Sunday, October 17, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
From Bree and Maddy
Hey everyone, Bree and Maddy here!
So this is our last day in Torino and our last day on the trip. We have had an amazing time and loved the food, people and the city. We loved exploring the many shops and enjoyed watching the constant flow of plates across our table. Walking through the city centre is so different to Commercial Street back home! We also want to acknowledge the fantastic hospitality of our Italian mates and the lovely people at the school who were all eager to track us down on Facebook.
Bree and Maddy out!
Farewell Turin
After spending 12 days in Turin students will this morning (Wednesday) say their final farewells to the new friends and families they have made during their time in here. Students will now make a 5 hour train trip across to Venice where they will stay for the next three days.
Make sure you keep checking the blog as we journey across Italy. The next blog entry may be in a day or two depending on where we can access the internet.
From Italian Host Students Leonardo & Fede
Today (Tuesday ) we have been to Milan, we left school at around 8am and after a 3 hour bus trip arrived in the City of Milan.
First of all we visited the Duom. Climbing over 150 stairs we reached the roof top where there was a really good point of view of all Milan! We took some really nice photos! In the afternoon we had the
opportunity to see the famous painting by Leonardo of the The Last Supper.
After a little time for some shopping we then took the 3 hour bus trip back to Turin arriving at 7:30pm ready to enjoy our last dinner with the Australians.
We will be really sad to see you for the last time tomorrow morning!! We are going to miss you!
Leonardo & Fede
From Samantha and Iris
Hello everyone this is Samantha and Iris. J
We’ve had the best trip so far. The 10 days in Turin have gone so quickly and we leave for Venice tomorrow. The school over here is so different. They mainly just write notes and study and barely do any practical stuff. I (Iris) followed my host (Leo) for some lessons. The classes were roughly the same size as Australian classes but his class only had 5 girls in it which was different. Everyone was really nice though and the guys were really funny when they tried to speak English. The school sells really awesome chocolate croissants and the best time to eat them is when they are hot because all the chocolate inside is melted. Yum! J
On Tuesday (28th) we went to Mont Blanc which took about 2½ hours and Iris slept most of the way. We borrowed clothes from our hosts (shoes, snow jackets, gloves & beanies) to keep warm and when we arrived our bus drove off on us. We took a chair lift up to Mont Blanc which had a great view. We stopped for hot chocolate and when we got to the top Iris ate some snow!
On Wednesday we taught the Italians ‘Home Among the Gum Trees’ and The Nutbush which was really fun and they were actually pretty good at it. That afternoon we went to Parliament.
On Thursday we went to the castles which were really pretty and there was an amazing water show at the first one. That night a few of us went bowling (Australians .vs. Italians) and us Aussies won J Friday we went to school and in the afternoon most people went shopping but I (Samantha) went to the Egyptian Museum with Brianna, Maddy and our hosts. Me (Iris), Bree, Darcy, Maddy, Eliza and Jenna went to a restaurant that had 1 meter long’s pizza at night.
On the weekend our hosts took us places in and around Turin and I (Iris) had the best Gelato in Turin. Saturday night we all went to a disco which was heaps of fun but so hot because of the amount of people on the dance floor. On Sunday Iris went to the Museum of Cinema and I just relaxed and went shopping in the afternoon. Sunday night some of us went to laser tag which was really good and we wished we could have played for longer. Afterwards me, Samara, Kira & Christina got Piadina which are wraps with Nutella warmed up and anything else you want in it. Me and Kira got mnm’s, cream and strawberries.
Monday was our last day of school and we did our journal, took photos, talked to the students and went to class with our hosts. Me (Iris) and my host got together Sunday night, we had pizza from the shop and they ordered me an olives pizza with sardines. It was the first time i had tha many olives in my life. That night we had the farewell dinner which was really fun and Iris decorated the foyer where the dinner was held. We danced, ate and snuck upstairs to use the toilets cause we couldn’t handle the squatting ones downstairs. Ewwwwww! Tuesday we headed to Milan and saw the Duomo and The Last Supper which were amazing. We also got to go shopping. Tomorrow we head to Venice and its only 13 days till were back home L we're both really sad to leave Turin and wish we had more time in Italy!
Hey there Claudia, Jayden and Ilze here keeping you updated on what’s been happening from Thursday the 30th of September to Monday the 4th of October.
Thursday: We went and visited the castles. We had to be at school at 7.40am and after a big night it was a little hard to get up. Once everyone was there we got on the bus and made our way to the first castle, La Venaria Reale. It was commissioned to be built by Duke Carlo Emanuel II for the Savoy family (the royal family) for hunting and leisure. The town Venaria was built around the palace for its use. The estate is very large with a lot of land for hunting and gardens. The palace rooms are very large and light with big windows. There are also lots of galleries with portraits of family members and Italian heroes. The rooms were stunning with lots of frescoes on the walls, ceilings and also many statues and ornamentations. It’s almost impossible to believe that people lived in such a grand place. The gardens outside were also very beautiful with lots of rose gardens and magnificent views of the surrounding mountains. When we went back inside we entered the most beautiful room in the whole palace, the ballroom. It was all white with huge windows and a black and white tiled floor. There were no paintings anywhere but the ceiling had many ornamentations. Ok so Ilze was in love with Venaria but a quick summary of everything else.
After Venaria we went to the Sacra di San Michele which is an old monastery built on the top of a hill into the rocks. It was built in the 900’s. We couldn’t go in because we arrived at the wrong time but we looked at the beautiful views and had a short history lesson. We then went to the castle of Racconigi. We had a guided tour of the castle and witnessed a 17th century kitchen which we all enjoyed.
Friday: We had to do more presentations to the students. After school we went on a shopping spree in the city centre. Us girls rejoiced at the shops in Via Roma and Via Garibaldi. In the evening a few of us went out to a concert and others went out for dinner or to the city again.
Saturday: During the first part of the morning we shadowed our host students to their classes. The school is so different from ours. There are not only differences in appearance such as no uniform, the single multistorey building, smoking outside during breaks and kissing in the corridors, but also how lessons are conducted. The lessons are mostly teachers giving students lectures in whatever subject it is and the students have to take notes. The students don’t really do any exercises during class time but rather have to do them for homework. Some of the classes are really relaxed whereas in others the students are virtually silent.
Later on we did MORE presentations to the students. This time we had to sit at tables and talk to small groups of Italian students about Australia and Italy. After this we went upstairs to a fifth year classroom where they did Dracula skits for us. We found the skits very entertaining and quite enjoyable.
In the evening, we all went out to a club in the heart of Turin. Although we were quite sweaty afterwards we had a lot of fun and partied till the early hours of the morning.
Sunday: Today was the first day we were able to sleep in and we made good use of the opportunity. The rest of the day was spent with our host families and a group went laser shooting in the evening.
Monday: Today was the last day of school for us. We shadowed our host students for most of the day and then we went to other classes to talk with some students.
In the afternoon we were again with our host families. At 7.30pm, we met up with each other at the school for our farewell dinner. Lots of students from the school were there as well as all of the host families. We had a great time and ate so much food.
Friday, October 1, 2010
We do not remember days; we remember moments.
There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer. ~Ansel Adams
A land of dames and knights
Instead of writing a blog today I have decided to upload some more images of the past day in and around Turin visiting the magnificent palaces, enchanting castles and forts. Regards Nethanel
“It's weird that photographers spend years or even a whole lifetime, trying to capture moments that added together, don't even amount to a couple of hours.” ~James Lalropui Keivom
In and around Torino
All photographs are there to remind us of what we forget. In this - as in other ways - they are the opposite of paintings. Paintings record what the painter remembers. Because each one of us forgets different things, a photo more than a painting may change its meaning according to who is looking at it. ~John Berger
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