Ms. King & I traveled with 14 students and 3 parents to Japan for the Robotics, Engineering, and the Future Cities in Japan.  

This tour was so much fun and we accomplished a lot in just 8 days!

During our first full day in Tokyo, we spent the morning doing a walking tour around Shibuya and learning about the expansion project and future of Shibuya.  Shibuya Subway station (where we were) is 2nd largest station in the world with more than 3 million people daily.  Then we ascended the Tokyo Skytree for the views in the clouds.  We then walked around Akihabara (known for its Anime).  In the evening, we visited Buddha Bellies for a sushi lesson to make our own sushi!  So much fun and absolutely delicious! 

Day 3 we visited Senso-ji Temple.  It was beautiful.  Then we participated in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony.  I tried Macha tea for the first time.  Then we walked around outside the temple and shopped before going to the Hama-rikyu Gardens which were beautiful and very peaceful.   We then went to Kappa Sushi for dinner and we enjoyed more delicious sushi! 

For Day 4 - we drove 2 hours from Tokyo to visit JAXA (Japan’s NASA).  We got to explore on our own and then had a private tour as well.  Very cool.  Then after lunch, we visited Cyberdyne and learned all about robotic limbs (used for therapies in hospitals).  Also very cool.  Dinner was delicious.  A lot of driving but our tour bus driver was amazing, so no complaints! 

On Day 5 - we spent the morning at a future of science museum which had some very cool exhibits including cool robots.  It also had a very cool interactive video about climate change affecting Fiji.   After lunch we had a disaster preparation class which was very realistic on how to survive an earthquake.  They literally had us in an elevator and when we exited it looked like the building had been destroyed and we had to evacuate.  It was very cool.   Everyone is very prepared for disasters in Japan.  We let the kids enjoy some frisbee time before dinner - which was a Japanese BBQ all you can eat (cook the food at the table)….which everyone enjoyed. 

For Day 6, we drove outside Tokyo to Saiko Iyashi-no-Sato Nenba which is a traditional, open-air village on the shores of Lake Saiko in Yamanashi with beautiful views of Mt. Fuji (when there is good weather - we had mostly clouds).  Each house inside the village showcased different artisans (pottery, art, glass, etc.).  Very unique! In the afternoon we went to the UDT Maglev Exhibition Center to learn more about bullet trains before riding a bullet train back to Tokyo. 

Day 7 was a great day.  We started our day at Team Labs which was an interactive art display.  I absolutely loved it.  There was a water feature that was so cool and live orchids as part of it.  It was outrageous and so fun!  Yes that’s water that we are wading around in the bottom photo on the left - so cool.  Then we went to the Fish Market for lunch (We had delicious sushi —- and I tried eel and pufferfish!) and we saw a ceremonial procession on our way to Pokémon Center and SanRio for some shopping.  We took a detour at a park to see the waterfront before ending our night with Karaoke!  A great end to our last full day here in Tokyo. 

On Day 8 (which was also our travel day home), we still got to do a few things....including a visit to a temple and some last minute shopping before heading to the airport.

Ms. Guess & I traveled over Spring Break with 17 students (and 2 parents) to Washington, D.C. & New York.  Even though we were only there for 5.5 days, we accomplished a lot.  

In Washington, D.C., we visited the World War I Memorial, Ford's Theater, Washington Monument, World War II Memorial, Air and Space Smithsonian Museum (photo on the left), Sculpture Garden, National Mall, Natural History Smithsonian Museum, Martin Luther King Memorial, Thomas Jefferson Memorial ---- and that was just our first day!

We got rained out on Day 2, but still managed to squeeze in the Supreme Court, U.S. Capitol (photo on the left), Lincoln Memorial, and Vietnam Memorial.  

Before we left DC to head to NYC, we visited Arlington Cemetery and saw the changing of the guard and visited the National Archives and got to see the Constitution, Bill of Rights and The Declaration of Independence.

Our first night in NYC was over the top with a visit to the Edge at Hudson Yards before having pizza for dinner in Times Square (photo to the left). 

On Wednesday, we did a boat tour of the Hudson River and saw the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island.  We then went for a walking tour of the financial district.  The students rode the subway back to Times Square where we saw the Tony-Award Winning Musical "Maybe Happy Ending." (see photo below)  The students loved it!  

Our last day was filled with Central Station, the New York Public Library, Rockefeller Center and Central Park before we headed to the airport for a 6pm flight!  It was  whirlwind of a trip, but we all had a lot of fun!

Ms. King and I traveled to Italy with 10 Lively students.  We had the best time.  The focus of the tour was Sustainable Farming in Northern Italy.  We started our tour the moment we landed.  Our first stop was Turin, Italy.  We visited the Superga Hill & Basilica (photo below)   We did a guided tour of the city and then the students wanted to go to the automobile museum where we got to see a lot of old cars in pristine condition.   After Turin, we visited Cuneo.  The students loved it here because our hotel was in the city center.  Some of the highlights of our trip included seeing how a type of blue cheese was made at a local dairy farm, making pasta from scratch at a wine vineyard and getting to eat it for lunch (vineyard photo on the left), and visiting an olive grove to see how olive oil is made.  From Cuneo, we left for Nice, France.  We took a day trip to Monaco (2nd smallest country in the world --- only to the Vatican City).  We took a picture at the top of Monaco overlooking the city (photo on the left)   We visited a perfume factory near Monaco and got to see how perfume is made.  

The food was delicious.  For our first dinner in Turin, we had a pesto pasta that was delicious (see photo on the left).  We had our fill of pizza and pasta on most days, but we did enjoy an american night with burgers as well.

Traveling with my students was an amazing and memorable way to see Italy.  I loved that we got to go to cities off the beaten path and not just the big cities in Italy.   I enjoyed watching them all make the cheese and the pasta or shake the olive trees.  It was fun and engaging for them.

Ms. King and I traveled to Lisbon, Portugal for a training to learn how to travel with students overseas.   It was very educational as we learned how best to manage chaperone groups, how to safely travel on subways with students and much, much more.  In addition to all the tips we learned about traveling, we got to enjoy being in a beautiful country and exploring a new culture.  We are both passionate about bringing new cultural experiences to our students!