This week our students have been branching out as they feel more and more settled at 'home' in PG. Last night the girls upstairs invited us for a post-dinner coffee or tea on their roof terrace. We snacked on Baci, Nutella-dipped strawberries and Pan di Stelle biscuits as we enjoyed the evening view over the hills. 
With all the train delays on Friday evening we arrived much later into Venice than expected. The first view of the Grand Canal as we walked out of the train station in the twilight was stunning as always, and then we merged in with the crowds to find our way to the three hotels - despite booking all the hotels for the trip almost a year ago, we still couldn't fit our whole group into the same establishment. We were quite spread out too which made getting around in the already maze-like Venice even trickier. A very late first night dinner finished off the long day and we were all more than ready for a sleep.
The next morning (after Claudia indulged in some impromptu quidditch while we waited for the others) it was time to really experience Venice in the stunning sunshine. We were blessed with perfect mild weather so the first stop was the quintessential Venetian experience of a gondola ride. This was followed by a trip to the top of the Campanile for its all-encompassing view of Venice and the surrounding islands, with a few cruise ships thrown in to show the scale of the city. Much to the relief of some of the students, there was a lift to the top so the journey was much more relaxing, although some found the wind 100 metres up in air a little bit chilly. Upon our descent, the next stop was the interior of la Basilica di San Marco, with its beautifully detailed mosaics and rippled terrazzo floor from the centuries of acqua alta inundating the city. 
Sunday morning once again we met up in gorgeous sunshine to see the Bridge of Sighs. We then took a ferry ride down the whole length of the Grand Canal so that the beautiful architecture of the historic buildings could be appreciated. From there we ventured into the original Ghetto, where over the centuries the Jewish population had been confined through phases of persecution. In the middle of the central square is a monument to the Venetian Jews who were taken off the the concentration camps during World War II, some as young as two years old. It is quite a sobering sight, alleviated by the laughter of small children playing soccer in the square and sausage dogs chasing pigeons. Nancy practised her language skills with a local barista who thought she was North African, but was then offended when he told her she should learn more Italian. Well, I tried to convince her to do the classes at the uni!
Emerging from the Jewish Quarter we made our way back for one last shopping fling around the Rialto Bridge before plunging once more into the crowds to retrieve our luggage and make it back to the station. I think most students appreciated the fact that this is the shoulder season as they found it hard to imagine what it would be like to try and move in Venice in the height of summer. Our last stylish fast train ride back to Florence hurtled us back southwards, and on to our little regional train to Perugia, this time in the stunning sunset as we passed Lake Trasimeno. Another bus ride up the hill (much less crowded than last week's) ended our busy weekend.
Saluti! We're back in Perugia now after our very busy weekend. As planned, it was a very early start with our 6:39am train. This meant that we had only one available bus to catch to the station so we were there in plenty of time. Plus, we witnessed a party bus disgorging its passengers after what was obviously a hard night out, making a racket as they found their way home at 6am. As Julianne observed, you could have become drunk just on the fumes that rolled out of the bus as they left. Our local bus, of course, was much more orderly! Once at the station I was very happy to see that the bar was open as I was clearly in need of a restorative/wake-up coffee, and then it was time for us to board what was, as I had hoped, a Harry Potter train to Bologna. Everyone except Nancy and I were in two compartments, and while it was exciting and novel at first, it wasn't long before people started snoozing, missing the beautiful sunrise over Lake Trasimeno as the train sped us north. We were entertained by the antics of a dog in the next compartment who just wanted to look out the window, while we valiantly tried to avoid contracting the colds that our fellow passengers were clearly happy to share. Luckily, all is still well. 
Everything was going smoothly until there was an elongated stop in Florence due to a techical problem. This meant a half hour delay - and we only had half an hour in Bologna to make our next train. Things looked a bit dicey and I was anticipating a prolonged argument trying to sort out new train tickets, but luckily for us, our next train connection ended up being delayed for ten mintutes so all was well. I say luckily for us, because according to Xena, I would have been VERY grouchy if we hadn't made it. I did point out that we were not at fault and Trenitalia would have to fix our tickets, but apparently my assurances about my prolonged good mood were not credible. Hmmm.
Our next train was a very fast one, so after another hour we were pulling into the station in Verona. Leaving the bags in the Luggage Deposit, we set off for the historic centre and an early lunch, since everyone was a little bit peckish. Our walk around Verona took us to the Arena, Verona's answer to the Colosseum but still used today for concerts etc, and on to Juliet's house, with her famous statue. Legend has it that if you touch her statue on the very shiny bits, you will find true love. Lots of our students of course lined up for the guarantee. Not so surprisingly, after this the students felt the irresistable lure of new shops and this occupied the next hour, including stops for the odd gelato or three along the way. Our final stop was the Scaligeri Tower and crenellated bridge over the Adige River (and more food sampling from the stalls which happened to be there for the weekend) before we headed back to the station. Here we encountered another problem - a strike of FS workers which meant the ticket office was shut for the afternoon. A swift change of plans made us take a regional train to Venice, which should have taken just under two hours but instead took closer to three. Frustrating since we had over a 30 minute delay between our penulitmate stop and Venice itself. Still, we made it eventually and the first views of Venice in the sunset as we approached over the causeway (no swimming required) made it all worth it.
On Friday morning we set off by regional train to Florence - two and a half hours away. To get to the station, the students (except for Julianne) had their first taste of the MiniMetro, a monorail which connects the top of the historic centre with hubs down the hill such as the train station. It's a bit like a roller coaster ride through tunnels, and everyone got a little excited, except for Stephanie who thought the addition of heated hand rails would not go amiss. By lunchtime we were ensconced in the beautiful Hotel Aprile, but the lure of food, shops and the markets meant that we didn't stay there for long, even with the light rain which had started to fall. A quick orientation walk around the centre of Florence signalled the beginning of the shopping experience, and the onset of Claudia's now quite sizeable scarf collection. Everyone seemed to find something, whether they were 'presents' for themselves or for their family and friends. The day ended with a delicious dinner at the restaurant conveniently located near our hotel, complete with a surprise birthday cake for Chelsea from Florence's most exclusive pasticceria, accompanied by some loud singing (and some impromptu applause from the Japanese tourists sitting next to us).
After breakfast the next morning (including bacon and eggs with toast for some) we headed by local train to Pisa. The journey passed through beautiful Tuscan scenery in sunshine, but the students are most likely to remember the tourist who got stuck in the toilet cubicle on the train. Luckily, Ruth went on a mission to find the conductor to get to stuck door open and the crisis was averted, but now everyone is a little bit more wary about using the train amenities. Once in Pisa Samantha expressed her surprise that the town wasn't actually named Pizza. Having recovered from that misunderstanding, we hopped on a local bus to take us to the Campo dei Miracoli, and their first glimpse of the Leaning Tower accompanied by gasps of excitement. Once the students got the hang of snapping photos 'holding up' the tower, they were soon engrossed and before we knew it, time had flown and we needed to start our return journey to Florence, via a lunch of McDonalds at the train station. Keen to make the most of the gorgeous sunshine, we deposited our Pisa shopping at the hotel and headed up to Piazzale Michelangelo for the postcard views over Florence. Stella maintained that Florence should be the location for the next 'Biggest Loser' series because of the amount of walking everyone was doing but we all got to have a little rest to savour the atmosphere before more shopping beckoned.
