More picts for you to enjoy

July 21, 2011 - Crete

Today was a lovely day on the "swagnificent" island of Crete, specifically; the quaint town of St. Nicolas. Twas a pleasant surprise when no one woke up with leprosy after our trip to Spinalonga. It was the usual routine of class and good taste all day. Academics filled the morning, and we all headed into the afternoon significantly smarter people. In the afternoon there were games on the pool deck for those wishing to exert their bodies. Half the trip went to Todeledokie (a quaint little restaurant down the street from our hotel) for lunch (delicious toasties). Can you parents locate a McDonalds in Crete? I’m sure we would all journey to the four corners of the island for our lips to be graced with that succulent Big Mac sauce. For others the afternoon was filled with frantic essay writing and book reading to meet those deadly deadlines. The Cretean sun is somewhat distracting and some people ate dinner a few shades darker. Speaking of dinner, oh boy is it delicious. Who knows what shenanigans the night holds.

Kalispera from:

Cole, Sam, Eric and Adrian

July 20, 2011 - Spinalonga

Good fortune smiled down on the Gritaly trip today. We voyaged through blistering winds and scorching sun. Nothing could stop us from reaching the tropical destination that is Spinalonga.

After waking up and going to another delicious hotel breakfast filled with Greek yogurt and honey we had a normal morning of classes. We changed up our routine with a trip to the island Spinalonga. We were reassured that there were no more lepers on the once disease ridden colony. Then we all headed back over to the beach on Crete played soccer and cooled off in the beautiful sea. After dinner it was time to hit the books, by the pool of course!

July 19, 2011 - Crete

Another beautiful sunny day in Crete has passed. The sun was especially hot today at a temperature of 36C. A good way to cool off was to get some fruity drinks at a fun local restaurant, where students caught up on their daily chit-chat after classes. After a delicious lunch with friends, many students wound down at the beach, having fun splashing in the salty sea. This was a great break, as most hit the books hard in the afternoon on the pool deck. With mid-term marks just having been posted, students are pulling up their socks and getting ready for the busy week ahead of us which includes exams, essays, books, and other related assignments. We all are really enjoying our stay in Crete, and are excited to be visiting Spinalonga tomorrow!

Chloe Zivot, Claire Bourque, Brenna O’Leary

July 17, 2011 - Knossos Palace

Today we woke up on the Knossos Palace (our ferry) which docked at 6 a.m – everyone was exhausted. Breakfast was served, and we quickly got on our tour bus to visit the actual Knossos Palace, an ancient Minoan society landmark. After touring around and learning about this new culture, we enjoyed fresh lemonade and strawberry slushies. When we got back on the bus, we made our way to the market downtown for a quick lunch and some souvenir shopping. After we left we finally got to see our last hotel – Hotel Hermes in St. Nicholas on the island of Crete. The beach is beautiful, with clear blue water right across the street. The pool is also amazing, as well as the rest of the hotel. After a quick meeting, everyone had an hour of classes, mostly to review our midterms, and then we had free time to tour the town until dinner. The hotel served us a lovely buffet, and we had the night off to further explore our new temporary home.

July 16, 2011 - Athens

This morning we woke up in Athens to spend our first and only day in the city (for now). We checked out early and prepared for the busy day ahead of us with amazing breakfast offered by the hotel. Our group then took a bus to the Acropolis, where we met our tour guides ready to educate us on the sites. We climbed to the top of the Acropolis where we were fortunate enough to have an amazing view of all of Athens. We visited the Parthenon and various other structures built within the middle of the 5th Century. Mr. Mabrucco gave us a quick philosophy lesson about Socrates, Plato and other famous Greek philosophers. After the Acropolis our group visited the Museum of Archeology where we were able to see many artifact including jewelry and weapons used by the ancient Greeks. The museum also had ancient statues found all over Greece on original buildings like the Parthenon, other temples and tombs. As soon as we finished at the museum, we took the bus to the middle of the city, and on the way had the opportunity to visit the first ever Olympic Stadium. We were given 3 hours of free time to explore Athens, and appreciate the delicious food. After a long day of exploring Athens we all boarded an overnight ferry, which was comparable to a cruise ship to enjoy dinner and some relaxation.

July 15, 2011

BEWARE THE IDES OF JULY. If you have ever read Julius Caesar, like we have, you will understand our joke.

Today, July 15th, was mostly a travelling day. We woke up at 4:30AM so that we could take a 2 and a half hour bus ride to the Rome airport. The plane departed at 10:35AM, and the group of students just barely made it onto the flight. After a 2 hour flight, we had to wait in the bus for a student because he had lost his luggage. This is the second time the airport has lost an Italy/Greece student’s luggage on this trip! Fortunately, our bad luck seemed to end upon our arrival to Athens, and everyone was exited for our new exploration of Greece. After a 45 minute bus ride to the hotel in Athens, we relaxed for a couple of hours. Some people went to the pool, others did laundry, and the rest just took it easy until dinner. Dinner was buffet style, and it had a very wide selection of food. The hotel was 4 stars, and although we were only staying for one night, it was still very nice. Instead of going out that night, we decided to enjoy a relaxing evening in the hotel, and many people started their CPT essay. Some of us however, got together for some old fashion fun and games. The Ides of July was halfway point of our trip where we transferred from Italy to Greece. If you are really missing us, just know that our trip is half over! We all miss everyone at home, and the next 2 weeks will be filled with beautiful beaches and blue waters.

Arrived in Athens!

We are here safe and sound in Athens, Greece! Off to tour the Acropolis tomorrow, then onwards to Crete!

Stay tuned....

:)

Arrivederci Italia!

Off to Greece tomorrow!!!! :)

Fun in the Sperlonga Sun!

Dear Parents,

At the moment we are now in the beautiful town of Sperlonga, which is much different than Rome seeing as the locals speak barely any English compared to before and we are no longer around city atmosphere, loud sirens and busy tourist attractions.

After a long day at Pompeii yesterday, our GHT family is having a much deserved break to rest and relax around this picturesque town.

Lounging around the pool is what most students are up to today, mainly tanning like “rotisserie chickens” as Mr Gouveia likes to call it, and consuming gelato nonstop. Our current favourite flavours and recommendations are Nutella and green apple flavours.

Another popular activity is visiting the beach where the water is both warm and clear. All day we have spent our time enjoying the peaceful water and restaurants close by. Because of it’s close proximity to our hotel, we can come and go as we please, although most choose to spend the day.

Exploring the beaches, hilltop shops and Italian food, we are all enjoying our stay in Sperlonga.

Also we would like to wish Danielle Jones a very happy sweet sixteen!

Lots of Love,

Natalie Belciu and Janessa Famiglietti

PompeiiVida

Hello Everyone!

Today we had one of the most thrilling and magnificent adventures yet! We visited the ancient city of Pompeii and the tragic volcano Vesuvius. Waking up at 7 A.M. this morning was certainly not the highlight of the day but the two hour luxurious bus ride made up for the loss of sleep. The ruins of what used to be a thriving metropolis for its time was an outstanding sight to see that nobody should miss. There are many unbelievable remains to be seen including ancient temples and real people that were mummified during the explosion of Volcano Vesuvius destroying Pompeii in 78 A.D.

After our long tour through Pompeii, we headed to Vesuvius to start the climb to the top of the deadly mountain which obliterated thousands of people and years of work within just a couple of seconds. The climb was about 4,200 feet from the bottom, but fortunately we took the bus most the way up. It only took us about 25 minutes of walking to get to the top from where the bus dropped us off, however some decided to race to the top for fun! We took a many photos from the top of Vesuvius with a magnificent view behind us. When our excursion to Pompeii was finally over, we boarded the bus and started our two hour trip back to Sperlonga. We ended off the day with a fantastic dinner provided by the hotel and then concluded with a beautiful and relaxing group walk across the beach.

Thomas McMillan & Brock Jones

Rewind to Rome...

Yes, we are now soaking up the beautiful Sperlonga sunshine... but before we make you jealous with spectacular beach shots, here are a few pictures from Mr. Gouveia's English class (taken in Rome):

"I got my class to reenact the praising and assasination of Julius Caesar to help them get active in class and to frame what they were going to see today at the Roman Forum." - Mr. Gouveia

The Colosseum & Ancient Rome

Today we had the privilege one of the most amazing places in Rome, the Colosseum and the Forum. We paid no mind to the scorching hot sun, because the historical significance was so great. We got a firsthand experience at the heart of Rome, where we got to view the place where the body of Julius Caesar was cremated. It was incredible to see how much of the city was still preserved after all these years. It really added perspective to see where our characters of our play Julius Caesar used to rule. It made the play come alive when we stepped in the steps where Julius himself stepped. After this experience we enjoyed the Colosseum and its beauty. It was amazing to see the difference in the architecture from back then to now. We got to learn about the different events that happened there in the past. This gave everybody a different perspective on the history of Rome. After this we enjoyed a 5 star dinner (with gelato included) at the hotel. We would like to give a very special Georgia Hardy Happy Birthday to Allison who is celebrating her 16^th birthday. We can’t wait to share the rest of our experiences with you, but for now we say good night to all the parents and loved ones.

Have fun in Canada!

Jennifer and Anna

Florence & Venice & Pisa, oh my!

Bonjurno from Italia

Hey everyone we finally arrived in Italy safe and sound after our departure Friday afternoon from Toronto. It was a long plane ride and we were exhausted when we arrive Saturday afternoon in Florence. After settling into our room we had our first chance to experience the beautiful city of Florence and boy did it blow our minds. This city is break taking. After the tour we all congregated for our first dinner at a lovely restaurant in the main square of Florence. It was off to bed early for us that night as we had a 6:30 am wake up call for our next day excursion to Venice. The bus ride to Venice was about three hours followed by a short boat ride to the island. On the boat ride to Venice we were unbelievable overwhelmed by the beautiful architecture of the buildings. After arriving in Venice we were able to shortly walk around the city and grab a quick bite to eat. We then got a first-hand experience of the famous Morano glass factory as well as a chance to ride in one of the well-known gondolas. The following day started off with our morning classes and an introduction to a contest we will be participating in throughout our month in Europe. Each class was assigned a colour and given a pair of sunglasses, then were asked to come up with a team name as well as a cheer that we will presented later on our trip. After class we were lucky enough to experience the amazing leather market as well as the iconic leaning tower of Pisa. Wednesday is our last day in Florence and then we will be off to Roma. Everyone on the trip sends there hugs and kisses. We will be posting a blog later tomorrow about our excursions later this week. Love you mom and dad!

Victoria Karkar & Danielle Jones

JULY 6th

Hey Parents!

We just said "Goodbye Florence" and "Hello Rome!" Starting early this morning we were on the road heading towards San Gimignano. San Gimignano is known for its world famous Gelateria. This small Tuscan town with tall rustic towers was an unforgettable sight! After shopping and having lunch we headed off toward Rome.

After an exciting 4 hour bus ride we arrived at the Hotel Mediterraneo. We had another all-you-can-eat pizza buffet with the Colosseum in sight! We are all very excited to explore the Colosseum further tomorrow during our guided tour after morning class.

Ciao from Roma!

Meredith and Tyler

JULY 5th

Today was a great day, class was fun as usual and the afternoon was superb! We went to the Uffizi and Academia where we saw various famous paintings, such as Botticelli's 'Birth of Venus' and Michelangelo's 'David'. We enjoyed a guided tour of both museums and learned so many interesting facts about the artists and the paintings and sculptures themselves. But the highlight was Michelangelo’s statue of David. It took him four years to carve and was absolutely amazing, the detail blew us away. We then went to the leather market to get some amazing deals on shoes, bags, belts and jackets from friends of Georgia Hardy, and almost everyone came back with something incredible from the famous Florentine leather market. The people who did not go to the excursion were in the leather market all day, or just went shopping around Florence. Some just took the day to rest and relax and catch up on homework. For dinner we went to a pizzeria and had all you can eat pizzas. We tried several new types such as salami pizza and 4 cheeses (which included blue cheese)! And for dessert, we had some great cream puffs smothered in chocolate. Every day in Florence has been one to remember, and we’ll definitively miss it when we leave for Rome tomorrow!

The Perfect Day in Venezia!

Did you know that Venice is made up of 117 separate islands all connected by a maze of bridges?

Here are a few photos from our perfect day in Venice:

The sun was out, the temperature was perfect, the sights were magnificent! We arrived by boat and got to see the spectacular San Marco square & church, the infamous Rialto bridge, a traditional Venetian glass blowing demonstration, and lots more.

Some of us even enjoyed a gondola ride! :)