End of the Road

Rens' bus is empty, and we are heading home.

A pleasure to serve you. That's Rens in the middle.

Gathering our luggage and our thoughts at the Rome airport.

We bid Rens farewell at the airport in Rome. Adding it up I’ve spent 86 days in Europe with Rens, and I know I’m leaving a friend every time I return to Canada.
It’s difficult to summarize the trip, or make some sort of concluding statement. One of the aspects of the trip that still affects me is the weird time warp that happens as we travel. It is not uncommon for people to remark that something we did two or three days earlier seems like it was a couple weeks ago, as we have done and seen so much between. I even heard people confused about what we had done that day, thinking that what we did in the morning was actually the day before. I guess that could be a good thing (we are using all of our time well in Europe), or a not so good thing (we are doing too much?). I guess it depends on your perspective. My philosophy is to do and see as much as we can, as long as we get a sense of the place, have an experience, open the doors, and, of course, climb the stairs! Tours that drive by, stop for a photo op, and continue on are not my style. Rens says he drives a lot of groups who do tours like that, and not many that do tours like ours.
This trip had a very inauspicious beginning for me. On the Sunday before we left, I awoke with a dull ache in my head and body. By 5 AM on Tuesday morning, I had a very high fever, full body aches, headache, and dizziness. I actually called the airlines to try to reschedule my flight and meet the group in Paris on day 6 of the trip so I could stay home in bed and get better. With care and attention from my wife, by noon on Tuesday, my fever was way down, and I made the decision to go. I’m very thankful to James and the couple of parents who clued in that I was not well those first couple days for stepping up and helping me out. I didn’t want to tell anyone how I was feeling, especially at the start of the trip! I rarely get sick, and when I do, it is usually mild and over quickly. This was as sick as I have ever been. I spent the flight with my blanket over my face, washing my hands as often as possible and feeling horrible. Ask James – he had to sit beside me for all 9.5 hours. He never got sick, so the virus must have been waning then, and for the next few days, I progressively got better, almost losing my voice and developing a bit of a cough, but feeling better anyway. My wife says I got sick because I was riding my bike too much (all the way from Mission and back several times a week) before the trip, and that suppressed my immune system. She’s probably right, as usual.
Probably one of the most unique things about this year`s trip was the weather. Amazing weather, everywhere! That just doesn`t happen. I know we`ve been spoiled by the weather when on the last afternoon of the trip I`m about to send the group off for their last shopping and dinner with a very light sprinkle of rain coming down, and one of the kids says, incredulously, “In this?”
For me personally, the best thing about the 2009 trip was that my wife Lisa was able to join us for the last 9 days. I`ve left my family for this trip every year for the last five, and I knew that it was high time Lisa got in on the experience. We were very fortunate to have my mom and our friends the “Mission Johnsons” care for our children while we were both in Europe. Lisa had a wonderful time, and commented to me that she really enjoyed getting to know the other parents on the trip. My kids are getting older, and Magdalena, my oldest, will be coming on the trip in the next couple of years. They always eagerly look forward to my return, but probably most of that is because they know I have Dumon`s chocolates in one of my bags.
Every year I seem to say that this year’s trip was the biggest one ever, and every year it is true. I don’t think I’ll be able to say that again – we had the largest bus that AMZ uses and it was basically full, and we had the longest tour ever (19 days). It can’t get any bigger.
The students were great. All 36 of them! Everywhere we went, people commented on how well behaved the students were. Just as important to me is how intrigued and engaged the kids were in the sights, sounds, and tastes of Europe. What a great group of young men and women.
Now about those parents... 15 of them! I know other trips that are done with no parents at all, and even my daughter’s grade 7 trip to Quebec earlier this month had only two parents along and one teacher for a full class of kids. I think the philosophy behind some of the less-parents-is-better trip leaders is that “too many cooks spoil the soup”. But I don’t consider the parents cooks. They`re along to enjoy the ride and take on some of the responsibilities of looking after a large group of kids. And to have a great experience with their own child. But not to cook the soup. That`s my job. I sincerely hope you enjoyed the soup this year! Mr. Johnson and I truly appreciated all the help and support the parents were to us and the students. The kids were fortunate to have such a caring group of adults along with them on the trip. It is a rare thing as a teacher to really get to know the parents of the kids we teach, and I find this to be one of the most enjoyable things about the Europe trips.
Thanks to all the parents who sponsored fundraisers during the year, all the teachers who supported students missing 8 days of school by providing work for them to do before or catch up after, Mr. S. Johnson and Mr. Sawatsky for covering a few classes for Mr. Johnson and me while we were gone, and to Mrs. Bicknell, for whom the Europe trip adds another whole dimension to her bookkeeping duties in the office! And finally, thanks to all the parents for entrusting Mr. Johnson and I with their kids on this once-in-a-lifetime experience. I hope that the trip has broadened horizons, fostered tolerance, and encouraged future travels.
Craig Bresett
March 31, 2009

ROMA

This is a PAINTING on the ceiling in the Vatican Museum.

Swiss Guards discuss the weather and keep us from seeing the Pope. If we ever have school uniforms at Fundy, I think this is the way to go.

On the Spanish Steps.

Rome is a grand city. Everywhere you look, you see something like this.

The Roman Empire at it's height. Reminding the Romans of their past glory.

Real Romans. Unfortunate hair and glasses.

Michelangelo's Pieta in St. Peter's. The face of Mary here looks very similar to her face on his Madonna that we saw in Bruges.

Outside the Pantheon.

An early first century AD statue of Laocoön and His Sons in the Vatican Museum.

Outside the Coliseum with the crowds.

Neil is hypnotized by our guide in Rome.

Hercules in bronze in the Vatican museum.

No matter which way you look in Rome, there is something to see.

Gloria and Linda, our excellent, helpful, friendly and relaxed guides.

Inside the Coliseum.

At the Trevi Fountain.

Gladiators of Rome.

In the Roman Forum.

The girls want to return to the Eternal City.

The Arch of Constantine has major significance to anyone who is a Christian.

The Forum and Coloseum behind us.

The drive to Rome from Levanto was a long one. We had to make a couple of rest stops on the way in, and it seemed the closer we got to Rome, the worse the toilets got. I’m sure you wanted to know that. The group this year hardly used the bus toilet at all – very strong bladders! But on the way into Rome it got more use than on the rest of the trip I think. Enough about toilets.
Rens got us into Rome and manoeuvred through the streets to bring us to the Coliseum, giving us a bit of a guided tour as we drove. He’s the only one in the group who has ever been here before. James asked him what his favourite place is in Rome, and he said the road out. At the Arch of Constantine, we looked for our contact guy, Tony. He was supposed to meet us in the back of a blue van, but apparently couldn’t get parking nearby, so we were just walking around yelling out TONY! A lot of guys answered, surprisingly. Actually, I just called Roberto, my other contact, and he told me to get the group to jump up and down together. Immediately, a very slick looking Tony showed up, with our tour guides Linda and her lovely daughter Gloria in tow. After passing a large amount of cash to Tony right there in the crowded square, Gloria took me through a huge line up (she said it was about a 1.5 hour line) to get our tickets immediately. With a couple of unexpected extra fees paid, we were in the Coliseum ahead of the big line, and Linda took us around, explaining the history and architecture. I`ve got the group well trained now – when Linda wanted to take us up to the higher level, she said the kids could go up the stairs and she would take the adults on the elevator. Everyone opted for the stairs, so our guide took the stairs too! I don`t think she usually does. The Coliseum is a wonder not for it`s beauty, but for it`s age and history. After the Coliseum, she took us down to the Forum area. The Forum has a plethora of different Roman ruins, and one toilet. Sorry, but that`s just ridiculous. There are thousands of people visiting every day. Anyway, the lack of facilities didn`t take away from the beauty and history of the place. And we had wonderful weather again, as we have throughout this trip. Our last stop was the Pantheon – the most intact building from the ancient world. The Pantheon was dedicated to all (pan) of the gods (theos) of the Roman religion, and has survived to present time because it was changed to a church when Constantine enforced Christianity as the state religion on the empire. Most of the other pagan temples were razed and churches or cathedrals were built in their place. The kids and the parents were tired and ready for a great Italian dinner and a great Italian youth hostel by the end of the tour, so we were off to the Ostello di Roma. This youth hostel must be the greatest one in all of Europe – great food, great service, great rooms. We all really enjoyed staying there.
And now for the truth. Worst hostel ever. Worse than any place I have ever stayed in Bruges. A dump. One of the things I do as a tour organizer is get all the rooms assigned before arrival, to make checking in 53 people quick and efficient. Here, they completely rearranged the rooms with no advance warning – they didn`t even email or call me on my Europe cell phone to let me know changes had been made. So then I have to figure out where to put everyone, and the only option is to have parents staying in kids`rooms (which typically does not happen on the trip). I let the guy know I was not happy with the situation, but he said there was nothing he could do to change it since they had a lot of groups staying there. I`m sure I was the first one to book our group though, back in June!
We got our dinner passes and went downstairs for our so-called traditional Italian dinner, featuring uncooked pasta, greasy mystery meat patties and vegetables so old they were starting to compost. After we were done eating or throwing out our food I went up to the front desk to cancel our dinner set for the next night. Luckily I hadn`t prepaid for it. After an HOUR of arguing with the guy, we ended up with all our food at the hostel cancelled (2 breakfasts, one packed lunch, and one more dinner). I guess they thought that was punishment for us complaining about the dinner, but I was glad we weren`t going to have to eat any food from this place again. Rens took James, Neil M and I out on a hunt for breakfast for everyone at 6:30 AM the next morning, and we found a just-opened bakery with two completely non-English speaking men running it. We loaded up on some fresh savoury pastries, yogurt, and juice or milk, and the group had a great breakfast – one of the best we`ve had since entering Italy. Before setting out for our full day in Rome, we had scalding showers (the guys did anyway) in the huge prison like bathroom facility. The shower was literally a straight stream of water (like out of a small hose) that felt like it was being poured from a boiling kettle. Another great feature of Ostello di Roma.
We met Linda and Gloria at the entrance to the Vatican Museum, and they skilfully guided us through the ticket lines again. At one point, Peter Luongo`s doppelganger (that means a guy who looks exactly the same as him) was refusing to accept our school group letter, written in Italian on school letterhead and signed by Mr. Rempel, because it didn`t have an official seal on it. This was going to put our entrance to the museum way over budget. But Gloria sweet talked him, and he eventually took it. Linda and Gloria spent about 3.5 hours with us, taking us through the Vatican museum, the Sistine Chapel, and one of the hugest, most ornate churches in the world, St. Peter`s Basilica. It`s so huge that a couple of moms lost their sons! The sculptures and tapestries of the museum, combined with Michelangelo`s paintings in the Sistine Chapel, and the grand domes, mosaics, and sculptures in St. Peter`s made for an overwhelming morning. I think my wife Lisa summed it up best when she said that they joy of seeing the Vatican was worth the suffering of staying in Ostello di Roma.
After saying goodbye to our guides, we were off to the Trevi Fountain for a real Italian lunch, some shopping, a visit to the Spanish Steps, a real Italian dinner, some more shopping, and our last gelato. Everyone who had won an extra scoop ticket and hadn`t used it yet got to the front of the line and had their triple; the rest of us enjoyed our double. According to legend, if a visitor throws a coin into the Trevi fountain (back to the fountain, over the shoulder), it ensures a return visit to the Eternal City, Rome. One of the kids had apparently heard part of this before I told the whole group about it, and decided to throw his coin from street level. It narrowly missed some Japanese tourists standing beside the fountain, landing on the walkway. I guess he thought he could be guaranteed a return trip to Rome by getting a summons to appear in court. Most of the kids went down to the fountain and added their coin to the 120 000 Euros worth collected from the basin every year.
Our final day touring in Europe over, our bellies full, our legs tired, our minds worn out, we boarded the bus back to the hostel to pack for our travel day.

Cinque Terre

On the long upward haul.

Working our way down to Levanto.

The monastary ruins on the highest point of the hike.

The lookout.

Sam is happy he made it to the top. And that the shirtless guy in the background won't get out of the picture.

Glad to be in Europe together.

Before the gruelling climb. Il Gigante in the background.

Looking down from Ospitalia del Mare.

On the Cinque Terre.

Well deserved gelato after the long hike.

We made it back to Levanto!

Looking down on Levanto.

Along the Cinque Terre.

Everyone checks their hair as we continue up the hill.

Sorry. Especially to those who were here in 2006. We awoke to deep blue skies and blazing sun. In t-shirts and shorts, we boarded the train to Riomaggiore to begin our hike. It was a little worrying to see signs in the train station announcing that there would be a strike today from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. And also to see that the path between Corniglia and Vernazza was closed due to landslide. But we got on the train anyway, and I adjusted our day accordingly. Everyone hiked the first leg of the trip, the Via Del Amore – aka the walk of love. Back in the old days, there was no path between Riomaggiore and Manarola, and young people in these two little villages typically had to marry someone from their own village because they were isolated from the rest of the world. After this path was constructed to link the two towns, young men and women would walk down the path, meet each other halfway, and fall in love. Hence the name. The entire group continued on the second leg, which is longer, but still almost flat. We lost a few people, who missed a turn and continued way past the train station, but luckily Mr. MacKinnon was able to run up the stairs and retrieve them before our train came. For those who wished to continue on a strenuous hike, we got off the train in Monterosso and hiked all the way back to Levanto. Those who wished to go relax in the sun in Levanto just took the train one more stop and walked back down to the hostel from the train station. Rens came with us on the hike this year, and did the whole route with us. He has never done that before. Pretty good for a 59 year old! I found out this year that he plans to retire in 6 years. Maybe I will retire from the Europe trip too then – I can’t imagine a trip without him, mostly since I have never done one with another driver. Anyone who has come on the trip will tell you that he is a great driver, and a kind, helpful, and fun-loving guy. We are his favourite group year after year.
The hike to Levanto was unknown territory for me, but it helped us avoid the train strike by planning on walking all the way back to the hostel. It is a challenging climb to the highest point of the trail – just stairs, hills, and more stairs from Monterosso to the lookout. On the lookout there are the ruins of a 13th century Augustine Monastary, and sweeping views of Monterosso and the Mediterranean coastline. It took us about 2 ½ hours to get back to Levanto, and I was really proud of the group for meeting the challenge. So proud that I got them all two scoops of gelato when we arrived. Many of the kids took a short dip in the cold Mediterranean, and two of them, Emily and Jessica, were in there for about an hour, jumping through the waves.
Another well-deserved feast at Moresco brought our day on the Cinque Terre to a close, and our thoughts turned to Rome.

Florence and Pisa

On top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Sunset behind the Baptistry in the Campo Dei Miracoli in Pisa.

The Leaning Group of Pisa.

Italian glasses.

In front of the Duomo in Florence.

Neptune - not up to Fundy dress code.

When you wake up in Venice and realize that by the end of the day you will have seen the David and the Duomo in Florence, climbed the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and eaten in the best restaurant in the world in a little village on the Ligurian Sea, you know you’re in Italy. We walked out of Venice at a casual pace, passing through the fish market on our way. Rens got us to Florence with plenty of time to spare, and we got in to the Accademia without the usual pushing and yelling. Every year they get more organized I’m finding. The Accademia is an art gallery, but it exists primarily to house and show the David, Michelangelo’s sculptural masterpiece. I told the group some of the history and symbolism of this statue, and asked them to take their time in viewing it. Forty five minutes later, I had to ask a lot of the kids to move along from the base of the statue – I guess they were suitably impressed. After a brief stop in front of the Duomo, where we contemplated the Renaissance that was fuelled by the Medici family and other wealthy Florentine merchants, we split for lunch and a little bit of shopping at the covered market. From one symbol of Italy to another, we were on our way to Pisa. I found it challenging to book Pisa this year, with 52 people. They only allow you to book 10 spots every 20 minutes – so I divided everyone into 5 groups of 10 (Mr. Johnson and I skipped it this year) and over the course of two hours everyone got to climb the 200 foot tower. Climbing the tower made everyone hungry, which is good when your next stop is Ristaurante Moresco in Levanto. I think most of the 140 people I have been to Europe with in the past would agree that this is the best food stop on the trip. Roberto offers us three choices for the first plate, three choices for the second plate, and two choices for dessert. Plenty of bread, potatoes, salad, and peas are put on the table to accompany the plates of food ordered, bottle after bottle of frizzante or naturale water is consumed, and for a couple hours we just relax, enjoy delicious food and each other’s company. With a group of 52, we almost completely fill the restaurant. When we came in on the first day, there was an Italian couple having a quiet, romantic dinner at one of the smaller tables. After we were all seated and giving our orders, we apologized to them for disturbing their dinner. They said we were actually quite quiet and polite compared to groups of local kids. The quiet, polite Canadians – I guess that’s what we are.

Venice

That is "street gelato". It fell off someone's cone.

That is Mike, retrieving the top layer of the street gelato. It wasn't even his.

That is Mike with a satisfied look after consuming the street gelato. I tried to explain to him that there would be more gelato on the trip as this was only our first night in Italy, but gelato has an addictive quality for Mike. Meagan does not look impressed.

Randal prefers pastry to gelato, and doesn't like that everytime we stop for a treat, it is gelato. He shouldn't take it out on the Santa Maria Formosa church though.

The somewhat-organized-for-the-picture ladies of Europe. Except for Charlene, who has already gone home.

The birthday boys.

In St. Marc's square.

On the Grand Canal, facing the Rialto Bridge.

Over the bridge that leads to our Palazzo.

Our navigators deftly guide us through the alleyways and bridges of Venice. Russ actually did lead us from Roma square to the Rialto bridge following the signs.

On the gondola with our singing, slow talking, VERY relaxed gondolier.

In the Doge's courtyard.

Nightime in front of St. Marc's Basilica.

That's our Palazzo (palace) to the left. It's the best youth hostel in Italy.

Mmmmm... gelato in front of the Rialto.

The men of Europe suck in their guts and flex their pipes in the Doge's courtyard.

My favourite thing about Venice this year was not being yelled at by the lady who runs Foresteria Valdese, the youth hostel we stay in. We were on time this year. We had a great dinner at an AutoGrill (Italian truck stop) on the way into Venice, and sauntered in slowly (though I heard some of the parents complaining that perhaps my idea of saunter is not the same as theirs) from the Piazzale Roma, over the Rialto, past Campo Santa Maria Formosa, to the canal side 16th century palace that houses our youth hostel. Foresteria Valdese is far better than the HOTEL we used to stay in near the fish market, and is the first place I booked way back in May. After dropping our bags, we went for an evening stroll (again, some parents apparently didn’t agree that it was a stroll, but I guarantee you that I have not gone “Bresett speed” at all on this trip) to see St. Mark’s Square after dark, and then to have gelato at the Rialto.
Our full day in Venice started with some promising sun, and though it clouded over for most of the afternoon, it never rained. We visited the Doges palace, seeing some of the great art of the Venetian masters Tintoretto and Veronese, imagining the senate room and the hall of the great council in Venice’s heyday, filled with representatives of the wealthy Venetian merchants in their flowing robes and cool hats. The armoury was a popular part of the visit, and it was interesting to see some of the kids trying to figure out the chastity belt. Over the bridge of sighs, and down into the dungeons we trudged, wondering what it would be like to leave the beauty of Venice and be stuck in this cold, dank prison. St. Mark’s Basilica was next on our itinerary, and it never fails to impress, with its huge Byzantine gold mosaics decorating the inside of all the many domes. After a walking tour of less touristy Venice, we all parted ways at the Rialto bridge for an afternoon of pizza, shopping, gondola rides, pizza, shopping , and just wandering around this unique city. The groups converged at the Rialto at 8:00 PM, after dinner, and had some gelato before retiring to our palace for the evening. I was supposed to be there to purchase the gelato and walk everyone back to the hostel, but I had taken Randal, Bob, Neil M (who were “spares” today) and my wife on a wild goose chase to one of the outlying islands, Murano, to see a glass blowing demonstration. After a long and very loud vaperatto ride out past the cemetery island, we disembarked at Murano to find out that all the glass blowing demos were done for the day. Some of the stores were still open, and we made some purchases, and then headed back, but we were running late, so I called Mr. Johnson who was able to meet the rest of the group and make sure they got their gelato before heading back to the hostel. A few of the groups took gondola rides, and Randal was quite surprised to find out our gondolier was celebrating his birthday today just like him. Our gondolier spoke a very slow, easy English, and sang some great songs (I just called, to say, I love you...) as he casually manoeuvred our boat down the canals. In recognition of Randal’s birthday, we went on a pastry tour of Venice. He was searching for the ultimate pastry – light, flaky, with a whipped cream and sausage filling. Venice was great – I mentioned to the kids in the morning of our full day in Venice that they seemed more excited than usual – you can’t go to Venice without it leaving an indelible impression.