gazpacho and paella. It was still early when we finished so we decided to walk to the Plaza Mayor. The Plaza Mayor is the old town square/center of the city. Today, it is a beautiful building that houses many hotels, cafes, souvenir shops and much more. It is a popular place for people to meet up to go out or to just enjoy.
We ended the night with a brisk walk back to the hotel and everyone was so exhausted from a long day that we were all in bed by the early hour of 10:30! My Spanish mother would cry! Oh, well! We need to be rested for our last day in Spain, tomorrow we head to explore the medieval town of Toledo.
Day 3 in Barcelona began with an early-morning trip to the beach, which was just a short Metro ride away from our hotel. We were all eager for some fun in the sun, and Barcelona beaches did not disappoint. Fortunately, most of us slathered on the sunscreen to ward off the intense Mediterranean rays, and we had a great time tanning, swimming, and working out on the beach. Yes, the water is just as beautiful as they say; it actually does have gold flecks—mica, we think—glittering beneath the waves. After a few short hours, we packed up for a quick turn-around to shower and boarded the bus to the Dali Museum, formerly a theater and then Dali’s home. And hello, Dali! Here students learned to think outside the box. (We knew we had arrived there when we saw eggs perched on the roof.) Our tour guide took us on a fascinating and unforgettable journey into the mind of a genius. With much to ponder, we returned to our hotel to dine late and pack up for our next destination—Madrid.
On our first day in Barcelona, we went to visit Park Guell. Then we went on a small bus tour around the city. We were then given 5 hours of free time to explore the city (in small groups, of course). We all went into separate smaller groups to eat lunch and explore the city. Some of us visited some museums like . . . La Casa Batllo, Guell’s apartment, Church of Latter Day Saints, and a few more.
Then we went off to shop for interesting things to bring back home. We went through some money quickly. After a very long day filled with beautiful weather and sunshine, we finished the night off with an amazing dinner of bread, potatoes, corn, carrots, pasta, salad, and fruit. We are not going hungry, but we will be glad to have some good home cooking when we get home. So, moms, get ready to cook for us!!
Yesterday, we began our day by saying goodbye to our hotel in Empoli. We then began our exhilerating trek to Pisa where we toured the ornately decorated Baptistry. Some of our group climbed the one-hundred steps to gain a spectacular view of the Baptistry floor. Just a hop, skip, and a jump away, we were given a tour of the Cathedral de Pisa. Our guide was so engaging that some within earshot decided to join our group. After the tours, we bid our guide adieu and had the opportunity to take our own creative photos of us kicking, pushing, holding, etc., the Tower of Pisa.
Along our journey towards the port where we would catch our ship to Barcelona, Spain, we made a stop at the quaint Tuscan town of San Gimignano. This town is surrounded by a large stone wall. We enjoyed the scenery and a light lunch. While dining, we heard the lovely sound of music- we followed the music and discovered a Canadian band playing tunes by Michael Jackson. This town had a small number of gelaterias, one of which had won “World’s Best” Gelato in 2006/2007 and 2008/2009 and we couldn’t resist.
Having had a taste of real Italian pizza and gelato, we trudged back to the bus. On our way to the dock, we enjoyed the view of vast vineyards, villas, and very beautiful Tuscan scenery. Juxtaposing this beauty, was the industrial port of Genoa, Italy with its cranes and cargo ships. There we safely boarded our ship and got ourselves situated in our comfortable cabins.
We are now safe and happy in our hotel in the wonderful Catalonian city of Barcelona. We spent the last 20 hours on a ferry from Italy and the students and chaperones had a great time staying up late singing karoke, dancing, and eating really good pizza -even trying something new -hotdog and french fry pizza!!!
We all went to bed and spent much of the next day sleeping and resting before arriving to Spain.
We began our day at our hotel in the town of Empoli, just a short drive from Florence. After a simple breakfast we boarded the bus and headed toward the grand city of Florence where we spent the rest of our day.
In Florence, our visit began with a bit of rain which was never more than a small drizzle and didn’t last longer than thirty minutes. Our tour started at the impressive Il Duomo (the fourth largest cathedral in the world) along the Orno river. An energetic contigent of the group elected to scale the 463 steps of the dome where they were rewarded with a panoramic view of the city and a bucket to collect their sweat.
The Leonardo Leather Factory provided a demonstration and tips for purchasing authentic leather products. We then had another homemade Italian lunch (pictured below) featuring the most famous and important Italian dessert TIRAMISU.
From lunch, we split up into separate groups and explored Florence while significantly contributing to the local economy. Students had time to see: the David, Ponte Vecchio, Il Duomo, shop in the market, the Uffizi museum, and see the piazza del Signore.
With heavy hearts (and shopping bags) we departed Florence pausing briefly on a hillside to bid farewell under the setting Tuscan sun…
(*Note that Mrs. Iosue contributed greatly to these posts)
We woke up in the charming town of Meteora, a small town several hours northwest of Athens. The city is completely sorrounded by enourmous sedimentary rock formations. Upon which are nestled six impossibly perched monasteries. We conquered over six hundred steps where we were greeted by a most knowledgeable tour guide who indicated that those not conforming to the required dress code would need to don a fashionable black wrap around their clothes. We toured the church, altar, kitchen and dining room and several outdoor areas –never growing tired of the views.
While leaving Meteora we stopped at a rock from which we were able to view the monasteries and the expanse behind it. After exploring the monasteries and Meteroa we took lunch at a family owned Greek establishment just outside the city. Once fed, we boarded the bus for a long ride to Igoumenitsa ( a port). Half way to our destination we stopped at an awesome little town on a lake called Yannini. It was an ancienty Greek city sorrounded by a fortified wall. While searching for food and shopping a local guide dog befriended our Manheim Central family and acted as our protector from speeding motor vehicles.
We had a great time exploring the city before reboarding the bus and traveling to the port. At the dock we had our last authentic Greek meal. While the food was Greek the portions were the size of Texas! Not even the teenage boys walked away wanting more.
A sad farewell was bid to Greece as we cautiously boarded our ferry/cruise ship.
Day 5:
We spent the day on the ferry and had a great time! We traveled all day by bus and ferry and then arrived late in Florence. More tomorrow!
*Sorry for the delay in updating the blog. It is hard to find WiFi everyday.
Day 3:
Today was a big travel day for us. We left at 7:30 AM for a long busride up into the mountains with several interesting stops along the way. Our first was at the Oracle of Delphi where we climbed a seemingly endless rocky -and slippery-path to the top where the air was a bit thin and cool. We spent two hours touring the ruins and hearing about the Oracle*s signifcance from our tour guide. We finished with a remarkable look at the sphinx, the chariot, and the stone that marked the center of the world. After a stop at the juice bar, which offered any kind of smoothie imaginable, we were off again.
A bit more riding through the mountains (these are the barren, rocky type) and we stopped for a Greek lunch that could not be beat. More riding…more riding…and we stopped in a rather unsepectacular spot by the road. Our tour guide, Rob, assured us that this would be good and indeed it was. After another short climb, we soon found ourselves standing on the very spot where the Persians defeated the Spartans. (Hundreds of arrows found in this spot authenticate the claim. Across the highway stood a magnificent statue of King Leonidus, who when told to surrender his weapons uttered the now-famous words, “Come and get them!”
After several more hours of driving, dozing, and learning about Greek culture, we finally reached our destination, the charming town of Meteora nestled into the picturesque cliffs high above a vast and beautiful valley. Barren and rustic, these cliffs are now illuminated with light. They make for a stunning view as I write this from my balcony overlooking what I will call la piazza with its fountains and cafes. It is well after midnight and in this little town, which I am guessing is about the size of Manheim, people are still out visiting with their friends and family and spending time together in the square.
This morning started with a 6:30am wake up and breakfast between 6:45 and 7:45. We again had a buffett option of eggs, sausages, bacon, ham, breads, fruit, yogurt, etc. We departed the hotel at 8am and spent the morning with our day guide, Faye. Faye was a great guide and showed us around Athens feeding us bits of knowledge as we made our way to the Acropolis.
Entering the Acropolis
Unique to Athens is the prevalence of dogs in the city, particularly around the Acroplilus. Everywhere we went were dogs roaming freely—seemingly wild dogs! But these are beautiful, friendly dogs with amusing dispositions. The story behind them is fascinating. We learned that the mayor of Athens wanted to euthanize these dogs just prior to the 2004 Olympics. In response the tour guides and hotel owners united to care for them, giving them collars and names—feeding them daily. Amazingly the dogs are everywhere. They particularly love sleeping in the middle of the path in an enormous mob of people.We had several dogs listen attentively to our tours.
One of many dogs that wander the ruins of Athens
Today was a popular day to visit the Acropolis and the line was long but it was well worth the wait. After climbing a few marble stairs we made it to the top of the Acropolis to see the the temples. The Parthenon was amazing and our guide Faye explained the history of this and other buildings that sit on the top of Athens. <
After some sightseeing we had three hours of free time to have lunch, shop and visit the New Acropolis Museum. Everyone had a great time experiencing Athens before we headed back to the hotel using the Metro. Back at the hotel students had some time to rest up, swim and use the internet before getting ready for our Greek Evening out.
When we got back to the hotel three of the members from the Idaho group had finally arrived, without their luggage. Hopefully, the rest of their group will arrive tonight and our traveling group will be complete!
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We made it to Greece! Thankfully, we somehow managed to miss the airport strikes going on in the UK and yesterday the airport striked ended in Athens. Our flights were all on time and we had safe and easy flights.
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We met our tour director, Rob Sweetingham, after passing through customs. It is clear that he is going to be great and the group is already warming up to him. We were supposed to meet up with a group from Idaho but they encountered some major problems in Denver and won't be joining us until tomorrow.
After waiting at the airport a bit to find out what happened to the other group we went to our hotel (Candia Hotel) and got our rooms and met for dinner. Dinner was great! We had a buffett of different Greek foods. It was the perfect meal after having traveled for 19 hours. Our students were tired and went to bed by 10pm. Tomorrow we will venture out into the city and visit the Acropolis and all the temples upon it. Should be a great day!
Everything at Philadelphia has gone off without a hitch! We hit the normal Philly afternoon traffic but the airport was dead and we were quickly processed through security and check-in. Our flight departed from PHL at 9:50pm. Everyone had a chance to get something to eat before taking off. We will arrive in London around 10am local time (5am State side). We have been told that our flight will not be interrupted by the British Airways strike or the Athen’s airport strike. So this time tomorrow we should be dining in Athens!
After a very long day filled with beautiful weather and sunshine, we finished the night off with an amazing dinner of bread, potatoes, corn, carrots, pasta, salad, and fruit. We are not going hungry, but we will be glad to have some good home cooking when we get home. So, moms, get ready to cook for us!!
