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ITINERARY: 2008 Schedule of Activities
Heart of the Mediterranean - JUNE 27 - JULY 16, 2008
1 Day before my trip (THURSDAY, JUNE 26)
FRIDAY, JUNE 27
Depart for Malta
- Meet your delegation and board your international overnight flight to Europe.
SATURDAY, JUNE 28
Home Stay, Malta
- Welcome to Europe! After arrival at the airport your Delegation Manager and coach driver will greet you!
- Overnight at your Maltese home stay family.
Day 1-2 (FRIDAY, JUNE 27 & SATURDAY, JUNE 28) Journal Entries
SUNDAY, JUNE 29
Home Stay, Malta
- After your arrival on the island of Comino you can either stay on the boat or you can explore Comino itself and relax on one of the rocky beaches. Take a dip in the clear, blue water!
- After lunch you have again some time to enjoy the clear blue sea of the Blue Lagoon!
- Overnight at your Maltese home stay family.
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Picture of Camino Island - in Malta Comino (Maltese: Kemmuna) is an island of the Maltese archipelago between the islands of Malta and Gozo in the Mediterranean Sea,Comino is noted for its tranquility and isolation. Comino is a bird sanctuary and nature reserve. |
Its rugged coastline is delineated by sheer limestone cliffs, and dotted with deep caves which were popular with pirates and marauders in the Middle Ages. The caves and coves of Comino were frequently used as staging posts for raids on hapless boats crossing between Malta and Gozo. |
Between Comino and adjacent islet of Cominotto (Maltese: Kemmunett) lie the transparent, cyan waters of the Blue Lagoon (Maltese: Bejn il-Kmiemen, literally "Between the Cominos"). Frequented by large numbers of tourists and tour boats daily, the Blue Lagoon is a much photographed, picturesque bay, with a brilliant white, sandy base, and a rich marine life that make it popular with divers, snorkelers and swimmers |
Day 3 (SUNDAY, JUNE 29) Journal Entries
MONDAY, JUNE 30
Home Stay, Malta
- At the GAIA Foundation join a workshop consisting of open-air voluntary work and a guided tour of an indigenous nursery. You will be given a speech about "How To Be an Eco-Citizen" and a certificate of attendance.
- Enjoy a guided orientation of the capital of Malta, Valletta, which is surrounded on three sides by water and was once a mighty fortress, built by the Knights of Malta. You will visit the St. John's Cathedral and the Upper Barracca Gardens.
- At Badger Karting in Ta' Qali take part in a competition, consisting of 6-minute practice run each and a qualifying session. A final 10-minute race will be organized and the first 3 winners get a trophy!
- Overnight at your Maltese home stay family.
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Valletta (Maltese: Belt Valletta or Città Umillisima) is the capital city of Malta. The city has a population of 6,315 (official estimate for 2005). It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, where Scebberras Hill juts out into the surrounding harbours.
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St John's Co-CathedralThe Church was designed by the Maltese military architect Glormu Cassar who designed several of the more prominent buildings in Valletta. |
Grand Harbour (in Maltese: Il-Port il-Kbir) is a natural harbour on the island of Malta. It has been used as a harbour since at least Phoenician times. The natural harbour has been greatly improved with extensive docks and wharves, and has been massively fortified. |
Day 4 (MONDAY, JUNE 30) Journal Entries
TUESDAY, JULY 1
Siracusa, Italy
- Enjoy an Educational Meeting about a typical product of this beautiful island of Sicily.
- Enjoy a relaxing walk with your delegation manager through Ortigia, the old part of Siracusa.
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Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. |
Syracuse (Italian: Siracusa, Sicilian: Sarausa, Classical Greek: Συρακοῦσαιῦσαι / transliterated: Syrakousai) is a historic city in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Syracuse. The city is noted for its rich Greek history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture and association to Archimedes, playing an important role in ancient times as one of the top powers of the Mediterranean world |
Day 5 (TUESDAY, JULY 1) Journal Entries
WEDNESDAY, JULY 2
Siracusa, Italy
- Experience one of the largest active volcanoes in the world when you journey to Mount Etna (10,902 feet). The ancient Romans thought that the mountain was the forge of the god of fire, Vulcan.
- Take part in an educational meeting about the Mount Etna - the history, the geological background and the characteristics of this still active volcano.
- Discover one of the most magnificent and popular towns of Sicily: Taormina. Set on a steep hill overlooking the sea, Taormina offers incredible views of Europe's most active volcano: Mount Etna.
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Mount Etna (also known as Muncibeddu in Sicilian and Mongibello in Italian, a combination of Latin mons and Arabic gibel, both meaning mountain |
Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is in an almost constant state of eruption. The fertile volcanic soils support extensive agriculture, with vineyards and orchards spread across the lower slopes of the mountain and the broad Plain of Catania to the south. Due to its history of recent activity and nearby population, Mount Etna has been designated a Decade Volcano by the United Nations. |
Mount Etna viewed from the air |
Day 6 (WEDNESDAY, JULY 2) Journal Entries
THURSDAY, JULY 3
Cefalu, Italy
- Visit a typical Sicilian Pottery and learn about the process of the fabrication of ceramics. Caltagirone is one of the most famous villages in Sicily known for artistic pottery!
- Have you ever seen an Experimental Fruit Garden? Well, now you will! Learn about Cherries, peaches, kiwis, pear, apricots and other exciting fruits that grow in Sicily.
- Enjoy a city walk with your Delegation Manager through the seaside town of Cefalu. The town is dominated by a massive rock, once the site of the Temple of Diana.
Day 7 (THURSDAY, JULY 3) Journal Entries
FRIDAY, JULY 4
Cefalu, Italy
- Enjoy a very special PTP Activity with students from the area. Get to know the local customs and their special way of living.
- Your Delegation Manager will take you on a walk through Erice, a medieval mountain fortress. Tiny cobblestone streets wind through the town, with numerous shops and pastry stores.(CANCELLED DUE TO HEAVY TRAFFIC)
- Enjoy a guided visit of Segesta with its ruins of a massive Greek temple - one of the most impressive Greek ruins outside of Greece.
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Temple of Segesta - On a hill just outside the site of the ancient city of Segesta lies an unusually well preserved doric temple. It was built sometime in the late 5th century BC and has 6×14 columns on a base measuring 21×56m and being three steps high. Several things suggest that the temple was never actually finished. |
The columns have not been fluted like they normally would have been in a Doric temple and there are still tabs present in the blocks of the base (used for lifting the blocks into place but then normally removed). It also lacks a cella and was never roofed over. The temple is also unusual for being a Hellenic temple in a city not mainly populated by Greeks. |
The theatre is in a beautiful place, in the top of a mountain, from which site a vast and scenic panorama can be seen to the north. |
Day 8 (FRIDAY, JULY 4) Journal Entries
SATURDAY, JULY 5
Overnight ferry to Italian mainland
- Join a guided orientation through Palermo! The old centre, with its area of about 1 square mile, is one of the largest in Europe and also one of the richest and most varied. It contains over 500 palaces, churches, convents, monasteries and 7 theatres!
- Have the possibility to make Pizza on your own! Enjoy an educational meeting in a real Italian Pizzeria.
- Have fun and have a thrilling time on the beach of the wonderful coast of Sicily, the Mondello Beach!
- Departure of your overnight ferry to Naples, situated on the Italian mainland.
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Day 9 (SATURDAY, JULY 5) Journal Entries
SUNDAY, JULY 6
Rome, Italy
- Visit the ancient city of Pompeii, Vesuvius' most famous victim. When the mountain erupted in AD 79, it rained ash and stone and completely destroyed and buried the city.
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The city of Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many smaller places around the Bay of Naples, were Roman municipalities destroyed during an eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. .
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Pompeii Ruins Temple |
Pompeii Street |
Day 10 (SUNDAY, JULY 6) Journal Entries
MONDAY, JULY 7
Rome, Italy
- Some of Rome's most popular highlights are waiting for you: your guide will take you through the Coliseum and the Roman Forum. The city of Rome with its antique monuments and religious sites has been UNESCO World Heritage since 1980.
- Today you will visit the capital of Catholicism and the world's smallest state, the Vatican! Admire St. Peter’s cathedral, including Michelangelo's glorious Pieta and the Sistine Chapel.
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Vatican City is a city-state. It came into existence only in 1929. It is thus clearly distinct from the central authority of the Roman Catholic Church, known as the Holy See, which existed long before 1929. |
Day 11 (MONDAY, JULY 7) Journal Entries
TUESDAY, JULY 8
Montecatini, Italy
- Continue with a city exploration in the way of a Riddle Rally including Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. Bring some coins - tossing a coin in the fountain will ensure your return to Rome!
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Trevi Fountain - Rome Italy Tradition has it that throwing a coin over your left shoulder into the fountain guarantees a swift return to the world's most beautiful city. Anita Ekberg's dip in it was immortalized in Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita, and Italian actor Toto even sold it to an American, passing himself off as its owner. Earlier it was the setting for the award-winning Three Coins in the Fountain motion picture, ensuring its popularity worldwide. Designed by Nicola Salvi for Pope Clemente XII, it was completed in the second half of the 18th Century. The statues in the center represent Neptune supported by Tritons on either side while rococo-style Poli Palace provides the perfect backdrop. |
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Day 12 (TUESDAY, JULY 8) Journal Entries
WEDNESDAY, JULY 9
Montecatini, Italy
- Be inspired by some of the best examples of Romanesque architecture in Italy when travelling to Pisa. You will see one of the most famous buildings in Europe; the Leaning Tower.
- Pay a visit to the Accademia Gallery, which houses Michelangelo's colossal statue, David.
- Now your guide will take you for a walk through the city of Florence, passing by the Duomo and the bronze doors to the Baptistery, known as the Gate to Paradise.
- Take some time on your own to breathe in the flair of the city. Your parents and friends would certainly enjoy receiving a postcard from Florence!
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The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italian: Torre pendente di Pisa) or simply The Tower of Pisa (La Torre di Pisa) is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa. It is situated behind the cathedral and is the third oldest structure in Pisa's Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square) after the cathedral and the baptistry.
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Although intended to stand vertically, the tower began leaning to the southeast soon after the onset of construction in 1173 due to a poorly laid foundation and loose substrate that has allowed the foundation to shift direction. The tower presently leans to the southwest. |
The tower has 296 or 294 steps; the seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing staircase. The tower leans at an angle of 3.97 degrees |
Day 13 (WEDNESDAY, JULY 9) Journal Entries
THURSDAY, JULY 10
Nice, France
- Discover how candies are made in the south of France. A Challenge is waiting for you: try to recognize the different flavors of the candies!
Day 14 (THURSDAY, JULY 10) Journal Entries
FRIDAY, JULY 11
Nice, France
- Discover the beautiful French Riviera during a guided orientation of Cannes, famous for its film festival, and Nice, the largest resort town on the Mediterranean coast, also considered as the capital of the Cote d'Azur (Blue Coast).
- Enjoy a guided orientation of Monaco, famous for its Royal family - the Grimaldis, the world's oldest monarchy - and its Grand Prix racetrack. Did you know that Monaco occupies an area smaller than that of New York's Central Park?
- Time to have some fun together! Let's go bowling! Enjoy this special moment!
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The French Riviera (French: Côte d'Azur, Occitan: Còsta Azzura) is one of the most famous resort areas in the world, extending along the Mediterranean Sea west from Menton near the Italian border, including the cities and towns of Monaco, Nice, Antibes, and Cannes. |
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Day 15 (FRIDAY, JULY 11) Journal Entries
SATURDAY, JULY 12
Lyon, France
- Today you will have an Educational Meeting in the Center for History of Resistance and Deportation, whose purpose is to preserve our memory of the tumultuous past of Europe. (CANCELLED DUE TO HEAVY TRAFFIC CAUSED BY BESTILE DAY)
Day 16 (SATURDAY, JULY 12) Journal Entries
SUNDAY, JULY 13
Paris, France
- Visit the historic Montmartre area, a haven for artists and writers before WWI. Marvel at the white Basilique du Sacre Coeur, which is the second highest point in Paris. Take some time to discover this area's treasures in small groups.
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Paris (pronounced /ˈpærɨs/ in English; is the capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the River Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region (also known as the "Paris Region"; French: Région parisienne). |
The Sacré-Cœur Basilica (French: Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, "Basilica of the Sacred Heart") is a Roman Catholic basilica and popular landmark in Paris, France, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilique_du_Sacr%C3%A9-C%C5%93ur,_Paris |
The stairs of Rue de Mont Cenis. Montmartre is a hill which is 130 metres high, and also the name of the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank, primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district |
Day 17 (SUNDAY, JULY 13) Journal Entries
MONDAY, JULY 14/ Bestile Day!
- Enjoy a guided exploration of one of the most important art collections in the world, the famous Musee du Louvre. You will visit the principal parts of the museum - including a look at Leonardo's masterpiece, Mona Lisa.
- Voila Paris! A French guide will now join you for an orientation of the city Ernest Hemingway called "a moveable feast".
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Mona Lisa (also known as La Gioconda) is a 16th century portrait painted in oil on a poplar panel by Leonardo Da Vinci during the Italian Renaissance. The work is owned by the French government and hangs in the Musée du Louvre in Paris, France with the title Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo |
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Day 18 (MONDAY, JULY 14/ Bestile Day!) Journal Entries
TUESDAY, JULY 15
Paris, France
- Explore the magnificent Chateau de Versailles, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, on your own. Built during the reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King, it was the seat of the royal court from 1682 to 1789, when the French Revolution put an end to the monarchy.
- Admire a dazzling view of Paris! There's only one place to go: take the elevator up to the top of the Eiffel Tower (899 feet) which was built for the 1889 World's Fair to commemorate the French Revolution.
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The Eiffel Tower (French: Tour Eiffel, /tuʀ ɛfɛl/) is an iron tower built on the Champ de Mars beside the Seine River in Paris. The tower has become a global icon of France and is one of the most recognizable structures in the world. |
The Palace of Versailles, or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles, France. In French, it is known as the Château de Versailles. When the château was built, Versailles was a country village; today, however, it is a suburb of Paris. From 1682, when King Louis XIV moved from Paris, until the royal family was forced to return to the capital in 1789, the Court of Versailles was the centre of power in Ancien Régime France. Versailles is therefore famous not only as a building, but as a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy that Louis XIV espoused. |
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Day 19 (TUESDAY, JULY 15) Journal Entries
WEDNESDAY, JULY 16
Depart from Paris for the United States
- Say goodbye to Europe! Have a nice flight back home!
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