When in Rome...

Our final day of our Athens to Rome Educational Adventure was a day of individual exploration and the pursuit of personal interests... The agenda this day split our large group of Buffalo & Kaycee travelers into two - those who were touring the catacombs, and those who were exploring other interests... Much like our evening in Athens where I watched the sunset with five students and then ate a traditional dinner and smashed plates while Brent led students to the Greek evening, and Roxanne and Tamatha took a group of girls to the sea for the evening, today we split up early, and then again into even smaller groups as the day progressed. For the morning, as a few students went with Tamatha to a bazaar and a good shopping district, the rest of us toured through the dark, windy catacombs to better understand old world burial practices...

Next, those who toured the catacombs moved on to visit the famous and beautifully ornate Saint Paul's Basilica. A mass was in session, and the choir was singing, and it was an altogether surreal experience - much more relaxed than visiting Saint Peter's Basilica the day prior...

before entering the church, two BHS students and two Kaycee students, Jeremiah, Morgan, Elena, & Mataya, showed off their acting skills in a reenactment of the story of Saint Paul while out on the courtyard....

we had one final meal together today as a cohort - a pizza lunch with a seemingly never ending supply of pizza, salad, and ice cream.... Then we all split out in separate directions to explore our interests in Rome. Most student travelers who were traveling with a parent went with their parent to explore the city - whether exploring restaurants, churches, landmarks, or wandering about. The other student travelers divided among their chaperones to explore more. The Kaycee group decided to take it a bit easier today, to sit at cafes, shop a bit, and people watch in central areas. Our Buffalo group went directly to the Circus Maximus, then walked quite a ways along the Tiber River.

our group then went on to view the Castel St'Angelo, relax and get drinks in the Piazza Navona - so that We might actually live by the adage "do as the Romans do" for an hour, and we toured the Pantheon! Afterwards, we traveled north to reunite with our other group of 7 BHS travelers who had just finished shopping so that we could all go out to eat together... Our meal this evening was exceptional, and we had many stories to share with each other.

we had one last gelato together as a group, then returned to meet our Kaycee travelers and the California group we had been traveling with as well to return to the hotel and say Arrivederci to Rome!!

All in all, this was an incredible trip - packed with activities and attractions that we will remember for a lifetime. Although this blog only shows bits and pieces of our trip from my limited perspective, hopefully you were able to get a taste of what this experience was all about. My biggest regret is not having others "guest blog" as we traveled... Perhaps I can have a student, another chaperone, and some Kaycee travelers stop by and share a story or two and photos sometime soon to get a better rounded perspective. But for now, thanks for reading, and Ciao!