2/22/2012

We started off our day by going down to the cafe adjacent to our hotel for breakfast at around 8:00 am. After breakfast we left the hotel at 8:45 am to take a 10-15 min walk to the Model UN conference building. When we arrived at the building we dropped off our three ICJ (International Court of Justice)members, Jamie, Alexa, and Cameron, so they coud spend their day in a meeting, while the rest of us would spend the day touring. We did not have our tour until 11:00 am so we spent our hour and a half at a coffee shop in the building, and relaxing by a huge fountain outside. At 11:00 Bullis and a school from France went on a tour of Genova for 2 hours. The tour was led by students from an Italian school, who showed us numerous sites such as a Gothic church, and Colombus's father's house, where Columbus grew up and would often work. After the tour we checked into the conference and received our Model UN bags; then sat around in the coffee shop for another 2 hours before heading off to the Aquarium. At the aquarium we had lots of fun seeing numerous types of fish and other sea creatures such as dolphins, sharks, sea otters, jellyfish, etc. After the Aquarium the 9 of us and Mr. Green stopped to get gelato before heading back to the conference building. At this time it was about 4:30 pm, and the ICJ kids were still not finished, so the 9 of us had a choice between going back to the hotel, and waiting 'til 7:10 to eat, or killing a little over an hour by going on a tour of a tower and a prison, and then picking up the ICJ kids. Five of us and Mrs. Vardi went on the tour, the other 4 and Mr. Green went back to the hotel. The ICJ members were invited to a dinner at 7:30 so at 7:10 we all walked back to the conference building and dropped them off, while the rest of us searched for a place to eat. We ended up at a pizzeria that had delicious food; out of the 11 of us 2 people got soup, 3 got pasta, 4 got pizzas, and Kendall and Adam got the hugest calzones, the size of their plates, which they could barely finish. After dinner we walked back to the conference building to pick up the ICJ members and we all walked back to the hotel together to get some rest for tomorrow. Ian Giles

Tuesday in Transit

The morning greeted us with the hiss of the cappuccino machine and the clinking of plates. Our group made their way to the breakfast room of the Hotel Lirico where we enjoyed strong Italian coffee, juice, fresh bread, morning pastries, prosciutto, cheese and yogurt. We gathered our luggage, bid farewell to this wonderful gem of a hotel, and made our way down the long flight of red-carpeted stairs to the private bus that would take us to Genoa. The six-hour ride took us through the hills of Tuscany, along the Tyrrhenian coast, past the Cinque Terre and into (literally - lots of tunnels) the Apennines. Our lunch stop was in Pisa, famed for the Leaning Tower but remembered more for the magnificent Duomo in Piazza dei Miracoli. We enjoyed pizza and foccacia stuffed with fresh pomodoros and pesto. Truly delicious! We arrived in Genoa, the capital of the Italian Riveria, to a sun-filled sky with a whirling wind off of the Ligurian Sea. Tomorrow we will explore the city, register for the conference, and participate in some MUN training. And of course, continue to enjoy the hospitality and cuisine of Italy! Arrivederci! Ms. Vardi

Photos - Rome, Monday 2/20

We began our adventurous day with visiting the Vatican City Museum. We marveled at the grand, immensely detailed, and extremely defined marble sculptures of various famous people. We also saw the enormous baths that royal people would use. The Ancient Romans loved to make everything luxurious and grand, from the huge memorials and statues to the floors and ceilings. In the floors they had mosaics of different scenes according to the room that the mosaic was in. The walls would have pictures framed with gold or bronze and various marble.The ceiling would be painted in great detail with famous scenes from the Bible or would have some sort of reference to the Bible. We walked through a hallway which had different parts of Italy painted to scale and if you put the painting together it would make up Italy. After walking through some exhibits of modern art we came upon the Sistine Chapel. Imagine the most beautiful painting you have ever seen... Now Imagine it 15 times grander.. That is the beauty of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. It was so beautiful it could bring tears to one's eyes. I have never seen scenes from the Bible painted so detailed, in depth, and defined. The figures looked as if they were about to jump up at you. Michelangelo was an amazing artist, and the Sistine Chapel is one of the beautiful things I have ever seen. -Ashlyn Coleman

This afternoon we had the opportunity to take taxis through Rome to get to the Flavian Amphitheater (the Colosseum). Once there, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at a street vendor and then ventured inside the magnificent building. Capable of seating 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was a amazing architectural feat and cultural treasure. We then visited a basilica nearby, and the frescoes, art, and architecture were absolutely stunning. Afterwards, we returned to the hotel for a short siesta and then returned to the city for dinner and gelato at a local restaurant. The food was fantastic and the different pastas and pizzas were delicious along with the bruschetta. We then ate our gelato as we walked back to the hotel through the beautiful streets of Rome. -Lauren Montgomery

Photos - Sunday 2/19

La Vita Notturna

-nazionale shopping -siesta -pizza at il leoncino - gelotto at giolitti - walk back home After leaving the Altare della Patria (Wedding Cake building), some of us headed back to the to the hotel for a pennichella, or the Italian equivalent of a siesta, while the rest us walked along via nazionale for a bit of shopping. The street was full of food items, and Italian fashion, three years ahead of the US schedule! We finally went out for a delicious pizza and bruschetta dinner at the infamous Il Leoncino. The prosciutto was amazing on the thin crust "real" Roman pizza. We walked off the pizza for a few more blocks, until we got to another infamous Roman eatery, Giolitti, where we had gelato. The gelato was to die for, with flavours soaring far above 20. But of course you have to top a fine day of walking and eating with a shot of espresso at the hotel coffee bar. So far it's been a remarkable day and trip. Arrivederci, Cameron Buck

Day 2

Today, on our second day in Rome, we did almost double as much site seeing as yesterday. We first woke up to an excellent continental breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast we left the hotel around 10:20 and immediately started sight seeing. The first thing we saw was the ruins of the first ever mall, after that we viewed the ruins of the old forum. Following the Forum we walked down to the Colosseum and took plenty of pictures, but decided to go tomorrow because the lines were massive. Instead of the Colosseum we went to multiple museums with artifacts from Ancient Rome and another which depicted the Ghettos in Italy during the Holocaust. After that we went to the top of the Altare Della Patria or nicknamed the Wedding Cake which gave an amazing view of the city. From the top we could see monuments such as the Vatican, the Colosseum and the Pantheon. - Kendall Buck

Pasta Fresca for Dinner

Ms. Vardi's "live" Sculpture

Roaming the Streets of Rome - 2/17

Photos 2/18

Buon Giorno, Bullis!

We awoke this morning to a sunny Rome sky streaming into our hotel windows. What a lovely day to begin our explorations of ancient Rome after a much-needed night of sleep! The students are wonderful, open to all our suggestions, be it more walking, trying a new food or simply watching the people in the busy Rome streets. We have had some trouble posting pictures as the internet connection is not so strong. Hope to do so later in the day. Arrivederci! Ms. Vardi and Mr. Green

Rome, Italy Day 1

Finally, the day has come. We made it to Italy! After months of anticipation and endless waiting, the trip began. And if I may say so myself, it started off extremely well. After school on friday, we began the thirteen hours of total travel that would eventually lead us to our destination. It started off with a smooth seven hour flight from DC to Amsterdam, where we remained for a two hour lay-over. Then, we boarded another plane that took us the reamaining two hours to Rome. On this flight, we got the pleasure of seeing some breath-taking aerial views of the Alps. We landed in the Rome airport and headed over to baggage claim to get our luggage. Although we did have some trouble when Mr. Green's baggage did not make it through to Rome, but Mr. Green worked things out and we were on our way once again. A beautiful one hour drive took us to downtown Rome, where we checked in at our hotel, dropped off luggage, and freshened up a little bit. Soon, we were beggining our Mr. Green-guided adventure through the city. The obelisk tour, which takes us to most of the major land marks in Rome, begins in the Vatican, so we hopped on the subway and made our way towards Saint Peter's Square. Although we only got through about half of the obelisk tour in the time that we had, the sights we got to see were truly amazing. These included the massive Saint Peter's square at the Vatican, Saint Peter's Basilica, the Castle Sant'Angelo, which was built as a mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, a talking statue, which is where ancient Romans would post gossip and criticism about eachother anonymously, and the wedding cake, or monument to Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy. Oh, and I can't forget our stop for delicious gelato! We ended the day with a delicious 5 course Italian dinner, consisting of two types of pastas, chicken and potatoes, salad, and a berry cream pie for desert. Yum! The first day of our trip was a great sucess, with surprisingly little jetlag. I am greatly looking forward to the rest of the trip, and I know that everyday will be just as fun as today was!

-Adam Cohen

Benvenuti a Roma!

Ciao, tutti. Here is a quick and general idea of what we'll be doing while we spend our three days in Rome before heading to Genoa.

Saturday, 18 February - Arrival. After recovering from the overnight flight to Europe, we'll be refreshing ourselves before heading out to see Rome on the infamous "Obelisk Walk." There are 12 ancient obelisks in Rome (actually 13, but we're visiting 12). These obelisks are either from Ancient Egypt or were built in imitation of those by various Roman emperors. After they were re-discovered by the popes in the Renaissance, they were placed all over the city in front of important sites or churches to help guide the faithful on their pilgrimages. They will be our markers as well as we follow them to see the entire city of Rome on foot, starting from the Vatican and ending at St. John Lateran.

Sunday, 19 February - The Ancient City. Today we focus on the grandeur that was Ancient Rome. Notable stops will include: The Republican and Imperial Fora, the Colosseum, the Palatine, existing lengths of ancient fortifications, various imperial baths, the Circus Maximus, major temples that still exist, the Pantheon, etc... We will also be stopping in some of the major museums but most of what we will be seeing is in the open air and accessible to all.

Monday, 20 February - The Renaissance and St. Peter's city. Today we start in the Vatican and we try to fit in what we can with the time that is left to us. With any luck we'll visit 3 of the 4 major basilicas in Rome along with several smaller churches that house major works of Renaissance and post-Renaissance art by masters such as Caravaggio, Bernini, Michelangelo, Bramante, etc... That is, of course, assuming that Stendhal's Syndrome hasn't seized us after seeing the glory that is the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica itself.

Ciao, tutti!

Ciao, tutti. Welcome to the blog for the Bullis School Model UN trip to Genoa, with a brief stopover in Rome (17-26 Feb.). Check back often for updates by the students about the latest happenings and their reflections on the trip and their experiences.