Our first day in Rome ran a bit long! Look for the blog post tomorrow...
Dave
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Day 4: Capri
This post was written by Wasnaa and Victoria:
Today we woke up (as usual) but had a little different schedule than usual. We all loaded on the bus and took it to a harbor where we got to get on a BOAT!!! The boat took us to the island of Capri where we took everyone on a very long walk through the island to see the sites of Palazzo a Mare, Via Tiberio and Villa Jovis where we made our speeches.
Everyone LOVED the walks, especially going uphill. Villa Jovis was very big and high up - talk about living on a cliff! After visiting the ruins we went back down, where we met and broke up into smaller groups depending on what you wanted to do. There was the option of hiking, eating and walking around, or shopping. I (Victoria) went with the group that went to eat. The food was DELICIOUS and soon after we went back to the dock and got to walk around. I (Wasnaa) went shopping halfway up the hill with my friends and when we were done shoping we went to eat, and then we headed back down to meet with the rest of the group. The third group got to go hiking and saw a lot more gorgeous ruins, with tons of stairs. They took lots of beautiful pictures. After we all regrouped we got on the BOAAAT and took it back to the harbour where we loaded back onto the bus and headed to Villa Vergiliana.
Today we woke up (as usual) but had a little different schedule than usual. We all loaded on the bus and took it to a harbor where we got to get on a BOAT!!! The boat took us to the island of Capri where we took everyone on a very long walk through the island to see the sites of Palazzo a Mare, Via Tiberio and Villa Jovis where we made our speeches.
Everyone LOVED the walks, especially going uphill. Villa Jovis was very big and high up - talk about living on a cliff! After visiting the ruins we went back down, where we met and broke up into smaller groups depending on what you wanted to do. There was the option of hiking, eating and walking around, or shopping. I (Victoria) went with the group that went to eat. The food was DELICIOUS and soon after we went back to the dock and got to walk around. I (Wasnaa) went shopping halfway up the hill with my friends and when we were done shoping we went to eat, and then we headed back down to meet with the rest of the group. The third group got to go hiking and saw a lot more gorgeous ruins, with tons of stairs. They took lots of beautiful pictures. After we all regrouped we got on the BOAAAT and took it back to the harbour where we loaded back onto the bus and headed to Villa Vergiliana.
Day 3: Herculaneum, Oplontis, and Cuma
This post was written by Jordan and Nat:
Oplontis is an amazing place. It is a Roman villa that has some of the most amazingly preserved frescoes. The frescoes fill the rooms completely and are really beautiful. The colors are amazingly well preserved. Many of them are closer to perfection than anyone could have hoped for and we spent nearly two hours walking around to look at them. Cuma includes a small entrance to hell. We went there and then hiked up the mountain to the Temple of Apollo. Herculeanum was another ancient city much like Pompeii. It is much smaller and was a very interesting place to visit and view the mosaics.
Oplontis is an amazing place. It is a Roman villa that has some of the most amazingly preserved frescoes. The frescoes fill the rooms completely and are really beautiful. The colors are amazingly well preserved. Many of them are closer to perfection than anyone could have hoped for and we spent nearly two hours walking around to look at them. Cuma includes a small entrance to hell. We went there and then hiked up the mountain to the Temple of Apollo. Herculeanum was another ancient city much like Pompeii. It is much smaller and was a very interesting place to visit and view the mosaics.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Day 2: Pompeii and NAM
This post was written by Sarah:
Hello parents! I know if you are like my parents you have been refreshing this blog like crazy so I shall try to write fast. Today we went to Pompeii, Emilie and I (Szarrah) were the first tour guides there. And let me tell you, planning a whole tour throughout a city of originally 20,000 is pretty hard. You get there and it looks nothing like the picture in your head. Luckly, my amazing map skills saved us and ensured we got to see all the cool places we wanted everyone to see.
We next went to the museum. You were literally looking at GIGANTIC statues that looked so real I thought they would get up and move. They were so detailed you could see their veins. Then we just chilled in Naples with gelato. It was GREEATTT.
The defining moment of the trip for me today was when I woke up. I got up at 7 and woke up my room mates. We got dressed, packed our day packs, and were getting ready to head downstais when Michelle looked at the clock. NOT 7, but 4. AM.. ya I will never live that down.
OXOXO, Sarah
p.s. HI MOM
Hello parents! I know if you are like my parents you have been refreshing this blog like crazy so I shall try to write fast. Today we went to Pompeii, Emilie and I (Szarrah) were the first tour guides there. And let me tell you, planning a whole tour throughout a city of originally 20,000 is pretty hard. You get there and it looks nothing like the picture in your head. Luckly, my amazing map skills saved us and ensured we got to see all the cool places we wanted everyone to see.
We next went to the museum. You were literally looking at GIGANTIC statues that looked so real I thought they would get up and move. They were so detailed you could see their veins. Then we just chilled in Naples with gelato. It was GREEATTT.
The defining moment of the trip for me today was when I woke up. I got up at 7 and woke up my room mates. We got dressed, packed our day packs, and were getting ready to head downstais when Michelle looked at the clock. NOT 7, but 4. AM.. ya I will never live that down.
OXOXO, Sarah
p.s. HI MOM
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Day 1: Arrival, Sperlonga, Capua
This post was written by Nathan Landau:
Hello readers, This is the first day of the 13 day long 9th grade class tip to Italy and Greece. It all started at around 4:30 am where just about everyone one in the class showed up at Sky Harbor Air Port and even though it was early, everyone was exited and ready to go. We walk through check in and security and boarded our first plane to Atalanta with no problems. The plane ride went by quick and before long, we were in Atlanta waiting to board our flight to Italy. That flight was a lot longer and was also over night. Which made it necessary to sleep. However, I believe most of us were not too successful at that task. After about nine and a half hours on that plane, we loaded ourselves on a bus were we were taken to Sperlonga which is the former home of Emperor Tiberius's villa. Tiberius was the second emperor of Rome who did just about nothing to expand and develop Rome. In fact for about the last 10 years of his life he spent his entire time away from Rome, in his villa. Which is one reason why that villa is so extravagant and important. After we departed from Sperlonga, we headed over to the town and the Gladiatorial museum of Capua. This was the second largest arena in Rome were many famous battles were held including Spartacus's revolt, which originated in that arena. It was also a housing ground for the Carthaginian military when Capua opened its doors to them. We shortly left there and headed to a small villa via the bus. We are all tired and anxious to see what the rest of the trip has in store for us.
Hello readers, This is the first day of the 13 day long 9th grade class tip to Italy and Greece. It all started at around 4:30 am where just about everyone one in the class showed up at Sky Harbor Air Port and even though it was early, everyone was exited and ready to go. We walk through check in and security and boarded our first plane to Atalanta with no problems. The plane ride went by quick and before long, we were in Atlanta waiting to board our flight to Italy. That flight was a lot longer and was also over night. Which made it necessary to sleep. However, I believe most of us were not too successful at that task. After about nine and a half hours on that plane, we loaded ourselves on a bus were we were taken to Sperlonga which is the former home of Emperor Tiberius's villa. Tiberius was the second emperor of Rome who did just about nothing to expand and develop Rome. In fact for about the last 10 years of his life he spent his entire time away from Rome, in his villa. Which is one reason why that villa is so extravagant and important. After we departed from Sperlonga, we headed over to the town and the Gladiatorial museum of Capua. This was the second largest arena in Rome were many famous battles were held including Spartacus's revolt, which originated in that arena. It was also a housing ground for the Carthaginian military when Capua opened its doors to them. We shortly left there and headed to a small villa via the bus. We are all tired and anxious to see what the rest of the trip has in store for us.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Hello, visitors!
Welcome to the Tesseract School's 9th grade Humanities class blog. We'll be posting updates from the road on this site as we travel through Italy and Greece. You can see our daily itinerary here; each night, a different student will be responsible for summarizing the day's activities. Anticipate the first report being posted by 1pm on Sunday (Phoenix time).
Everything below this post is related to normal class activities and probably of little interest to you. But, you're more than welcome to explore what we've been up to this year.
Check back often for new posts!
Updated 4/10, 6am - We are all sitting at the gate. Some were searched more thoroughly in security than others! But most are getting caffeinated and wired for the flight. Apologies in advance to all other passengers on the plane.
Everything below this post is related to normal class activities and probably of little interest to you. But, you're more than welcome to explore what we've been up to this year.
Check back often for new posts!
Updated 4/10, 6am - We are all sitting at the gate. Some were searched more thoroughly in security than others! But most are getting caffeinated and wired for the flight. Apologies in advance to all other passengers on the plane.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Journaling and Blogging
While on the trip, you will be required to journal daily and blog once. Expectations are as follows:
Journaling: On a trip like this, with a packed itinerary and surrounded by friends, it can be really hard to make the time to write. However, anyone who has traveled can tell you that the travel journal ends up being the most sacred memento from the experience. I've had trips on which I didn't write down my daily experiences; I really regret this now, as the memories have ebbed over the years. The journals I do have, however, keep those trips remarkably fresh in my mind.
A good trip journal generally involves two steps. First, over the course of the day, jot down things that you see, that you hear, that you smell, etc. These can - and probably should - just be fragments, a quick list of specific details. The greater specificity, the better. Try to get exact quotes from people, the precise wording on signs, the historical details the tour guides provide. This is one of the reasons for the little journal we gave you - it's easy to carry during the day and allows for quick bulletpoints.
Then, that evening, go through your list of details and try to assemble them into a narrative. Your story will be much richer because of the specifics that you have to plug in. We have given you some journaling topics in your daily itinerary to get your wheels spinning, but you're free to write about the things that interest you.
Your journal is private; we're not going to make you turn it in. But, we are interested in seeing what you have written, so when you return to Tesseract we will ask you to select three different entries - using whatever criteria you wish - which you will then type up, edit, and polish until they fully capture the story you're looking to tell. These three entries will be worth 30 points.
Blogging: On the day you are assigned to blog, you will be responsible for providing a complete summary of the day's events. This certainly includes a description of all major sights that we visited. In addition, though, you are welcome to include personal stories, random encounters, and other general hilarity. Try to capture the tone of the day, the feeling of being on the road, and also to integrate your voice into the piece. In other words, this shouldn't be a dry summary of facts. Make it interesting.
The challenge with this sort of writing is balancing the personal details with the historical ones. If you're not sure what this looks like, there are all sorts of websites devoted to travel writing that you could check out before you go. I've posted accounts of my recent trips in Turkey and Central America, and for all their flaws they may give you some idea of how to navigate between history and your story.
Journaling: On a trip like this, with a packed itinerary and surrounded by friends, it can be really hard to make the time to write. However, anyone who has traveled can tell you that the travel journal ends up being the most sacred memento from the experience. I've had trips on which I didn't write down my daily experiences; I really regret this now, as the memories have ebbed over the years. The journals I do have, however, keep those trips remarkably fresh in my mind.
A good trip journal generally involves two steps. First, over the course of the day, jot down things that you see, that you hear, that you smell, etc. These can - and probably should - just be fragments, a quick list of specific details. The greater specificity, the better. Try to get exact quotes from people, the precise wording on signs, the historical details the tour guides provide. This is one of the reasons for the little journal we gave you - it's easy to carry during the day and allows for quick bulletpoints.
Then, that evening, go through your list of details and try to assemble them into a narrative. Your story will be much richer because of the specifics that you have to plug in. We have given you some journaling topics in your daily itinerary to get your wheels spinning, but you're free to write about the things that interest you.
Your journal is private; we're not going to make you turn it in. But, we are interested in seeing what you have written, so when you return to Tesseract we will ask you to select three different entries - using whatever criteria you wish - which you will then type up, edit, and polish until they fully capture the story you're looking to tell. These three entries will be worth 30 points.
Blogging: On the day you are assigned to blog, you will be responsible for providing a complete summary of the day's events. This certainly includes a description of all major sights that we visited. In addition, though, you are welcome to include personal stories, random encounters, and other general hilarity. Try to capture the tone of the day, the feeling of being on the road, and also to integrate your voice into the piece. In other words, this shouldn't be a dry summary of facts. Make it interesting.
The challenge with this sort of writing is balancing the personal details with the historical ones. If you're not sure what this looks like, there are all sorts of websites devoted to travel writing that you could check out before you go. I've posted accounts of my recent trips in Turkey and Central America, and for all their flaws they may give you some idea of how to navigate between history and your story.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
