Oh, all these e-mails to me - you're getting me so excited about the trip!!! Can I share my answers to some of your recent e-mails with the group?
1. Departure - PLEASE REMEMBER TO WEAR YOUR GREEN SHIRTS - While most students are taking the same flight over as Ms. Caron, a few of you have slightly different itineraries. If you are taking a different flight to ORD or flying out of another airport, a great idea is to e-mail Ms. Caron/SPI your cell phone number (if you're going to have your American cell with you while you travel). I find that it's a great idea to take your American cell with you, to handle all the transfers while in the U.S., then turn it off when you board the international flight. (this way, you'll have it with a little working battery when we return, to let you call your folks at the connection gate)
If you're meeting us in ORD, plan to meet Ms. Caron (or a group of SPI fellow travelers) when you arrive into that airport. If not, please call Ms. Caron when you arrive at the location of your international departure, to let her know you're at your departure gate. We'll do the same thing when we all return to the U.S. - call me on my cell phone as soon as you get to your connecting gate (we'll talk about the fun of customs when returning to the U.S. later).
2. Katerina, we won't get as far north as you were hoping, but, believe me, there is HISTORY everywhere, even what you're looking for! The one thing that always strikes me, wherever we are, whether strolling during the evening passegiata, or in one of our tourist stays, is the reminder that, for centuries, people have been doing the exact same stroll as I do then. When we tour through the Forum, think of how many people have placed their feet exactly where you are. When we visit the Vatican, consider how many pilgrims visit - and have visited - this place, a once-in-a-lifetime experience for so many (and so many more who don't even get the chance). You can almost feel people of past ages passing by, smiling, as you experience the same path as they had. What a great connection with history and humanity!!!
3. Margarita, how inspiring it is to see everything on your blog - just shows me what this trip means to so many of you this year (and it certainly means as much, and more, to me!). You had mentioned that you'd like to see a daily agenda. Out of personal inspiration, I'm designing brief devotionals - just 10 - 15 minutes at the end of each of our touring day for anyone who is interested. We will read the passages, however, from the Italian bible and the Vulgate (no meager English translation for us), and discuss topics related to whatever place we visit that day. I'm going to see if I can post the devotional (and events) calendar on the blog, but general schedules for each day is also posted on the SPI Italy Google calendar (linked, I hope, to this page). :)
4. Shannon, I appreciate your wanting to work in advance to make the most of our brief time on our last weekend!!! No need to buy any tickets in advance - the Musei Vaticani lines should be moving at just the right speed when y'all get there, so that you can just enter directly and head to the ticket booth! If you've never been to Rome, I must insist that you go to the Musei Vaticani, and if you've already been there, another group will go to Villa Borghese (we'll meet in the Piazza di San Pietro a few hours after we divide up for a tour of the Basilica itself). Again, as I mentioned before, please inform me if you plan to go to the Villa Borghese - we need to book a reservation before we depart!
One last time to meet before we depart? See you at Campania Pizza for lunch at noon on Friday, June 19! Please feel free to e-mail me on my personal e-mail if you have more questions, and I'll make one last posting just before our departure date!
HUGS to all of you!
Laura :)
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