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This morning after breakfast we depart for Naples, with a stop in Montecassino to see the Abbey and view the cemetery where 1,000 Polish soldiers are buried - solders who fought the Nazis and liberated the Abbey. We will sing at the Abbey. We continue to Naples for lunch and an orientation tour of the 3rd largest city in Italy, famous for its culture, cuisine and its role as a port city. Then we'll continue on to Castellamare for dinner and overnight.
Dear Friends and Families - sorry to say that internet access is not quite as good for us here in Castellammare as it was in Rome. We'll keep you posted as well as we can, but we probably can't post as many video and audio files. We'll do our best, though.
Hello to everyone in the United States! Ciao from Italia.
I hope that you are all enjoying the 5-degree weather. In Italy, the weather has been in the fifties and I have a slight sunburn from all of the beautiful sunshine. Right now we are on the bus to the Montecassino Abbey, and then we will go to Naples. Italy has been so great. I can’t believe that it is only Tuesday because we have already done so many amazing things. From singing on the Spanish Steps to eating Margerhita Pizza, everything has been awesome. Oh yeah, and we also sang in St. Peter’s Basilica…not like it’s a big deal or anything. I can’t wait for the rest of the week. Ciao! –Emily W.
P.S. To Billy and Matt- don’t worry, I got souvenirs for both of you.
Ciao!!
Italy has been so much fun so far!! I’m so glad that we have five more days in Italy. Yesterday we had a tour of the Vatican. It was full of history and beauty. We saw the Sistine Chapel and St. Peters Basilca and we had the opportunity to sing Tu Es Petrus, the actual song that is sung when the Pope enters. It was so beautiful and inspiring. No sooner did we sing the last note did we hear our voices echoing through the most beautiful sanctuary that most of us have ever seen. We continued to sing for the people sitting at the Spanish steps and continued to make our wishes at the Trevi Fountain. Although we’re leaving Rome today, I’m looking forward to the amazing adventures coming our way in Naples! –Julianna A.
What’s good? I hear it is rather frigid back in Mass. That’s too bad because I know that I’m going to have to go from the green grass and blue skies of Italy to the snow covered streets of Longmeadow. Seriously though it’s awesome here. Yesterday we saw the Sistine Chapel but I kept wondering when we’d get to see the Seventeenth or even the first 15. Oh well, maybe I’ll see them when I return to Italy someday. Also, singing at the Vatican in St. Peter’s Basilica was probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. It totally smelled like Pope in there, he must have been nearby. All of our impromptu performances have gone really well. We busted into song at the Spanish steps and a crowd of hundreds quickly gathered to listen and give us their applause. Our scheduled performances in the church have been amazing as well. The acoustics of every church made us sound legit. The reverb after Elijah Rock was probably one of the best sounds I’ve ever heard. The hotel in Rome was very nice, except I couldn’t figure out how to get warm water in the shower until the last day there. Now we are on the bus heading towards Naples. I’m pumped to try Pizza from the place where it was first created. Also, Pompeii should be mag(ma)nificent. Ok I should stop making these corny jokes and puns. But I just wanted to let everyone know that I’m doing well and having a great time, and we still have 3 or 4ish days left.
Peace out,
Jason
Ciao! The past two days have been epic. I was reunited with my ginger heritage and witnessed Lizzie McGuire landmarks including: the Coliseum and Trevi Fountain. We sang at the Spanish Steps and almost were arrested for singing! I think that’s the one circumstance where I’d actually brag about being arrested. Oh, and we sang in the St. Peters Basilica. But that wasn’t too exciting since people sing there all the time. Dad- I’ve only made a couple of men stop in their tracks to look at me. On this trip, so far, I’ve learned a couple things. I will never want to be friends with a street performer dressed as a statue, mushrooms are the national side dish of Italy, my bargaining skills are pretty impressive, and “No fotos” means no pictures in Italian (I had no idea). I miss you guys and Zee, but not really Lily or Emma. Thanks for reading my thoughts; it’s usually a risky move to do. – Sarah B.
There are certain times where you have to stop and ask yourself, “What have I done to deserve this?” Sunday I arrived in Rome, Monday I sang in St. Peter’s Basilica, and today I sang ‘The Lord Bless You and Keep You” in the mosaic crypt of the Montecassino. I know that people could wait a lifetime and never experience what we highschoolers have experienced in the past 3 days. What have I done to deserve this? I sang a chromatic scale pretty in tune, I sightread a few notes on a page. I am just so thankful that I am here, whether I deserve it or not. A few regrets: I regret that I didn’t learn any Italian before I came here. I regret that I seem to get caught on the flip video consistently embarrassing myself. I regret that Carly and I are the two messiest people to ever share a hotel room. I REALLY regret that I ate an entire margherita pizza last night. Okay. I’m getting very very carsick typing on the bus ride through Naples. I don’t think the person sitting next to me wants me throwing up on him with 1.5 hours to go on the trip. Ciao! – Hailey
Bonjourno from Naples! I’m going to name some things that really have nothing to do with the singing aspect of this trip even though by far singing impromptu performances in the most beautiful places in the world is the best part. Yesterday I bargained for an orange jersey and it was awesome. Because I won and I don’t even speak Italian. I have discovered that eating with Mai, Evan and Shane every night is one of the things I’ll look back on and regret and appreciate at the same time. Because Shane isn’t funny-okay wait I take that back, he’s hilarious. We went to eat Pizza for lunch and two guys were shouting at us in Italian that their Pizza was the best so we sided with the guy who was way more animated and it was hilarious. Because I think I may have seen the other man cry. I stood on a floor that was 1,800 years old which made me feel really insignificant. Because a lot of important dead guys were buried underneath it. I recently have realized that Emily W. might be the funniest person in the entire world. Ever. And finally, contrary to popular belief, we have found that Evan is not in fact taller than the coliseum. -Becca
So we all expected that this trip was going to be amazing, but I don’t think anyone really realized how incredible it was going to be. I don’t think we knew we would end up spending time with everyone – actually everyone. And I think that we all knew we were going to sing in churches, but I don’t think that anyone realized exactly how good the acoustics were going to be. For instance, the last pace we sang in was this little chapel (well, little in comparison to all the others) that was also a crypt underneath the church of a monastery. The entire ceiling was a mosaic. It had the most amazing sound I’ve heard yet, and I think it was because no one expected it. I’ve never had a more moving and emotional experience when I was singing. It hasn’t just been the singing either; we all get along so well. I’ve laughed more in these last few days than I have in months. I can now say that I’ve sang in St. Peter’s Basilica, fallen down the stairs of the town hall in Rome (I’m okay Mom and Dad, don’t worry), had an Italian waiter call me Carlita (and actually understand the Spanish he spoke to me as well), taken over 600 pictures, eaten a ton of gelato AND Italian pizza, and had the trip of a lifetime with the 40 or so people that are with me. And the best part is, our trip isn’t even close to done yet.
- Carly
Since I’m a leader and not a follower, I will not start this blog post off with “Ciao from Italy!!” I’ll start a new trend and just get to the point. We are all having a total blast here in Italy. The food has been incredibly delicious thus far, that is, if you enjoy eating only mushrooms at each meal. All of us, myself included, are surprisingly willing to try new foods, and most of us have realized what we’ve been missing out on at home. Today, we’re on our way to Naples where we’ll finish off our Italian journey. I wish I could attach videos and photos to this post in an attempt to describe the beauty of the Italian countryside (we just passed Mt. Vesuvius). I hope anyone reading this does so while listening to a recording from one of our concerts, The sound of our voices in the churches has been like nothing else we’ve ever experienced; despite the incredible acoustics of the Longmeadow High School Auditorium, the sound in Santa Maria sopra Minerva wins the prize in my honest opinion. I hope this post confirms the words in the preceding posts, and I hope that I’ve described this trip in half its glory; even half of this trip has meant more than quadruple its time back in Longmeadow. Oh, and Mom and Dad—1. I am alive, and 2. Good luck picking me up on Saturday, because there is no way I’m coming home.
-Billy
What’s good? We just finished the bus tour of the city of Naples. A group of us just attempted to buy a pair of sunglasses from a street vender for 3 euros, however, the lowest price that we could negotiate was 4 euros. The places that we have sung in all have beautiful acoustics and the sights are amazing. After singing at the Abbey of Montecassino, many of the students felt an extremely emotional nirvana. Driving to the Castelemarre is very rutted, most likely due to Vesuvius erupting.
-Dan B
The guilded church was absolutely beautiful. I experienced my first musical goose bumps at the end of our first song. Listening to the last chord ringing about the room was an incredible moment. We also got a nice view of dozens of doves, inaccurately identified as rabbits by none other than Joey K. Currently, we are on the bus, eagerly awaiting our arrival at our new hotel. I am stuck behind two violinists telling extremely corny violin jokes. I also found a comical poster of a “No trumpet playing” sign. I enjoy imagining the story behind it. Mom, im still looking for a reasonably priced phone card. You will know the minute I get one. Can’t wait to share my photos and videos of our incredible performances so far. We’ve packed a number of life-changing performances into only a few days. Which is why I must rest. Ciao America.
Shane
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