This trip was organized through EF Tours (Education First).
It's fun for me to sit back and not be in charge (watching the time/ worrying about the schedule.). We also were excited to travel with so many people we knew!
We had a layover in London. Here we are at our gate- the kids playing games.
We landed in Greece late in the evening- but not too late to head out to see the Acropolis all lit on the hill. The kids also got a feel for being out on their own...we broke up into small groups for an hour then met back to head to hotel to sleep.
The guys with Theo, our tour director for the trip
The next morning we had a driving tour to see many of the sights and hear great information from our guide, Faye. We stopped at the Panathenaic Stadium, then on to the Acropolis. We tried to get there earlier in the day to have less time in the hottest time of the day.
There's not much shade up there on that rock!
We split up at lunch time...Jose and I found a great little restaurant off the Plaka Market, facing the street. This was a great vacation because we had time for just the two of us then we all came back together to share the touring experiences. My lunch today: Greek salad and hummus.
The kids at lunch
The Temple of Zeus
old water fountain in the National Garden
The Acropolis Museum
Our Greek Evening...lots of great food and fun entertainment.
The girls were eager to dance on stand. They even learned a belly dance.
The boys finally went on stage after much persuasion from us.
The next morning we got on our bus to drive to Sounion to visit the Temple Poseidon. It was a spectacular sight to see with the beautiful blue sky and sea as the backdrop.
stopped for a drink in the shade before getting back on bus to travel on to Delphi
We stopped for lunch. This is our view from the restaurant...- so many olive trees
Delphi- Temple of Apollo and archaeological site of the temple and stadium. We had quite a ascent to see the stadium. It was a great vision to see the valley down below.
Jose and I wandered down the main street of Delphi before meeting the group for dinner. After dinner, the adults stayed at the restaurant to talk while the kids headed out to wander. The bad weather was rolling in- thunder & lightning. The kids had a curfew of @10:30 PM to return to the hotel. Right after we saw them walk by to head up to their rooms, all the power went out through the entire city! We went upstairs to make sure everyone was ok. Power was out for about an hour- kids didn't care. They started playing hide and clap (version of hide & seek). We sat and watched til we were ready to sleep. Fortunately power went on in time to plug in phones & set alarms for morning departure. Most of the kids' batteries were depleted by night. No phone use during the day but, free wifi at hotels so they could snapchat & update their instagram
Stop at Clovino Beach for swim- it was so peaceful. We were only ones there. Afterwards, we headed up to restaurant to get snacks (iced coffee, Baklava and olives)
We dried off and continued on the bus to the ferry. We were off on a 20 hour ride across the Adriatic Sea to Italy. The kids were bummed to hear there was no wifi! The hours were spent talking and playing games- we found out that the kids didn't really sleep- having too much fun! As seen the next morning, Camille and Taelor crashed on the floor! Part of this great experience was the fun with all our friends.
Another few hours to ride on the bus to Florence. At least we had beautiful scenery to enjoy.
The rest stop/ gas station food is nothing like in the US.
My lunch: prosciutto and cheese sandwich and tons of new flavors of Pringles to try.
We made it to Firenze (Florence) in time for dinner. We ate family style. You can see the massive bowl of pasta from which we were being served!
We had the opportunity to squeeze in a late night tour of Pisa. We got there @ 10 PM. We were all shocked to see that the Tower was dwarfed by the other buildings. There was the Cathedral, in the foreground, the Duomo and the Bell Tower in the rear. All of the buildings are leaning.
Our hotel in Florence
Back into the city for a walking tour...Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore and Il Duomo di Firenze
We split up for 6 1/2 hours free time. Each day for lunch we have always had free time but, today was a long time to enjoy. Jose and I went off with Brett, Stacey and Maddie. We headed over the bridge in search of a place for lunch. After lunch, we enjoyed gelato. The gelato cases are beautiful!
After lunch, we met up with our kids to climb the steps of the Duomo (@450 steps). We were happy for the small openings in the tower to feel the breeze. Once we got to the top of the Duomo, we could see that it was covered by frescos. It was extremely hot and humid! The view from the top was spectacular.
Galleria dell'Accademia Museum- the David
After the museum we left the kids to go enjoy a drink alongside the Ponte Vecchio. It was great relaxation after all the walking and fun to be with Dwelles!
The whole group back together- A great photo with my new selfie stick!
view of Arno River and Florence at Sunset
Drove early morning to Rome (about 4 hours). On our own for lunch- same sidewalk café as 8 years ago- across street from Colloseum.
Then met up for our tour of the Colloseum and the Roman Forum- Palatine Hill
more gelato...yes!!!
We voted this the greatest pizza of the trip
Vatican Tour
St. Peter's Basilica- beautiful ornate mosaic flooring
Pieta- the most beautiful statue in Rome
Pieta- the most beautiful statue in Rome
Lunch in Vatican City
Eggplant parmesan, caprese salad and tomato & basil pasta
Eggplant parmesan, caprese salad and tomato & basil pasta
Gelato once again...who can resist??!
chalk drawing on sidewalk- Girl with a Pearl Earring
We drove back into Rome and walked a long walk to see the Spanish steps.. free time
The best souvenir- a ring from Bulgari! This was the fanciest jewelry store ever!
We headed back to area by the Spanish Steps. This is where we were to meet everyone later. This was to be our last night in Italy so Jose and I wanted to enjoy a few of our favorite things.
Margarita pizza, prosciutto, melone e fico, aperol spritz and tiramisu.
It began to pour rain before we ordered dessert. We stayed quite a while longer in the restaurant waiting for the rain to stop. We were really curious where everyone else was caught during the rain. We found out that the kids were out enjoying the rain. The Spanish Steps are usually scattered with people sitting, talking and reading. Camille, Jenna and the boys (Jack and Ryan) got some great pictures because they were alone on the steps.
It was such a great group of adults- we had such a great trip together!
A walk up to a great sunset
We had to get a group photo of the kids and Theo in front of our pink bus. It certainly was a wonderful adventure and glad to have shared it with some great people.
