2023 Montessori School of Evergreen Italy Program

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Ciao from Venice!

Written by Sasha H. & Reeve D.

Today we went to the Beautiful Museum/Palace of Doge. In this wonderful palace, we got to see delicately painted ceilings with gold framing, along with a mini tour of the old prisons attached to the palace.

Along with walking through the palace itself, we got the opportunity to walk through the Bridge of Sighs. A famous bridge in Venice that in the past, was used to transport slaves and prisoners to their cells. After visiting this incredible sight and walking around a little bit more we soon hopped on to a ferry and made our way to the glass-blowing island of Murano. This island is home to original and authentic glass blowing. We even got a demonstration of an amazing glass blower making a horse and a vase! After our demonstration we moved to the gift shop, to observe all of the beautiful works we could purchase and bring home. We had so much fun!

Once everyone was done purchasing and looking through the gift shop, we hopped on another boat, That boat took us to one of Venice’s many small islands, for example, this one was called Tordicello. We were given around an hour of free time and most of us sat on an old bridge overlooking a small canal, the rest of us walked around the island and even popped into a few restaurants. Once our hour was up we got on the boat once more and headed toward the island of Burano. As we arrived our class noticed one thing…THE COLORS!! All of the houses, shops, and restaurants were painted in beautiful varieties of color, some were blue others were pink, it was beautiful! Burano is known for its cookies so our guides purchased a few and we all enjoyed them. Soon looking through shops, and embracing the beauty of this small island.

Afterward, we headed back to the city of Venice and went to San Marco Square, we were yet again given around an hour of free time, so we split into groups and enjoyed the live music, pigeons, and local stores. A little while later we made a much-needed gelato stop. Next, walking to a pizzeria for dinner. Yum!

Finally, we walked back to our hostel to pack and sleep, in preparation for our train ride to Rome the next morning.

Arrivederci!!!

Buongiorno Venice!

Written by Reef P. and Jackson H.

Today we took a two-hour train ride from Florence to the very beautiful island of Venice. When we arrived in Venice, we settled down at the hotel and then went out for some lunch. We explored Venice spending much of our time getting lost in suspicious alleyways and trying not to fall into canals. After several hours of beautiful views of Venice and its water, we found ourselves in front of the Ducal Palace. After an hour of shopping and exploring, we ventured to a cozy park next to the sea. While in the park, we wrote letters to our future selves that we will read in three to five years. After a calm session in the park, we made a quick excursion to a nearby gelato shop before heading to dinner.  Dinner was a delicious fixed menu consisting of delicious pasta. After dinner, we were exhausted and we headed back to the hotel to get some rest for the next day.

Green side of Florence and making pasta!

Written by Izzy F. and Sydney P.

This morning was relatively more relaxed with a 7:45 wake-up! Everyone took a vote and decided to walk up to the beautiful gardens of Boboli, where there were so many unique and pretty flowers as well as a view of the whole city. For lunch, we headed to a pasta restaurant, where we were able to try many different types of delicious pasta. After lunch, we got to observe the Ufitzi Art Museum, where we could see many famous statues and paintings, such as the work of Leonardo Da Vinci. After grabbing some delicious gelato, we got to try something new. Instead of heading to a sit-down restaurant for dinner, we got to cook our own dinner, with the help of Pietro the chef. After making two different types of pasta (we got to use the fancy machine and everything), we added some special sauce and finally got to try our creations. It was delicious! After everyone had gone for seconds, we headed back to the hotel to pack up because tomorrow we are headed to Venice!

Discovering the floral city

Written by Hayden S. & Zachary S.

After a very tiring 6:30 wake-up call and a delightful breakfast in Rome, we successfully managed to board the metro (with all students arriving safely!), We hopped on a speed train from Rome to Florence! Upon arrival, we could immediately tell it was going to be one of the most beautiful stops on our trip. The towering Gothic Architecture and the most memorable skyline yet was the center of attention. After ditching our bags at the beautiful Ostello Bello hostel, we were on our way to discover Floence’s beauty. We quickly found our audio guide and started to learn about the lesser-known details of the city. Home to Renaissance art and incredible architecture, we got to learn such great knowledge. We saw the famed Duomo, many Gothic Churches, and we even got to see Michelangelo’s David (a remake, but still cool). After lunch at one of Florence’s marketplaces and just a bit of shopping, we came back to the hostel for a short break. Then, we walked for a bit and observed and took in the hustle and bustle of Florence. We wrapped up the night with a delicious dinner and went back through the hotel, but only after gelato of course! We are so excited for what tomorrow will bring!

Dive in the eternal city's history!

Written by Layla H. and CeCe S.
This morning started with a wake-up call around eight in the morning. We headed to breakfast to start the day full of fun adventures throughout Rome! First, we visited the Pantheon in the center of Ancient Rome, where we met our tour guide, Rachel! Rachel was perfect for our
group, and we understood her perfectly. She took us all throughout Rome, where we visited where Julius Ceaser was assassinated, old Jewish Ghettos, learned more about the Pantheon and Egyptian Obelisks, and even learned that we walked near bridges throughout the city that
were over 2,000 years old! Thank goodness it was now time for food! This was what we were all looking forward to. After lunch, we headed to a wonder of the world, the Colosseum, and quickly realized how crowded it was! Mobs and mobs of people everywhere and tons of different lines to
get in. We couldn’t quite get in the right line and ended up getting to the front of each line and having to switch again and again. Inside the Colosseum, we got to see the beauty from our eyes and fingers. We even saw a cute cat sleeping on top of one of the structures, and I wish I
could’ve slept there too! We traveled to the Roman Forum where Julius Caesar was cremated, and then again, our favorite part… food! Dinner was delicious, but not as much as the Italian gelato! We ended our fabulous day with the most important sleep!

Buon giorno, buona sera, buona notte

Written by Katherine B. and Piper M.
On today’s adventures in Italy, we visited Pompei! Starting off with delicious authentic pizza for lunch, where our waiter helped teach us more Italian. From there, we got to explore the incredible ruins of Pompei and learn in detail about its history. We did some quick shopping for souvenirs, a little bit of haggling, stopped at the bathroom for the fifteenth time, and then hopped back on the bus to Rome. We stopped for a quick dinner on the way back. We then took a stroll through the city and were able to see the Trevi fountain all lit up at night. We did a lot more walking, got Gelato, and went to the hotel to get a good night’s sleep. We all miss you guys!

Hello from Italy!

Written by Isabela C. & Keenan D.
Yesterday was a tired but exciting day, we landed in Rome, hopped on a bus and headed towards the hotel. When we got to the hotel, we dropped our bags and headed up to the terrace. While we were on the terrace, we got a brief overview of the next day. During the briefing, we got a cool air show of military aircrafts which was super cool!
After the briefing, we set off towards lunch and the Vatican. When we arrived at the entrance, everyone was so tired that we could barely stand. Yet we still trudged on through beautiful art and amazing ceilings. After an hour, we finally reached our favorite part of the day which was the Sistine chapel. We sat there imagining the time and effort and how difficult it would be to paint a ceiling. When we left the Vatican, we headed straight for gelato as a little pick me up! After everyone’s stomach was full and happy, we went back to the hotel room for some rest and to get ready for dinner. On our way to dinner, we visited the Spanish steps. After a delicious meal of ravioli, we headed on home for a good night’s rest!
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