Day 1
Rome, Italy
Saturday, 10.6.2011
Depart Easter Iowa Airport
Arrive Charles DeGaul International Airport, Italy
Our journey to Chicago was uneventful. Those that had not traveled much or may not have flown before did a great job.
When we arrived at O'Hare we made our way to Terminal 3, Gate H15. We ended up parking ourselves in a corner, short meeting and then off for a snack. Roger suggested that maybe not have lunch but wait for the other group to get their and then eat. We played cards, visited, napped, etc. until the other group arrived.
The Southeast delegation and Waterloo delegation didn't end up getting there until 12:00, about an hour late, delayed in Cedar Rapids.
Following their arrival everyone headed to lunch, we encouraged them to mix a bit, a few did. :)
We still were not a full delegation of 39 until John arrived. He was pretty much on time from St. Louis and now we are whole.
After a bit to eat we continued to rest and get to know each other. At about 4:20 we boarded our American Airline jet that would take us to Rome. Everyone is soooooo excited. Our delegation was pretty much grouped together aside from Ryan and McKenna. They were actually up in another section so Roger and Tracy switched wit them on the flight over. Deb and Sharon, other two leaders were back with them in the middle of the plane.
Roger actually slept about 3 hours on the way over, unusual. I am not sure how much sleep everyone else was able to get with the excitement of the journey still ahead.
Of course we had a couple of meals on the plane, actually not to bad. (Only thing missing was good coffee!!! Roger needs his coffee in the morning, he is sort of a coffee snob!!!) :)
Italy
Italy stretches from the alps, o its Norther borders with Switzerland and Austria, down a thin peninsula to the Mediterranean in the South. Few countries can compete with Italy for its sheer wealth of art and architecture, not to mention music, literature, the culinary arts, fashion, and contemporary design. Ancient Roman ruins – the Colosseum, the Pantheon,, the buried Roman City of Pompeii – and the Greek temples in Paestum and Sicily, stand I stark contrast to the beautiful lagoon – city of Venice and the renaissance works of art in Florence and Tuscany. The country's landscape varies dramatically, from the alpine heights of the Dolomites and the Italian lakes I the north, tot he olive groves and vineyards of the Tuscan and Umbrain countryside. The Italian peninsula is every popular for its bathing beaches, and more rugged beauty is to be found in the South, and on the islands of Sardinia and Sicily.
Italy was the seat of the Roman Empire two thousand years ago. From the end of the 2nd century AD the Capital city became the seat of the popes, and the most powerful center of the Roman Catholic Church in the western world. From the 9th century, Venice grew rich from trade in spices and precious stones from the East, becoming one of the greatest maritime powers of all time. Italy's economic and cultural Golden Age came after the 15th and early 16th centuries, with the production of consumer goods on a grand scale, and generous patronage of the arts. The country has weathered much political turbulence over the centuries, and it was not until 1860 that the clever politics of Mazzini and Cavour, and the heroic deeds of Garibaldi, finally unified the country. After a long period of political and financial uncertainty in the mid - 20th century, Italy is presently enjoying a period of optimism. Milan, the country's industrial and commercial center, is flourishing, and tourism continues to bring a sound source of revenue.
Throughout Italy, beautiful churches, palaces, paintings, and sculpture testify to the artistic importance of the Italian Renaissance in the 15th century. This “rebirth” of classical art, which had its origins in Florence, produced some of the finest and most celebrated artists in the world, including Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, Donatello, and Boticelli. The Roman poet Virgil wrote the “Aeneid” around 30 BC, while Dante Alighieri's masterpiece 'The Divine Comedy”, written in the 1300's, helped the Italian language to become the most prominent literary form in Europe. Mozart's librettist Lorenzo da Ponte successfully helped to merge Italian literature with music in the form of opera. Italy has produced a number of leading musical composers, from Scarlatti and Vivaldi in the early 18th century to the great 19th century composers of opera, Rossini and Verdi. Creativity is still strong in the present-day Italy, with a constant flow of eminent names emerging, particularly in fashion and in cinema. Many great fashion designers, such as Armani, Versace, and Valentino, have kept Italy's profile high, while Italian film studio have produced some excellent films over the last 40 years, notably under the direction of Visconti, Pasolini, Fellini, and Bertolucci.
Italy
Food and Drink
Italian food is now growing in popularity, after long languishing in the shadow of the French cuisine (in any case, the Italian claim that many classic “French” dishes were, in fact, introduced to the French court from Italy when Catherine de'Medicis married Henry II of France in 1535). Every region of Italy has its own cuisine, though certain dishes – such as “spaghetti alla Bolognese” (pasta with beef and tomato sauce) and minestrone soup (originally from Tuscany and made with vegetables, beans, and herbs) have become stapes of Italian home cooking throughout the peninsula.
Coffee is the almost universal Italian breakfast, drunk strong, dark, and sweet as “espresso” or with milk as “caffe latte”, and accompanied by bread or a sweet cake. “Salami” (cured port sausages or Parma Ham) is a popular lunch-time snack, with fresh bread, tomatoes, and fruit. Fast food consists of delicious fresh-baked pizza with bewildering choice of toppings, or the savory flat bread known as “focaccia”. An any-time treat is “gelato” (ice cream) – Italians claim that they make the best in the world.
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