I have posted a few more photos to the Picasa site:

https://picasaweb.google.com/mhjackson123/20110327Europemusic?authkey=Gv1sRgCJj2zveO-9ajOA#

This is probably te last post while on the rip as we are off early tomorrow…

Par of the group set off early to fly back home while the rest of us had a bit of a sleep in before we went into Rome again. We stopped for a while at a very local and non touristy market. After that we made our ay to the centre of Rome where we had a few hours to explore and eat in small groups. Our tour day finished with a stop at the bridge gelateria by the Vatican where everyone had amazing gelato. We are now all back at Fraterna Domus getting ourselves organized to leave in the morning. I hope to get some more photos posted this evening.

We began the day by driving into Rome and making our way to the Vatican. We toured the amazing galleries and spent time admiring the amazing Sistine Chapel. That was followed by a tour of St Peter’s including a view of Michaelangelo’s Pieta. We then went for a walk by the Trevi Fountain and into the Pantheon on our way to a wonderful lunch at  Il Corallo where we met the Berardelli family, a SMUS family. After lunch we managed to make our way past long queues to spend an hour and a bit in the Colosseum – a highlight for many. After the Colosseum we drove to quaint medieval town of Anguilara for dinner before our evening concert. The concert took place in a beautiful church and was attended by a standing room crowd. The performance went very well and was concluded by a standing ovation for our students and music teachers. After the concert we were treated to a reception in the keep of the local medieval castle which is the present day music conservatory. We were treated to a night time view of the old town and the lake from the roof of the castle.

We had another early start and made our way to Mary Mount International School where we had two performances. Though short, they were lots of fun. The second one was for the elementary school who were enthusiastic to say the very least – much applause was received! We had to squeeze our programme down to 40 minutes. MMIS were very gracious hosts and we enjoyed their beautiful campus. After we were done at the school we made our way to central Rome where we walked by the Colliseum and the Forum – many photos were taken with gladiators! The rest of our afternoon was spent  enjoying the shops and cafes of this busy metropolis. Dinner and bed back at our peaceful retreat of Fraterna Domus. Tomorrow we visit the Vatican!

We had a great day exploring Florence. After our usual early start we began by exploring the market of San Lorenzo. After an hour or so of “shopping” we went to the the square of Il Duomo – Florence’s main cathedral. We climbed the 414 steps of the bell tower for an amazing view of the city. We then went to the plaza of the Signoria where there is a an outdoor statue of David. Passing through the Uffizi Gallery area we split into two groups. One went to the Galileo science museum while the other went to Palazzio Mavanzati – a mediaeval merchants palace. Many of us then had lunch and ice cream at the Ponte Vecchio. We made our way to the beautiful Santa Croce church where we viewed tombs of Michaelangelo, Galileo and Dante among others. We boarded our wonderful busses and made our way to Rome…

After an early start, we drove to Venice where we were able to travel the entire length of the Grand Canal  to St Mark’s square. The weather was beautiful all day. After St Mark’s we made our way on another vaporetto to the Church of I’ Frari where we viewed the tomb of the great composer Claudio Monteverdi. The students sang a rich  chord of C major to honour the location. We ate pizza, pasta and ice cream nearby and then made our way back to our comfortable buses which then took us to Florence. Photos to follow…

After a relaxed morning, we made our way to Heathrow for our flight to Italy. Flying over the Alps was spectacular. We arrived in Milan late afternoon and then boarded our buses, driven by Paulo and Luciano. We arrived in Verona a couple of hours later for our overnight. Tomorrow we are up early to visit Venice.

A few photos form the 21st posted here: https://picasaweb.google.com/mhjackson123/20110321Europemusic?authkey=Gv1sRgCNbp0vrfv7ucEQ#

Some more from abbey road and Stonehenge and Winchester here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/mhjackson123/20110320Europemusic?authkey=Gv1sRgCMDw9fy50Me4KQ#

We had another busy day! Some toured London by bus, others went to the Imperial War Museum, and others went to the Science museum (Mr. J’s influence!?). A visit to Harrods was part of some groups’ itineraries and some groups spent time wandering down the shopping district of Regent and Oxford Streets. The evening was spent at either Chicago or Wicked – both of which received rave reviews from the students! Tomorrow : off to Italy! I hope to get more photos posted when I get a better Internet connection.

After finishing our session at Abbey Road, we made our way to the hotel in central London. After dropping our bags we went to Westminster Abbey for a very beautiful evensong service followed by a short tour. It was neat to meet the orgnist who will be playing at the upcoming wedding of William and Kate! A few of us went back for a lovely organ recital. Today we are off to explore London!