Venice

This morning we had a quick breakfast before grabbing our bags and leaving the hotel by 8am. We were heading to a bridge nearby to catch the bus to the station. We got to Florence Termini by 8.50 and waited until our train arrived just before 9.30am.

We loaded our luggage onto carriage #7 and went towards our seats. Our seats had been pre-booked and paid for months in advance so there shouldn't have been a problem. However, for some reason, Italians (and a group of three who we thought we Russian) don't think they need to sit in their allocated seats. We were all meant to be seated together but we weren't because they refused to move. I had to hold my best Italian words on the tip of my tongue but I thought how rude!!

Anyway, we made it to Venice after a 2 hour train ride. Our next task was to load our luggage into two separate water taxis. If you can imagine the most pristine timber boat with leather seats, that was our ride. The drivers weren't too impressed with the amount of cargo but they got us to our location. We offloaded the luggage to dry land and walked to our hotel.

As it was before 2pm we couldn't check in so left our luggage in the storeroom and went for a walk to find some lunch. We had lunch just around the corner in Piazza della Santa Maria Formosa. We came back and checked in. The kids went to their rooms briefly before we asked them to gather their laundry because we were going to make a quick trip to the laundromat!

After an hour or so we returned to the hotel for some downtime before going out to dinner at 7pm.

Tomorrow we will walk around Venice to get our bearings and see some sights.

Below is a photo of some of the kids in the water taxi!!

Ferrari Museum and Shopping

Today was a day to keep the students happy in two completely different ways. The ladies were having a sleep in before a long day shopping and the car lovers had an early start so we could take the train to the Ferrari Museum.

The boys, Chelsea, Sierra and I started with a brisk walk to the station at 7.30am. We arrived just before 8 and had a quick brekky before taking the train to Bologna. We stayed on at Bologna and got off at Modena. Modena is home to the Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari. We had an hour or so to kill so we spent it at the museum. This museum focuses on the story of Enzo and Scuderia Ferrari as well as other people involved with the early stages of Ferrari. There are also several cars on exhibition including "Maseratis" and are changed ever 6 months. After an hour or so we jumped on the shuttle bus to Maranello, the home of the Ferrari Museum.

We arrived in Maranello about 12pm and I saw about 12 Ferraris in the main street. When we arrived in the museum car park there were another 10 at least including 4 you could test drive. Again, I had to resist because it costs about 400€ for an hour. We had a quick lunch in the cafe before going through the museum.

The museum's entry starts with Ferrari's "super car" version similar to Bugatti's Veyron. It's called the 599XX and just looks amazing. Other cars you can find in the museum are their F40, F50, F430, Dino's, F1 racing cars and the list goes on. There's also a special room dedicated to F1 racing with trophies, F1 cars and a sound room where you can hear various Ferrari sounds in full throttle. We spent a good hour or so walking around before a couple of the boys tested their driving skills on an F1 Simulator. Being completely different to any video game they've ever played they struggled initially to keep the car under control. After a warm up lap they were starting to get the hang of it but sadly they're not younger versions of Michael Schumacher.

We left the museum about 2.30 and had a quick look in the gift shops where some kids bought some great things. The shuttle bus took us back to Modena, then we caught the train to Bologna and onto Florence. Dinner was booked for 7pm, we arrived shortly after and met up with the shoppers. They had a busy day going in and out of various retail stores and the markets. By the sounds of it a few dollars were spent!

Dinner was brief as most of the kids were stuffed after a long day. We had roast chicken, pork and sausages served with green beans and potato wedges. Dessert was called "Nonna's Torta", a slither of cake made with a cheesecake style base, custard and apples in the middle and icing sugar on top. It was a good way to end the day. The kids spent their last half hour before bed doing a quiz on Florence and writing in their journals.

Tomorrow we're off to Venice in the morning so a long train ride and a few boats and we'll be there mid afternoon! Hopefully all the presents fit into their suitcases...

Last day of lessons

Today was the last day the kids had language lessons. They were sent on a treasure hunt to various locations to speak in Italian and practice their map reading skills. From all accounts they thoroughly enjoyed themselves!

We had a quick lunch on the go because we needed to get to the Uffizi Gallery by about 1pm. We lined up for about 15 mins and got in about 1.20 or so. The Uffizi Gallery has thousands of pieces of artwork and sculptures included some from Sandro Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and Giotto. The more famous paintings are: "Primavera" & "The Birth of Venus" (Botticelli), "The Annunciation" (da Vinci) and "Ognissanti" (Madonna, by Giotto). Unfortunately, no photos are allowed except for the view of the Ponte Vecchio from the gallery's second floor.

We were all done and dusted by about 2.15. Our next priority was to rest the legs as the kids were quite tired. Tawny brought along her flute and school uniform to play in the Piazza della Signoria. We sat and rested whilst Tawny and Carmina to returned to the hotel.

When they got back, Tawny set herself up in front of the Palazzo Vecchio and the Fountain of Neptune. She played one song but one of the carabinieri (police) interrupted her during the second as no unauthorized music is allowed to be played! Luckily they didn't issue a fine!!

The kids and I set off to the markets whilst Carmina took Tawny back to the hotel to change. We met up again at the markets where the kids bought a few more things. Once they had enough we returned to the hotel and are now resting before dinner and another big day tomorrow! I'm taking the boys, Chelsea and Sierra to the Ferrari museum whilst the others go shopping!

David and panoramic view of Florence

The kids had their second last language lesson this morning. It sounds like they're learning a bit which is great! We stopped for lunch right near the school and the kids had a chance to relax a bit after their 3 hour lesson!

After lunch, we went into the Galleria dell' Academia to see the Statue of David. Inside there are lots of famous artists' work but the main attractions are the music museum and David. No photos are allowed so the kids will need to describe their own thoughts and feelings to you when they can!

We then left the gallery and caught the bus to the station. Our aim was to get to Piazza del Michelangelo where we could get a few panoramic photos of Florence. When we arrived, there was a Ferrari California that caught our eye. They were offering test drives for 110 Euro for 10 minutes or 250 for half an hour. I was very tempted but manage to resist!! Below are a few photos I took but the weather was overcast and it rained whilst we were there.

A bus trip back to the station and another back to near the gallery allowed us to pop into a small shop with Ferrari memorabilia. The kids loved it, buying things like calendars, scale model cars and pencil cases. We then walked back to the hotel and are now resting before going out to dinner.

Tomorrow will be the last lesson for the kids and then we have tickets to the Uffizi Gallery after lunch. From then on it will be shopping and relaxing before a busy few days in Venice.

Pisa

Today was the day for our trip to Pisa after the kids had their 9am-12 language lessons. We set off from Florence Termini around 1pm after the kids had a quick panino on the go. We were booked in for a 3.30pm climb of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

When we arrived we noticed a line to queue up for the climb so jumped in at the end of it. We got to the front of the line about 3.40 and the guy in charge said we were late for our booking. Being Australian, you usually line up for things and don't just walk to the front of the line to go in. Anyway, we were lucky enough that they were going to let us in but not as a whole group unfortunately. They made us go up in groups of 5 with one teacher at a time. In the end it didn't matter because they could've quite easily said no.

The view from the top was amazing although it was a bit overcast. The kids were keen to take plenty of photos trying to hold up the tower etc. Some very interesting initiative shown, including "photo bombing" of other groups' photos and their peers. I had a laugh with the kids as well taking a one finger approach (see below). Our stay in Pisa was fairly lengthy, around 3.5-4 hours and well worth it from the looks of some of the kids photos.

We then had a brisk walk back to the train station to catch the 5.54 train to Florence so we could get to dinner by 7. The train was 5 mins late plus stopped at every station so we didn't arrive in Florence until after 7! Half of the group met a lady from Melbourne, Claire, and we asked her to join us for dinner. We ate at the same restaurant as the first night, Baroncelli, and had pasta in a meat sauce with trifle for dessert. The kids and I felt like a gelato so we got one on the walk home.

The kids were in their rooms to write their journals and lights out by about 10pm. Tomorrow is another big day with lessons in the morning, Galleria of academia to see the Statue of David and piazza del Michelangelo to see the full panoramic view of Florence from the mountain. The kids will get a chance to do a bit of shipping on the last few days here and I might take the boys (and whoever else wants to come) to the Ferrari factory in Maranello on Sunday!

Florence

Today was the kids first day of language lessons at the Galileo Institute. The weather was warm around 25 degrees bit cloudy. We had a nice breakfast of bacon, eggs, sausages and the usual cold meats and cheeses. They also put on a few desserts like cakes and doughnuts! After brekky we walked for about 15-20 mins to the institute.

From 9am to 12pm the kids had lessons. After the lessons we had lunch at the local restaurant. With a quick stop at the pharmacy, we returned to the institute to meet our walking tour guide Rafaelo. Our tour was planned to be from 2pm-4pm. As all knowledgable guides do, he went into plenty of detail, some facts that would've gone straight over the kids head but very informative. We visited il Duomo, the Piazza Antica, the Old Palace and the Piazza della Signoria. The tour finished just after 4.30.

A few kids bought gelato again! Then it was time to rest and write in their journals before getting ready for dinner. Tomorrow they're back at school for 3 hours and in the afternoon we're heading to Pisa!!

Day Four

Today was a nice and warm day around 23 degrees. We had brekky and checked out by 8am, heading to Termini to catch the train to Florence. We got there with plenty of time to spare as our train wasn't until 9.15.

We hopped onboard, heading to our seats but struggled to fit in all of the suitcases. It was a mad rush to get all the luggage between the seats or above them. We got there eventually as the train was on the move.

The first task for the kids as we left Rome was a quiz. There were some difficult questions and those who listened to Carmina's little remarks the past few days would've done quite well! The rest of the 1.5 hour trip went fairly quickly and soon enough we were getting off at Florence.

We arrived in Florence with no coach driver in sight! Carmina rang them and they told us where we might find him. We walked one way but figured out it was completely the opposite way but eventually found him. He explained how one company has a deal with Florence Termini and can pick up passengers at the main exit but everyone else has to park at the furtherest possible exit.

It was no big deal at that stage, a short bus trip to our hotel and a "300m walk". Well obviously Italians aren't very good at estimating because our "300m walk" took us a good 30mins and was more like 3000 metres!! They'd be no good at exaggerating the size of the fish they caught.

Another problem lie in the fact that the street our hotel was on had been numbered in colours and numbers. For example, we were looking for 22 Nero (black) but we walked past 22 Red, 22 White, 22 green and 22 blue before finally some old fella showed us where 22 Nero was (in between 16 red and 24 blue!!) strange but true.

We checked in and freshened up then set off to find some lunch. Cafe Bellini was our choice and most, if not all, had pizza. Again, as you'd expect, very tasty and we finished it off with a gelato.

The rest of the afternoon was for the kids to relax a bit and rest up before a busy few days ahead. Tomorrow they'll start their 3 days of language school and have a Historical walking tour of Florence. The next day we'll be going to Pisa after lunch for a 1/2 day trip.

Below are a few photos from today.