“Venice to Tuscany” 2007 Tour

 

Venice’s Rialto Bridge on the Grand Canal at dawn	Our top-floor breakfast patio overlooking the Campanile of St. Mark’s Square	Our first dinner in Venice
Clock Tower, St. Mark’s Square	St. Mark’s Cathedral	Island excursion to Burano
Island excursion to Torcello, the first Venetian Island to be settled	Torcello	One of many gelato stops
Typical Anacapa gelato scene	Gondola ride	Gondola ride
Gondola ride	After-dinner group shot on last night in Venice	Boarding the Anacapa bus in           Venice on our way to Tuscany
Ferrari Museum, Maranello	Prized Testarossa, Ferrari Museum	Ducal Palace, Urbino
Glass musician extraordinaire, Urbino	Countryside around Urbino	First of two Anacapa birthdays during our  trip
Copy of David, Piazza della Signoria, Florence	Top of Brunelleschi’s famed dome, Florence	View of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo
Street scene in Siena	Visit of Tuscan farm called Poggio Alloro with prized veal cattle	Poggio Alloro with San Gimignano in background
Poggio Alloro	Inside exclusive Vasari Corridor, Florence	Our girls surrounding self-portraits of pioneering woman artist Rosalba Carriera, Vasari Corridor
Six-course Tuscan feast at Osteria dell’Ardiglione, Florence	Bike tour of Lucca starting on the famous walls surrounding Lucca	One of many gnocchi lunches, Lucca
Leaning Tower of Pisa, which is leaning more than ever	Having fun on the Tuscan coast at Pietrasanta	More gelato at the beach club
Real pizza!	Cinque Terre’s Via della Amore	Via della Amore
Group shot in front of our hotel on the Tuscan coast	Another birthday!	The original Galleria, Milan
The Castle of Milan	Last gelato!	Last dessert!
Traditional Anacapa trip appreciations ceremony held in a friend’s apartment in Milan	On our way home after an extraordinary trip!

 

 

A Note from Gordon Sichi, Headmaster:  “Venice to Tuscany” 2007 Tour

Of all the Anacapa trips to Europe, this was definitely one of the best.  Thanks to the arrangements made by Solo Italia Tours of Florence ( http://www.soloitaliatours.com ), we learned more about Italy than ever.  Each one of our guides was a tremendous source of information about his or her local city or town.  We ate very well, so the students were able to “taste” the flavor of Italy.  “Fast food” still has little or no relevance in Italy.  “Slow food” is definitely the preferred way to go.

Every night after dinner, we asked each student to share two things: something special they had learned and an interesting “Italian moment” from that day.  The last person had to recall each person’s statements.  It was amazing how much the students learned.  As for me, having the students as “family” for two weeks was the best part of the trip.  Everywhere we went, the guides, hotel personnel, and drivers would comment that the students were “ben educato,” which translates as “well mannered.”

 

VENICE:  Our hotel in Venice was perfectly situated near Saint Mark’s Square, but far enough away to be quiet at night.  From our top-floor deck, we could see the bell tower, and, at night, the stars.  To watch how a city works on water was fascinating.  Even the ambulances are boats. This seems obvious, but to watch it actually happen makes for a very unique experience.  Visiting three islands surrounding Venice (Murano, Burano, and Torcello) in our own boat was totally cool!

 

URBINO:  The small-town experience of the medieval, Renaissance gem of Urbino was very special.  We were happy that the students appreciated the chance to spend a couple of quiet days there.  The hotel took very good care of us, including incredible breakfasts in their garden patio.

 

FLORENCE:  We had a very special experience in Florence.  Thanks to arrangements made by Solo Italia Tours, we were able to gain entrance to the absolutely exclusive Vasari Corridor.  This secret passage from the Pitti Palace to the Uffizi used by the Medici was exclusively ours for about an hour.  It has the world’s best collection of self-portraits done by so many famous artists, including Leonardo da Vinci.  But the moment that really blew everyone away was standing above the crowds on the Ponte Vecchio, looking through big glass windows over the Arno River with Florence in the background. Someone (smart) asked our guide why these windows were so much bigger than the rest of the windows, which are relatively small.  Our guide explained that Mussolini had the windows enlarged before Hitler came for a visit to Florence.  To stand there and look out at the same view those infamous characters did was creepy in a powerful way.  It turned out that Hitler in retreat ordered that the Ponte Vecchio be saved, even though all of the other bridges were destroyed, probably because of the impact his visit to the Vasari Corridor had made on him.

 

OTHER TUSCAN TOWNS:  In addition to Florence, we visited many other Tuscan towns including Arezo, Siena, San Gimignano, Lucca, and Pisa.  After days of intense touring, the students enjoyed some well-deserved rest on the beach of the Tuscan Coast. There they met Italian kids and played beach volleyball with them.  We finished off our tour in Milan, visiting the Duomo, Galleria, and the Castle before flying home.

After such a successful trip to Italy this summer, we’re already looking forward to Anacapa’s next trip to Italy in the summer of 2009!