arrival update

Hello family and friends of Maybeck travelers,

There has been a last minute change in the flight arrangements from Italy. Our group will be leaving from Bologna on Lufthansa flight 3985 to Munich and then flight 458 to SFO. The scheduled time of arrival in San Francisco is now 7:05 pm.

Lesley, by way of Sue, from Nina!

Amalfi Coast

Hey everyone!

The day we visited the Amalfi Coast was great! We explored the city, relaxed by the water and ate yummy food. We were also very lucky to enjoy perfect weather.We visited the Duomo of Amalfi early on in the day and had the rest of the day to ourselves to explore the city. The Duomo was different from the many others we have seen. The exterior had African influences like stripes and other shapes. The bus ride to the Coast was also very nice. The views were great and very different from what we have seen in Italy. Once our day at the Amalfi Coast was over, we took a bus back to Sorento and enjoyed a lovely dinner.

Ciao!

naples

hi, marina again. our trip has been packed with places, food, and sights; im going to write about our visit to naples a few days ago but because of this i may not be able to provide all the details. the city is very alive with a feeling different than the other places we visited. people in our group seemed to either love it and wish we had more time there or hate it due to the gritty feel (myself in the former category). the churches we visited were eerier than others weve seen but it seemed to add to the impact (for example when we went into the citys duomo--where the blood a deceased arch bishop liquifies twice annually, usually, as a sign of good fortune--there was a choir practicing in a different room). we spent some time looking around crowded streets with venders and shops filled almost entirely with antique items and visited another church. lunch was cheese pizzas folded like crepes and wrapped in paper (their way of making it to go) and was absolutely delicious.

Hey folks, Peter here. I just wanted to send the briefest update that we are now in Florence, my old home. We got in last night in time for a walk through the city, an incredible (and late) dinner--how very continental!--and a leisurely stroll back to our best digs yet. We'll try to catch you up on some of the things we did down south (Pompei! the Amalfi Coast! Napoli!) while we also bring you up to speed on all the great stuff we're doing (and eating) here in Firenze.

Ciao for now,

Piersilvio

Pompei and the Amalfi Coast

Hello, everyone!

This is a quick note from Sorrento to let everyone know that we are all doing well. After a bit of an adventure checking into our hostel, we are now happily settled in our rooms and in the midst of a couple day trips. We had a relaxing day exploring Pompei yesterday, and today we are headed down the Amalfi coast. The sun is out, and the trip should be beautiful.

Off to Sorrento!

Hi everyone,

We are finishing up our last afternoon in Rome, and we will soon catch a train to Sorrento. Many of us are looking forward to our two hour train ride after our three amazing days here.

Our hostel in Sorrento might not have Internet access, so don't worry if you don't hear from us for a few days. (We will try to find an Internet cafe at some point.)

Ciao!

Day 3. Roma.

Hey everyone, this is Charlotte.
Today was an insanely amazing art day in the Vatican. So many rooms, so little time. We spent most of our day there taking lots of pictures and enjoying the art and getting lost in it (figurativly and temporarily physically). It is so hard to describe what we have seen, pictures do not even do it justice. The grandness, bold colors, smooth marble, it is just amazing. Seeing the chaple (Yes, that one!) was great as well, no pictures allowed though! (Though some of us got a few in because we did not know the rules, whoops?) And as usual we ate amazing food. So much more to tell but we have to leave some stories for when we all get back.
Hope you all are well. Salute from Roma!

P.S. Mum, (Lesley) what is the name of the restaurant Genaro (sp?) owns? Answer in the comments!

day 2

hello, this is marina. today was a very busy day for us. the main event was probably the colesium, which we visited in the afternoon. before that we visited the pantheon and an outdoor market (piazze de fiori) as well as got some coffee at a nice cafe. other sites we saw were the santa maria sopra minera church, the pantheon, the roman forum, and the san pietro in vincoli (home to michalangelos moses). after a little free time we met to get dinner, which included a couple musical performances by locals.

WE ARE SAFE!

Hi parents, this is Julia reporting that we arrived safely in Rome earlier today! It was a long flight, but most of us managed to sleep some. By the time we were done exploring Rome for the day (we saw the Spanish Steps, Trevi fountain, and more amazing sculpture and architechture!) we were mostly all exhausted (Not me, that's why I'm writing this!). We were cheered up by some delicious cookies and pizza! We are all getting ready for bed now and the trip is off to a great start. Tomorrow we are seeing The Pantheon, the Colliseum, and exploring the city more. More updates soon!

Amore,
The Italy Trip

Italy Itinerary and Contact Information

Travel Day: Saturday, March 20th
Arrive at SFO at 1:20 PM
Flight leaves at 3:20 PM

Lufthansa flight 455, from SFO to Frankfurt Int’l (departs 3:20 PM on the 20th; arrives 10:10 AM on the 21st)

Lufthansa flight 3844, from Frankfurt Int’l to Rome Fiumicino (departs 12:25 PM on the 21st; arrives 2:10 PM)


Rome: Sunday, March 21st through Wednesday, March 24th
(The Pantheon, the Coliseum, the Vatican, and more!)
Arrive in Rome at 2:10 PM on Sunday, the 21st
Lodging: Alessandro Downtown, Via C. Cattaneo, 23, Roma
Tel: 06-44340147

Sorrento: Wednesday, March 24th through Saturday, March 27th
(Pompei, the Amalfi coast, and Napoli!)
Arrive in Sorrento late in the afternoon on March 24th
Lodging: Hostel Le Sirene, Via degli Aranci, 160, Sorrento
Tel: 081 807 2925 - Fax 081 877 1371

Florence: Saturday, March 27th through the very early morning of Thursday, April 1st
(The Duomo, the Uffizi, a day trip to Siena, and more!)
Arrive in Florence on the night of Saturday, March 27th
Lodging: Hotel Merlini, Via Faenza, 56, Florence
Tel: 055 212848

Travel Day: Thursday, April 1st (a.k.a. Roz’s birthday!)
Leave Florence at 6:35 AM
Arrive home to SFO at 12:05 PM

Lufthansa flight 4067, from Florence Peretola to Frankfurt Int’l (departs 6:35 AM; arrives 8:15 AM)
Lufthansa flight 454, from Frankfurt Int’l to SFO (departs 9:55 AM; arrives 12:05 PM)

NOTE: the prefix for dialing Italy from the States is 011 (which is for all int'l calls) and 39 (which is Italy's country code). Does it seem like some phone numbers have more digits than others? They do! It’s OK.