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Italy Choir Trip 2019

Jul 05 - Jul 15 2019

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Jul 05 2019

On the bus from Reagan High School to Houston where we will catch our double decker Luftansa plane to Rome, Italy with a stop over in Frankfurt, Germany

@randywalsh

Jul 06 2019

Bus tour of Italy

St Paul’s bacilica - supposedly the tomb of St Paul

The city walls as we head into the center

Pyramids that are part of the city walls

Palatine ruins - supposedly the founding location of Rome

Colosseum

Caracalla \240Baths - ancient Roman baths where they discussed politics

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Jul 06 2019

Piazza Navona

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Jul 06 2019

Ok after a day of travel and some sight seeing we made it to our hotel!

Sharon happy that her shoes are finally off!

Nice room with a balcony

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Jul 07 2019

Walking tour Rome

Vittorio \240Emmanuel monument

Bernoulli designed elephant statue and obelisk

Pantheon

Inside the pantheon

Pantheon open in the center and it will rain into it but has drainage and the opening also acts as a sun dial - shines on the door openings at noon

Tomb of Raphael

Singing at the Pantheon

2nd century street level

Hadron Temple

Tribute to Marcus Aueralias the sculpture is of the battles

Government buildings of Italy

Gelato break!

Trevi Fountain

Sharon and Brooke at Trevi Fountain

Spanish Embassy to the \240Vatican

Tribute to the Virgin Mary

Spanish Steps

Fountain of the sinking boat in front of the Spanish steps - aqua duct water - drinkable

@randywalsh

Jul 07 2019

Vatican visit

Pieta by Michaelangelo

St Peter’s square

Vatican guards

Reagan High School group photo in St Peter’s square

Reagan Choir after singing Sunday evening mass at the Vatican

@randywalsh

Jul 07 2019

Group dinner at a local restaurant with the entire choir!

Brooke was made to get up and dance with the opera singer with the accordion back

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Jul 09 2019

We were on the run all day yesterday so I didn’t get a chance to journal, but today we have a 4 hour bus ride from Rome to Florence so I have some time to catch up.

On Monday we started with the Vatican Museum

Vatican Museum today - hot and humid wait outside until we could get in

Brooke and Mary Lance goofing

Wooden carving of Vatican City

Vatican museum central courtyard

2000 year old Egyptian carving

@randywalsh

Jul 09 2019

After the Vatican Museum we split off into a subgroup and caught an “exciting” taxi ride to the Colosseum.

After the Colosseum we walked to the Trestevere area of Rome and we walked along the Tiber River.

Trestevre area of Rome, more local spot, beautiful winding streets to explore with lots of shops and restaurants, would love to come back and explore more some day

Some delicious lasagna!

Santa Maria church - amazing mosaic that back wall is all tile

@randywalsh

1 LIKE

@#Trikalyn Loving all the pictures. Looks like you’re seeing all the things. Hope you’re going to post a video of the choir singing. 😘

Jul 09 2019

Ok a little late but wanted to get some things down before I go to bed...

Loaded up on the bus/coach in Rome and headed to Florence. The ride was mostly uneventful but there we did come to a complete standstill for about 15/20min and got to watch all the Italians get out of their cars and other amusing insanity like when the truck driver was rushing to get back into his semi and his flip flops kept falling off and out of the truck and the entire bus cheering and laughing about it!

After more drama at the hotel with rooms we were finally on our trek across the city center for the first of our 2 venues for singing!

Venue no 1 ... \240Auditorium di Santa Apollonia

And now more walking to venue no 2

We stop briefly at \240piazza di San Lorenzo

Procuitto and pineapple for me

Brooke has Pear Pizza

Beautiful church with amazing acoustics- Chiesa Di SS.Salvatore in Ognissanti right by the river

Amazing ceiling

Lovely night but the 35min walk back in the conblestones is rough on us all!

@randywalsh

Jul 10 2019

Ok starting the day off with a walking tour of Florence

San Crotche - burial location of Michealangelo, Galileo, Mechivielli and others

The square tower on the right is the one that was described in The opening scene in Dan Brown’s book Inferno where the character falls from the tower

Complex of San Firenze

Piazza della Signoria

Replica of the David by Michealangelo but the original location before it was moved into the museum

Baptismal house in front of Duomo

Duomo of Florence

Jotto bell tower behind me

@randywalsh

Jul 10 2019

Lunch in the piazza republica

Dropped the kids off for their choir workshop and got to go explore on our which meant sitting down for a couple of hours own and sipping a cool cappuccino freddo and then back to San Croche to check out the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, Donatello and others... \240the scale of these churches are just amazing!

The tomb of Michealangelo

Cappuccino Freddo while sitting in the piazza republica sitting on a sofa people watching!

Dinner at La Buchet

Prawn Risotto

Walking back to the hotel in Florence

@randywalsh

Jul 12 2019

Yesterday was a long day of choir competition and walking so having to play catch-up on our travel journal. \240So as I said the morning was focused on the choir competition where they sang amazing, extremely moving performance.

Then we walked back to the hotel where they could change into more comfortable clothes and then we walked back to town for lunch and \240leather shopping in San Lorenzo market in small groups.

Then we meet up at the Galleria dell'Accademia to see Michealangelo’s The David.

Then dinner in Piazza Republica with the two girls we are chaperones for (Katie Beth and Joy Noel) as well as their two friends that we have become defacto chaperones for (Annabell and Elle).

Finally a choir concert at San Stefano al Ponte church/theatre

And then the seeming long walk home again back to the hotel and yet another \240hour long parent meeting... could live without those...

@randywalsh

Jul 12 2019

Choir day today. Reagan made it to Grand Prix round of the choir festival.

Kids started out with practice in the hotel and then another 30 min walk to the Teatro Verdi. \240After dropping the kids off at the teatro TJ Lantz (Mary Lantz’s day) and scouted our possible lunch locations as the kids would only have about an hour to get lunch and change into their competition formal attire. So after we found a suitable shady location for paninis that was minimal walking we felt we had earned a cappuccino freddo at our favorite piazza republico

Reagan crushes their songs

Reagan wins the Grand Prix for the festival

Finally time for the group opera concert

@randywalsh

Jul 13 2019

Ok we have boarded the bus and now we are heading to Pisa and then on to Venice.

Stopped at Pisa for lunch and for photos explored the Duomo and spread some of Todd’s ashes.

Katie Beth kicking over the tower!

Todd’s view of the tower

Inside of the Duomo

Our view from our lunch restaurant where I had spinach and cheese ravioli with a walnut cream sauce

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Jul 13 2019

Made it to Padua where we will be staying tonight and then Venice tomorrow

Piazza dei Signori

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Jul 14 2019

Venice day!

Chiesa di San Zaccaria spread some of Todd’s ashes at this little church

Gondola ride in Venice

We didn’t have the music on our boat but it was all around us!

Inside St Mark’s basilica

Reagan Choir singing in the Sunday Evening mass at St Mark’s basilica

Evening boat ride back to the bus... \240

@randywalsh

Jul 15 2019

Time to head home... \2406:30am flight for 100 people traveling together means... \240wake up calls at 2am for 3am departure, 50 minute bus ride to Marco Polo (Venice) airport. \240We fly from Venice to Frankfurt, then on to Houston where we will be bused back to Reagan HS and hopefully a neighbor will pick is up...

@randywalsh