Saturday 25 April 2015

We're nearly home!

Ciao a tutti!
We're here in Singapore just getting ready for our return to the airport. There has been a massive thunderstorm but luckily it passed so fingers crossed we'll have a smooth flight.
We'll see you all in the morning - thanks for your support for the trip and for giving the girls such an amazing, eye-opening experience.
A domani!


Thursday 23 April 2015

Our last day in Italy

Ciao a tutti!
This is our last post from Italy - and we've certainly had a big day. This morning we were all out of our apartments (with military precision I must add) by about 6:30am for our early train to Rome. Unfortunately we had to change trains again at Foligno, with one guy helping to transfer the suitcases until he asked Nancy just what she had in her case - the whole house, I replied. It seems that not everyone is travelling lightly!
Once we got to Rome and had checked in again at the Hotel Mariano, we headed around to the station to sort out tickets for tomorrow's last journey to the airport, grabbing a quick snack along the way. We then took Rome's underground train, the Metropolitana, around to the Vatican. The line to enter St Peter's Basilica was quite long, leaving us only enough time to have a quick look and to begin to appreciate just how big it is. At 2pm we made our way to the Vatican Museums to pick up our pre-ordered tickets for our 'short itinerary' visit. It's hard to describe the scale of the museums - room after room of unbelievable relics and works of art, making us all marvel at the creative genius of those who had accomplished so much. The high point of course was the Sistine Chapel, which by most accounts wasn't what the girls had been expecting. Another snack was enjoyed before we finally descended via the double helix staircase and wandered our way back to the hotel, saying arrivederci to the Colosseum and the Forum along the way. A final fling in the shops in the train station and our last dinner (including affirmation pages) rounded off our time here.
Next stop - Singapore!






Wednesday 22 April 2015

The last days in PG

Ciao a tutti!
Here are some pics of our last few days in Perugia, featuring Nancy's artistic work in class and some of the classmates from countries such as Brazil, Lithuania, China and Germany.
Final cleaning and packing is happening before our return to Rome tomorrow (another early start!), preceded by our last dinner in Perugia at the Luna Bar Ferrari tonight. Now that we're at the end, the month seems to have flown by.










Tuesday 21 April 2015

La cucina alle studentesse!

Ciao a tutti!
With our time in Perugia winding down, some of the girls decided to get brave and cook dinner for the group. This involved Caitlin and Kaylah accompanying me down to the big Coop supermercato via the MiniMetro to buy supplies, as Talia was recovering from some unorthodox food combinations. With the supplies successfully bought, we came back up the hill and the girls were let loose, under the guidance of Caitlin. Apparently my presence in the kitchen made them all rather nervous (not so Nancy who was 'resting' on the sofa as she supervised), but someone needed to get the cantankerous gas burners alight as required. In any event, they soon had everything under control as the delicious cannelloni di ricotta e spinaci were created. For dessert we were surprised by a Sacher Torte from Sandri, Perugia's oldest and most ornate pasticceria, surrounded by macarons of different flavours. The girls presented both of us with cards, which was a beautiful thought. It makes all of the hard work to get here worth it. We also finally made it up to the roof terrace to take in the early evening light - so gorgeous with the sweeping swallows and the old buildings.
Grazie mille!








Jasmyn's selfies #4

Ciao a tutti!
Here's the next instalment of Jasmyn's selfie collection, taking in photos in class with la Prof Laura, the visit to the Perugina Factory, and on the walk to Assisi.
Enjoy!






Monday 20 April 2015

Our first (and last) weekend in PG!

This weekend was our 'free' weekend after the previous two during which we trekked around the country. Instead, this time we stayed in Umbria - on Saturday the plan was to take the train to another picturesque medieval hill town called Spello. The plan began okay until we arrived at the station and discovered an accident had happened on the line just near Perugia so we had to take a substitute bus and then reconnect with another train. It all worked out in the end, although we lost about an hour - not too bad given the usual chaos which follows unexpected events. Finally arriving in Spello, we stopped for coffee and various snacks at a little bar in the town centre which has a terrace at the back giving beautiful views of the surrounding hills. Some people were also impressed with the number of different cats that were spotted as we moved through the town. The girls also discovered a playground and briefly relived their childhoods.






On the last trip at this point we were adopted by a fluffy white dog who accompanied us all the way to the outskirts of Assisi. Luckily, that didn't happen this time (the dog finally had to be rescued by the police which was a bit stressful), but we also didn't see the array of other farm animals along the way either. At least the birds were chirping very loudly as we walked along the Via degli Ulivi, a track which runs through olive groves for the first five kilometres before widening out to a more normal road. Spring had definitely sprung with the roads being lined with irises and poppies, and blossom on the trees.














We finally arrived in Assisi after about three hours, with a stop for gelati being the first priority. The town is pristine, and bristling with souvenirs featuring St Francis. We stopped first at the very pretty Chiesa di Santa Chiara, Francis' contemporary who began her own order called the 'Poor Clares' at the same time the St Francis began the Franciscans. I guess it's a sign of the time that few people know of St Clare while St Francis is a patron saint of Italy and known throughout the world. From Santa Chiara we moved through the little streets to the main square with its Roman temple and on to the Basilica di San Francesco. The Upper Church with the frescoes by Giotto was only partially open, so we moved down the hill to the Lower Church. It is still beautifully ornate, and underneath it holds the Crypt of St Francis. After some time of quiet reflection we headed back outside to take the bus back to Perugia, filling in our time as we waited by perusing the array of Perugina 'Nudi' that we had sampled the day before at the factory tour.





















Dinner on Saturday night was at the very popular restaurant called 'Al mangiar bene' - and we certainly did, especially after our trek and having only really snacked throughout the day. This restaurant is part of the Slow Food Movement, using locally sourced products as much as possible, and certainly avoiding multinationals. The movement aims to contrast against the fast food world, where mass production renders everything the same. The food was certainly delicious, and it was lucky we had made a reservation as the vaulted rooms quickly filled with diners.

Sunday morning was a very welcome sleep in, with time to do final washing and making sure that everything was going to fit in the luggage ready for Wednesday when the packing for Rome will take place in earnest. In the evening we went to Mass in the Cathedral, with the singing lead by a nun who waved her hand around like she was directing a choir. It was also interesting to see the differences - for example, no one seemed surprised when people turned up late and walked up to sit in the front rows in the middle of the mass, or singing the 'Our Father' with your palms held out. The cathedral also holds the relic of Mary's (as in the mother of Jesus) wedding ring. While there may be some debate about the ring, as a relic it has been worshipped here for over 500 years so it means a lot to the people. After dinner back in the apartments, it was time for an early night in preparation for tomorrow's 8am start.

Friday 17 April 2015

Our week in PG

Ciao a tutti!
It's late on Friday night and we've finished our first full week in Perugia. Monday began with news of a timetable change prompted by an influx into the class by a group of French-speaking African medical students. In typical style, this caused both the Lingua (ie the grammar one) and the Esercitazioni orali (ie the speaking one) teachers to go into major dramatic performances about the shortage of available photocopies and other administrative matters which were sent to vex them. Italians do love a bit a drama, as anyone who has ever observed Italians watching soccer would agree. However, the plus of the timetable change also meant that the classes finished early, Jasmyn could relax with her visiting family members, and everyone else could enjoy the sunshine, and catch up on exciting things like washing after our busy weekend away.
Tuesday brought an early start (quite a shock to the system!) and a full day of lessons, but then of course, there were mutterings of yet another timetable change, which happened on Wednesday. The girls also got their first session in the Language Lab where they were able to record themselves practising different sentences in Italian. It may look like a call centre, but really they're not moonlighting as telemarketers.
















Honestly, just when you think everything is sorted, things go haywire. In between all this, the realisation hit that we have less than a week left in Perugia and some contemplation of luggage needed to take place. Plans for next week were sorted, including our train ride back to Rome on Thursday and tickets so that we can skip the line at the Vatican Museums. The girls also began the process of organising their certificates for the course - like anything, this is not a simple task, but rather one which involves collecting various signatures and handing the forms in to the Segreteria in a timely fashion so that they can be printed before our departure. This of course is further complicated by the somewhat erratic opening hours of the Segreteria. At least the girls found success in the uni shop and are now proudly wearing hoodies emblazoned with the Università per Stranieri logo.



Given the multiple timetable changes, today's excursion to the Baci Perugina factory meant skipping the last hour of classes - not that I heard any complaints. Well, it had been booked when the first timetable was given out, and we couldn't change it. We pottered off down to the urban sprawl of San Sisto in our little red tour bus, bumping over potholes and train lines and careening around corners, until the all-pervading scent of chocolate in the air signalled our arrival. Along with an Italian couple, we visited the Perugina Museum under the guidance of Valentina, who told us afterwards that this had been her first tour in both Italian and English. Complimenti! We learnt about the beginnings of the business and how the famous Baci had come to be invented (clever recycling of the leftover chocolate and hazelnuts) and how the owner thought that the original name of the 'fist' really didn't suit the chocolates. Hence, Baci (kisses) were born instead. We saw the Guinness World Record winning Bacione replica - all 6 tonnes of chocolate - created for the Eurochocolate Festival. It took 100 hours to create, and then after they built it they discovered that it was too big to take it out of the factory so they had to take down a whole wall to shift it. All that chocolate was then given away in less than four hours. Speaking of eating chocolate, the next part of our tour involved tasting a variety of different chocolate lines, from the three versions of Baci to tablets of chocolate, and new tiramisù nudi - delicate little cups of chocolate with coffee-flavoured cream. Having gorged ourselves on chocolate, it was then time to see the production line in action. It was fascinating to glimpse the different parts of the production, especially of the Baci. Over one million are produced every day, for their delectation around the world. Thoroughly sugared up by now, we looked in on a lesson taking place in the Scuola del Cioccolato before hitting the shop. Before we knew it, it was time to head back up the hill in our little red bus once again, clutching our bags of treats and thinking about just how many were going to make it back home.