Mr. Philp just reminded me of something, indirectly - I haven't given you direct links to view the hotels where we'll be staying! This is tentative until SPI officially books the hotels (which, I think, is happening this week), but here are our hotels:
Rome - Hotel Diana
Siena - Hotel Sangallo Park
What Mr. Philp had mentioned was concerning hairdryers. In a future entry, I'll discuss how I discourage bringing ANY electronics on the trip (because of loss or theft), but, if you MUST bring something, make sure it has an official European plug with it (like Apple products).
These hotels are NICE hotels - they have the necessary amenities, too, like hair dryers and shower products. Helps reduce your packing, right? We'll eat dinner at our Rome hotel every night - they have a ROOF GARDEN with a really nice view. I know - I've stayed there with SPI groups in the past!
Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!
Laura :)
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Buon Natale!!!
Christmas in Italy!
BabboNatale (Father Christmas, literally) shows up for the Italians, too. But for Epiphany (January 6), the official 12th day of Christmas, Italian children celebrate the arrival of the good witch, La Befana. People will buy La Befana dolls, and, in Vatican City, a procession of people dressed in medieval garb process along the Via della Conciliazione, carrying symbolic gifts for the Pope who says a morning mass in the Basilica.
Some traditional Italian Christmas songs (and one American one in translation):
Gesu Bambino
O Bambino
Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle
Bianco Natale
And then there's the not so serious . . .
Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey
Wishing you all hope, peace, love, and JOY of the season!
Laura : )
BabboNatale (Father Christmas, literally) shows up for the Italians, too. But for Epiphany (January 6), the official 12th day of Christmas, Italian children celebrate the arrival of the good witch, La Befana. People will buy La Befana dolls, and, in Vatican City, a procession of people dressed in medieval garb process along the Via della Conciliazione, carrying symbolic gifts for the Pope who says a morning mass in the Basilica.
Some traditional Italian Christmas songs (and one American one in translation):
Gesu Bambino
O Bambino
Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle
Bianco Natale
And then there's the not so serious . . .
Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey
Wishing you all hope, peace, love, and JOY of the season!
Laura : )
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Learn some Italian
There are so many resources out there to help you learn some Italian, whether you think you can learn it on your own or you'd want to attend a university to study. At this post, I'm going to add random web resources, in case you're interested in exploring!
My Quia site: http://www.quia.com/pages/lhudec/spiitaly
Where I'll encourage you to go, if you want to study Italian: http://www.dantealighieri.com/
Web Blogs and resources (I claim no responsibility for material found on these):
http://italingua.ning.com/
My Quia site: http://www.quia.com/pages/lhudec/spiitaly
Where I'll encourage you to go, if you want to study Italian: http://www.dantealighieri.com/
Web Blogs and resources (I claim no responsibility for material found on these):
http://italingua.ning.com/
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