Poly Italy Travel Program

we are on the flight to lax 2164 see you at 8:00!

We put a lot of miles on our feet this trip! 6/8 Valdobbiadene, Possagno, Asolo. 18,219 steps/7.71 miles 6/9 Venice 21,961 steps/9.29 miles 6/10 Rome 15,458 steps/6.53 miles 6/11 Rome - Forum etc. 22,866 steps/9.66 miles 6/12 Rome - Capitoline etc.  18128 steps/7.66 miles 6/13 Pompei19,707 steps/8.33 miles 6/14 Rome - Villa Borghese etc. 19,915 steps/8.41 miles 6/15 Rome - Vatican etc. 23,955 steps/10.12 miles 6/16 Tivoli 33,776 steps/14.28 miles (folks who didn’t climb the dome had about 2 fewer miles)

Hello, All - No kid blogging tonight - it was a very long day! Robert and Ray will be blogging tomorrow at the airport while we wait to head back. Our flights are AA 721 and 2164 - we get in at 8:00 pm tomorrow night. Thanks to everyone who followed us and good night!

Hello, All - Blogger has been very picky about photos, so be patient as we try to get tonight's onto the blog tomorrow.

Hello all that check our blog posts! I had an interesting experience in Valdobbiadene staying with my host family, but it was great because I learned so much in a few days about how to really connect with someone with out using words. Also my host, Aurora, was so sweet, her family was really accepting and I ate so much. Another great aspect of the trip is getting to know people from all different grades and getting closer with people you had already knew. I have really enjoyed getting to know all the upper classmen, am so happy that they are so nice and welcoming  and they have definitely improved the experience as a whole. I have really enjoyed the opportunity to explore Rome and be more independent traveling than I have in the past when I was with family. I also really like seeing sights that I have seen when I was younger on trips but love that I have a different perspective and a newfound respect for them now that I know more about their history. It is also great to se

Hello, All! Just wanted to express our gratitude to all the parents. The students have been a joy to work with - I was marveling how yesterday, with the prospect of some time at the hotel dangled in front of them, they insisted on staying longer at the Capitoline Museum yesterday and spending time outside in the rain today exploring the Vatican City area. Thank you for all the ways you've made your kids curious, independent, caring, and kind!

David hot in Pompeii David and Goliath Apollo and Daphne (turning into a tree) David being woken by a surprise selfie Harry at small Colosseum In Pompeii Today was a very special day (Harry's Birthday!). First, we traveled by tram to a museum which included a plethora of sculptures and paintings. Next we had lunch and got rained, making our shoes and socks soaking wet. We then took a break and went to dinner and celebrated Harry's birthday. Tomorrow we will be visiting the Vatican.

June 13, 2018 Rome, Italy GIP Trip Hello, I hope all is well. This GIP trip has been an incredible experience and one that I will never forget! Our journey began in Valdobbiadene where we had a home-stay. My host family was very nice, and they prepared the most delicious lunches for me to take to school. My host sister, Camilla, and I bonded over our shyness. It's always nice to find someone that has an aspect of their personality similar to yours. During our time in Valdobbiadene, the Italian students took us on a day trip to Venice, which was one of my favorite days of the trip. I made several Italian friends that day that I hope to stay in touch with as we go our separate ways. Although I was sad to leave Valdobbiadene, Rome is beautiful! It's amazing to think that you are walking in the same area where the famous Romans we hear stories about might have walked. Visiting Pompei gave me a sense of what Roman life may have been like because we visited the ruins of s

Yesterday was a day full of adventure. We started the day off by walking to the bus stop in which we took to Forum. The Forum was an amazing place filled with many chances to take beautiful photos. What amazed me the most was the great amount of statues on top of each building. Before coming to Italy I had never known how important art was and how prevalent it would be. After taking countless amounts of photos, our group finally visited the Colosseum. Before coming to Italy I had had no idea what it would be like and why it was so important, but upon my visit and witnessing all the people and tourists wanting to visit got me excited. Learning the history behind the great structure was so interesting. It made me want to study Rome and its history. The Colosseum did end up being smaller than I thought it would be. That said it was one of the most beautiful things I have seen thus far in Rome, and is definitely a sight to remember.    

We departed for the Roman Forum at 8:45 a.m after eating our first breakfast at our hotel. After 12 bus stops and a short walk past several forums belonging to past Roman emperors, we arrived at the main Roman Forum, which many of us recognized from our Latin studies. In our AP Latin course, we had the opportunity to read Julius Caesar's De Bello Gallico and Vergil's The Aeneid, both of which at their time would have been read aloud at the Roman Forum by constituents of consuls and authors. In the spirit of Roman oratory traditions, the two of us read aloud a passage from De Bello Gallico that recounted the bravery of two soldiers during the Gallic Wars. We chose this passage because it represents traditional Roman values and appeared on our AP exam. Many of our peers, including ourselves at times, often forget the modern relevance of classics; recreating a scene from Roman warfare that we've analyzed gave us a unique sense of life to what we all consider a "dead langu

My home stay with my Italian family in Valdobbiadene proved one of the most spectacular and memorable experiences of my life. It was truly the best three days of my life; while living, eating, and spending time with my Italian friends. When I arrived I was a bit nervous about how I would go about conquering the language barrier; however, I used the basic Italian I learned before the trip and spoke Spanish to communicate. This experience was filled with fun, adventure, love, learning, and excitement. The students who I spent the most time with taught me to live. They demonstrated such genuine kindness and compassion for one another. It taught me life can be both exciting yet educational. Traveling to Venice was also one of my favorite parts of the trip since I bonded with both the American and Italian students. In addition, I loved having dinner with the students and their families as well as playing hide and seek in the dark. While visiting the Possagno I enjoyed viewing Conva'

Hi! This is Rachel and I'm going to be writing a little bit about our day trip to the towns of Possogno, and Asolo. In Possongo we visited a statue collection of works by the artist Antonio Conova. Then we walked up a nearby hill to see this church, the first church we visited in Italy so far. It was modeled after the Pantheon style, and is one of the very small number of churches in Italy which faces directly south instead of facing east as most churches and religious establishments are built to do. The first church we visited in Possongo. Later in the day we went to a small town called Asolo, one of my personal favorite places we've visited thus far. On the biggest hill in the town was a giant fortress, and so we proceeded to hike up to see the view from there before breaking off into small groups and exploring on our own. The group I was with went to a cafe and sat outside eating gelato and drinking cafe lattes. Caterina, my host sister, jumping for a picture in

  Snapped this pic in St. Mark's Square. This elderly Italian man was enjoying his time feeding the filthy pigeons. I hate pigeons. But this was interesting.  -Cole S.     This picture is of Rachel posing with balsamic vinegar. We took this because we feared that Magistra (Ms. Schuhl) would have thought the bottle of vinegar was indeed wine. We wanted to have proof just in case. We only drank café! hahaha! -Cole S.  Sophia and I on a roof in Venice. Super fun. Felt like I was in pirates of the Caribbean!  -Cole S. These tourists from the 15th century wanted to take a photo. The dude on the left was checking his Facebook status.  -Cole S. This is Paola and Anna. Anna hosted me and Paola is her best friend. They were extremely kind and took me to the mountains of Valdobbiadene. It was freezing but totally worth it.

Venice Today:   kids waiting at train station on the way to Venice  Our first Venice bridge, the Rio dei Friari one of the lions of the Doge's Arsenal pranzo ottimo On the way out of Venice, we visited the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, a religious organization dedicated to supporting the city of Venice's middle-class and its poor.  One of the students said, "This is some middle class!" Apparently middle-class isn't what it used to be {: After getting home and freshening up, we had a dinner with all the host students and families that ended at midnight - Italians know how to have a good time. Tomorrow the host families will drop us off at the train station, and we are off to Rome!

Today was BUSY!  Technology is fighting us so pictures will be added tomorrow! First up was school and a Latin class with our Italian friends. They worked on a translation from The Aeneid and after quite a bit of work (and giggles), they had it figured out. Thanks to our teacher, Marta for a fun lesson.   Then a trip to a wine cellar to learn how prosecutors is made. This region is the reason prosecco even exists and they are very proud of this industry. A tour and then a relaxing time in the tasting room. Don’t worry! The kids only had water or juice! Back to school for some fun last day of school games. Several of our kids participated and much fun was had. Then lunch and on to the bus for the next adventure. First stop was Possagno and a visit to the Antonio Canova museum. Amazing sculptures and a beautiful church. at the temple of Canova, note Marta, our Latin teacher, on the left side near Kat