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Italy 2023 Day 11

21 Mar

Ciao ragazzi! Oggi è una giornata dolceamara (today is a bitter sweet day). The dreaded day has finally arrived, our last one in Italy. We only have mere hours left before we have to board our flight, which will take us from sun and +15 to snow and -4. Sigh. All good things must come to end though, right? It is shocking how quickly this trip flew by, as it seems just yesterday we landed in Rome and were eager to get our explorations started. It’s been a whirlwind of walking, crowds, amazing history, bus rides and changing hotels. Excited and fun, but exhausting.

Alright, we’re in the air now, 7.5 hours out of Toronto. We left Rome about 25 minutes late, so hopefully that doesn’t cause us too many issues on the other end as we have a tight turnaround in Toronto for our flight home. They just served lunch, which consisted of chick peas, chicken with tomato sauce, I think polenta and sadly no dessert, as we have a nut allergy in the vicinity. They said they’d try and find an alternative, so we’ll see what happens. It wasn’t bad overall, though the gentleman in front of me has decided to recline his seat, which made eating it these tight confines even more challenging.

As on the last flight, the entree was scorching hot (I used it to melt my frozen butter), which ironically contrasts with the temperature in the cabin, which is ridiculously frigid. I’m never usually cold, but I am absolutely freezing. I’ve busted out the blanket, so maybe I can stay warm enough to sleep at some point. It would be nice to catch up on my sleep, but I don’t want to snooze too long that I can’t get to bed tonight…ah, the first world problems of flying!

So fast forward a bit, and we’re more than halfway through the flight (according to the map we’re over Greenland). I was so cold, I went into my bag, which the other chaperones have nicknamed “Big Bertha Battistel,” and dug out my jacket. It’s at least keeping me reasonably warm though there’s still a cold draft. I’m still squished though, which does raise an interesting question, to recline or not to recline? I prefer not to recline, even though it may be slightly more comfortable. There is absolutely no room back here in steerage class and moving the seat back makes it even more claustrophobic. But that’s just me.

Back in Canada. We’re now sitting at our gate waiting for the flight to Thunder Bay. The rest of the flight was rather anticlimactic, though my entertainment screen bit the dust in the last few hours. I just filled in the voucher they gave me and I now have 15% my next flight…not too shabby! Before we landed they served our snack, which was either chicken or veggie baked pie heated to 6000 degrees Celsius. It wasn’t terrible, but I’ll be glad to have something to eat at home. Unfortunately they came around with a nut-free brownie for those of us who didn’t get one with the meal, but because I was asleep, they forgot all about me.

We’re all home now…what a long day! Our flight to Thunder Bay left and arrived on time. It was great to see all the families waiting for their kids to arrive back from Europe, tired, but happy to be home. I too am happy to be home, though it is a tad bit cooler here than it was in Italy. Anyway, I’m going to sign off for today. I’ll be back in a few days with some reflections on another student trip that is now in the books. Until then…

Team Battistel & friends, March 2023.
 
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Posted by on March 21, 2023 in History, Travel

 

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Italy 2023 Day 2

12 Mar

“Are you ready kids? Aye, aye captain!” Our captain will definitely ask, and we will respond in the affirmative. We are ready to go! Haha, oh the irony. I’m sure there are some folks reading this that will have no idea what I’m referring to, but the kids will get it. Maybe you need to live in a pineapple under the sea 😉

Okay, we are all boarded and about to leave the gate. We managed to get the students shuffled around the cabin and sitting with their friends for the most part. We are situated mid-plane, right above the wing. Hopefully I’m able to get a good shot of the sun coming up as we zip across the ocean toward Europe, chasing the dawn. After I get some sleep that is. Right now it is stifling hot in here, but it will definitely cool down when we get to altitude. We are starting our taxi, so I’ll check in after supper…I wonder what we’re eating?

Well that was interesting. I was absolutely starving when we finally got our food, as it is now 10:10 local time and I last ate at 1:30. So we had the option of chicken or pasta, so took the chicken. Besides the entree, we were given a small container of potato salad, bread, butter, cheese and a brownie. It wasn’t terrible, but certainly not filling. The chicken was some sort of pot pie? that included potato, corn and peas; it looked awful and was heated to the same temperature as the surface of the sun. Thankfully my seat buddy, Kim, gave me her bread and butter, and scammed me another cheese. And then I ate an energy bar too! So I feel better now, and hopefully can get some shut eye. See you in the morning. 

Good Sunday morning kids, or more appropriately, Buongiorno Ragazzi! It’s now 9:00 local time and we are currently over the UK. I mostly slept after supper, which is a good thing, so I feel remotely human, though you need to be a contortionist at times. The accommodations here in steerage class leave much to be desired. So, quick update, we are now almost at the Swiss border as I had to take a break to brush my teeth and eat breakfast, which consisted over a yogurt, croissant and water. Better than nothing I guess, but I never object to a yogurt. We will be landing soon, since we’re supposed to arrive at 10:45. The flight seemed to go by very quickly, and we are eager to hit the ground in Rome, though I could really go for a shower.

It’s now 5:00 local time and I finally have some time to sit. After we landed, we had a bit of a journey to get through customs, collect our bags and meet our Tour Director Kent in the concourse. Then we boarded a bus which brought us downtown for a walking tour of Rome. We started near the Ponte Sant’Angelo to the Piazza Navonna, where we stopped for a bite to eat. From there it was to the Pantheon, which was built during the Roman period and is the longest continually used building in the world. Then it was off to the Trevi Fountain, which was an absolute zoo, since it’s Sunday and there was plenty of people out and about. Now we’re waiting for a pizza supper after quite the hike from the fountain.

At the hotel now, showered and changed. Sweet Jesus that was one of the best showers of my life…I feel like a new man! I’m sitting in the lobby right now as I wait for the first of many chaperone meetings where we’ll have a chance to discuss today’s events and plan ahead for tomorrow before we do rooms check to make sure the kids are all settled in for the evening. I’m still beat though, as that was a lot to take in for two days. My feet are still killing me, so hopefully they feel better by the morning. 

On a good note, I’m full. Supper was awesome! I’ll have to get the name of the restaurant (Trattoria Polese), but the pizzas were fantastic and they brought as many as you wanted with salad. The margarita was okay, but I particularly enjoyed the prosciutto. Fingers crossed the meals will continue to be this good the rest of the trip. Anyway, I should wrap things up for today so I can be fresh for tomorrow’s adventure, which will take us to Ardeatine Cave and the Roman Forum and Colosseum. Until then…

Vatican, March 2023.
Pantheon, March 2023.
Ponte Sant’Angelo, March 2023.
Trevi Fountain, March 2023.
Sunrise over the Atlantic, March 2023.
 
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Posted by on March 12, 2023 in History, Travel

 

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Italy 2023 Day 1

26 Feb

“This the day…Judah!” Judah? Well, I had the use the whole quote or I would be committing sacrilege. I know, I am dating myself with the reference to epic Hollywood movie Ben Hur, but I am a history teacher, so it’s par for the course. Hopefully Judah Ben-Hur was more rested for his big day than I am however.

Hey kids, it’s go time! I’m currently sitting at my kitchen table, doing my best to collect my thoughts on this day that was a long time in coming. Ben-Hur won his race that day; I’m desperately trying to keep the motor at least idling. The trip hasn’t even started and I’m tired. Unfortunately I didn’t have a good sleep last night. I went to bed early as I usually do (I am getting old you know), but I spent the night tossing and turning. Not sure why, possibly too many things spinning around my subconscious. Maybe I can steal a nap here or there today, but if not, lets hope I can sleep on the plane…I’m not holding my breath though. Regardless, I am ready to go. My suitcase is packed and so is my carryon. I just need to do the last minute check and make sure everything is copacetic. Speaking of which, I should get on that.

Alright, so we’re now in the air; it will be nice leaving behind the -13C temperatures at home this morning for, fingers crossed, warmer places. It was a bit chaotic at the airport, especially getting through security. There were several flights leaving around the same time, so the line ups were rather large for our small airport. Anywho, at least that is behind us and we won’t have to worry about a major queue until we have to go through customs in Rome. Speaking of Rome, I have already been in touch with our Tour Director Kent and everything is ready for our arrival. Fingers crossed we will leave on time from Toronto.

Waiting, waiting. So, a seven hour layover is quite a long time. It’s now 4:00 and there’s still 4 hours until our flight leaves. But I guess it’s better this way than running for the plane…like we did the last time. The chaperones ate some lunch and had some together while the kids explored the terminal. Now we’re hanging out at the gate waiting to meet up with the group so we can move to the correct one (I love playing the moving gate game). The airport is quite busy, which is expected since it is the Saturday of March Break. The flight is currently on time, so hopefully it stays that way.

It’s about that time I guess. Shortly they will be boarding the plane for our flight to Italy. The kids seem to be taking this long layover in stride, playing games, talking and making friends. I’m going to sign off for now and pick things up when we’re in the air. Those musings will appear on tomorrow’s post. Until then…

The crew at Pearson, March 2023.
 
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Posted by on February 26, 2023 in History, Travel

 

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Europe 2019 Day 10

18 Mar

Good morning kids, or rather, sad morning kids. That’s it, we’re done. I’m sitting here in the lobby, trying to stay awake and realizing that our adventure is over. Years of planning and anticipation have come to end in a heartbeat. The worst part is that it is a bright and sunny morning, so it makes our departure that more difficult to bear.

I’m not going to lie…I’m beat. These trips are great, but they take a lot out of you. Even though I slept well, it was tough to get out of bed this morning. Obviously the late night did not help matters. I know, here I am complaining about being tired after 10 days in Europe, while my colleagues get ready to go back to work. Poor Dave. That being said, they didn’t spend the time and energy planning the trip and actually executing it. Whatever, I’ll do it again in a quick minute, and I will!

So to add to the misery of leaving, our flight to Toronto is delayed. There was a fire at Pearson, so it has had a domino effect on flights. We were supposed to leave at 11:30, but now it looks like 2:00. The problem with that is we likely will not make our connection to Thunder Bay, since that will only leave us 20 minutes between our arrival and the departure of the next plane. I’ve never experienced this, so it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Alright, so we’re now “comfortably” ensconced at the gate, patiently waiting for our flight to leave. Only 3.5 hours to go! What the heck are we going to do for all that time? Sweet Jesus…I just want to go home. This is seriously testing my OCD. I’ve been abandoned by my group too, left all alone with everyone’s belongings. Air Canada graciously gave us 12€ to spend at McDonald’s, Starbucks, EXKI, Brioche Doree and some other place. Hmmmmmm, how much will that buy us in overpriced airport shops? Probably a bottle of water and that’s it, but I guess I’ll need to find out for myself. I will need to eat soon, as breakfast was once again terrible.

Okay, so hopefully we will be able to board our flight in the next hour. I took my voucher and surprisingly was able to buy a decent lunch. Who would have thunk? A baguette with ham and cheese, a strawberry yogurt dessert and water cost 11€30. Not bad. On the flight front, we are now scheduled to arrive at 5:03, which leaves us 30 minutes to make our next flight. That isn’t enough time, but I’m hopeful since we take up the whole plane, that they will hold it for us.

Team Battistel, March 2019.

In the air now, Toronto bound. We’re stuck at the very back again, however my row only has two seats, so Gibby and I have a bit more elbow room. The moving map on the plane tells me we should arrive at 4:48, so let’s hope we can make our flight to Thunder Bay. Maybe as I mentioned earlier they will hold the plane rather than trying to get 48 people on another flight. Fingers crossed. They’re working on lunch, supper or whatever you call this meal. I wonder what’s on the menu? The one on the way here wasn’t bad, so let’s hope we get something similar. I’ll be back after I eat and have a nap with my review. Stay tuned.

The “meal” and a nap are in the books. So, again I’m impressed…that’s two in a row Air Canada! We were served what I think was BBQ Chicken with carrots, mashed potatoes with corn, bread and a cookie. I passed on the quinoa. In my opinion, it was better than some of the meals we had in Europe, but that’s just me. Now just to sit here and stew until we land in Toronto, staring at our arrival time, which is now 4:54. Hopefully I don’t pick up some strain of the plague while I’m at it; the guy to my right back across the aisle has been hacking up a lung the entire flight!

Thunder Bay here we come! Obviously we made it, but it was quite the ordeal. We landed at 4:52, and quickly found out that our flight home had been delayed. I have a sneaky suspicion that it had everything to do with us, since I as already described we are 60% of the seats on the plane. We had to hustle from the gate to customs, and it appears they opened a special area for people from our flight. Then due to construction, we had to take a bus to our domestic gate. We arrived about 20 minutes before our 6:00 departure. Whew! If anything, we did a lot of running for our flights on this trip…the kids won’t forget this too soon!

Elbow partners, March 2019.

Home sweet home…what a long day! It’s only 9:30, but my body knows it’s really 2:30. Throw on top of that some stress from the flights and I’m completely drained. It’s going to take a few days for me to totally recover from the trip. I’ll be back in a few days with some reflections from our journey. Until then…

 
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Posted by on March 18, 2019 in History, Travel

 

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Europe 2019 Day 2

10 Mar

Hey kids, welcome to Day 2. Thanks to the miracle of air travel, we’re now on a different continent! Hello Europe! We’ve now touched the western coast Ireland, and are less than two hours from Munich. Yay! I just reached over my elbow partner Logan to snap a picture of dawn breaking. They never turn out as well as they look.

Chasing dawn off Ireland, March 2019.

So that was the good news, now for the bad news. Well, I can’t move my neck properly and I’m running on about two hours “sleep.” I guess if you can call the few hours of spine-crushing, contorted misery I just did sleep. However, I just realized something. I write much better and am way wittier operating on fumes. Or at least I think I do; we’ll see when I read this back at some point.

I think they’ll be serving breakfast soon. Hmmmm, what’s on that menu. It’s continental, so probably not much. I remember getting banana bread and water one time. Sounds about right. Anyway, I’ll be back once we’re on our flight to Berlin.

Alright, on our way to Berlin. Boy do I have a story for you! First, the rest of the flight to Munich was uneventful. I did call the banana bread breakfast. It was pretty good, though not chocolate chip banana bread good. Anyway, we landed on time and made our way off the plane as quickly as we could. That’s when the fun started.

As I mentioned earlier, I was worried about the time between our flights. If I thought Thunder Bay to Toronto was tight, fate said “hold my beer.” We only had about 50 minutes to get to our next flight, and there was a massive line at customs. I didn’t time it, but it took us more than 30 minutes to get through the queue. Then we had to take a shuttle to the gate, and literally run to make it there. What a gong show! When we finally got there, and thankfully they held the plane, one of the Lufthansa people said us “What took you so long? Your plane landed an hour ago!” Uh, we have to get off the plane and through customs. Hello!

Anyway, we’re on our way with everyone in tow. I don’t know about anyone else, but I need a shower. I am sweaty and gross! Problem is we can’t check into the hotel yet, so hopefully we can fresh up somewhere. I’m beat too. The running and stress take a lot out of you, oh and the lack of sleep too. Oh well, we’re in Europe instead of snowy Thunder Bay, so we’ll make the best of it.

In Berlin, March 2019.

Leaving the Berlin airport, March 2019.

Our method of transport for the day was the train, which I’m sure was an experience for some of our students. The only issue unfortunately was the weather. It started drizzling when we landed, and continued as we left the hotel. I did stop for a bit, but then came down even harder. Definitely not one of the best weather days I’ve had in Europe.

If you’re wondering where we went and what we saw, I’ll tell you. We took the train from our hotel, which is located in the southeast of the city, to the centre of old East Berlin, Alexanderplatz. Riding European public transit is so different than in Canada. Anyway, from Alexanderplatz, we did a walking tour of the area, stopping at many historic sites, including the Holocaust Memorial. My favourite was definitely the Brandenburg Gate, but sadly it was raining so hard that we didn’t linger very long. We all were hungry and cold, and really wanted some food and to get out of the rain.

Catholic Church, March 2019.

Konzerthaus Berlin, March 2019.

Holocaust Memorial, March 2019.

Brandenburg Gate, March 2019.

Dinner was at a restaurant called the Hopfingerbräu. The meal was meh; 3 sausage links, some sort of meatball shaped like a hamburger patty and some potato salad concoction. I ate the first two, but was disappointed like others were that the potato was cold and didn’t taste very good. Dessert was something akin to a black forest trifle which I thought was good, but then again I like Black Forest cake.

Anyway, I’m going to wrap things up as I’m sore and utterly exhausted. We have a busy day tomorrow and we might get snow flurries…seriously? I thought we left that crap behind! I need some shuteye, so I’ll be back in the morning. Until then…

 
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Posted by on March 10, 2019 in History, Travel

 

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Europe 2019 Day 1

09 Mar

Hey kids, today is the the day! I know this isn’t my usual introduction, but it is a special circumstance. This time tomorrow morning, we’ll be in Munich on our way to Berlin. For my part, there is a lot of nervous excitement. Even though this is my fourth trip, I still stress a bit about all the little details.

I just got back from a 4.5k walk with Luna; the morning couldn’t have been more beautiful. You can tell that spring is on the way. The temperature is near zero and the sun is shining brightly. I actually had to start stripping of some layers as I was overheating. They are calling for some snow today into tomorrow, but hopefully with mild temperatures next week it will go away quick and work on the mountains we already have.

Late winter morning, March 2019.

So I think I’m ready to go. Yesterday I checked everyone in and printed all the boarding passes. I’m pretty much packed with just a few minor things to tuck away. We’re meeting at the airport at 3pm, but our flight doesn’t leave until 5pm, so it’s like my old army days-hurry up and wait. Anyway, I’ll check in again once we’re on our way to Toronto.

Alright, so we’re in the air on our way to YYZ. Unfortunately we’re 15 minutes behind schedule, which isn’t a huge issue, but it means we only an hour between flights. We’re going to have to hustle to get to our next gate, which because of where we land at Terminal 1, is quite the hike. Wish us luck!

It was great to see the kids all excited as we waited to leave. Some have never been on a plane before, others have never gone this far. I can just imagine what an amazing experience this is for them. I think for the majority, this is the first time away from home without their parents. I’m trying to think about the time I travelled when I was in high school, what my emotions were, but sadly it was such a long time ago that I don’t remember those fine details.

Waiting for our flight, March 2019.

Waiting for our flight, March 2019.

Waiting for our flight, March 2019.

Waiting for our flight, March 2019.

Trip security, March 2019.

Somewhere over the lakes, March 2019.

Okay, we’re in the air and on our way to Munich. By the time we landed In Toronto and got off the plane, we had to rush like crazy to get to our gate. I knew the short time between flights was going to bite us, and it did. We made it okay, but the stress was not helpful. The flight is packed!

Now we left late, like 40 minutes late, so I have no idea how that is going to impact us when we arrive. According to our itinerary, we only had an hour to make our next flight, that is after clearing customs and security. I have a feeling we might not make our plane to Berlin; ugh, I hate all this rushing around! The pilot said we would be on time, so here’s hoping.

Well, they will be serving dinner soon, so maybe some food will soothe some of the frustration. I’m starving…I wonder what is on the menu? I guess it doesn’t matter, since by the time they get to us at the back, there won’t be any selection. Ah, the joys of steerage class!

Okay, so colour me surprised. Dinner was not too bad, and they had options when they got to me. Huh. Well, at least one thing went well. We had the option of chicken or pasta, so I took the chicken, which had some sort of cream sauce with potatoes and veggies. There was also potato salad I think, with bread and a brownie. Not five star, but it will definitely hold me over.

Anyway, I’m going to wrap things up. With the amazing power of technology, I can now post on the plane! Once that’s done, I’ll finish watching Bohemian Rapsody and then try and get some sleep. My next post will find us in the historic city of Berlin. Until then…

 

 
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Posted by on March 9, 2019 in History, Travel

 

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Vimy 2017 Day 2

06 Apr

Hey, hey kids! Sorry, I had to get a Krusty the Clown reference in there. Anywho, it’s Day 2! Thanks to the miracle of modern air travel and Sir Sandford Fleming all those years ago, it’s the next day. So I’m running on about 4 hours sleep, which means I have no idea how coherent my thoughts are, but whatever. I don’t get paid to write this.

Anyway, it’s 0700 local time, we’re just off the coast of Norway and 1100km from our destination. We certainly took a very adventurous route, not the usual more direct one. Normally we pass below Ireland, but this time our flight plan took us on a big sweeping arc to the north, over Greenland, Iceland and toward Germany from the northwest. I would assume the guys driving er flying the plane know what they are doing. I’m sure it’s not their first rodeo.

Morning over the North Sea, April 2017.

So I’m sitting here half awake waiting for breakfast to arrive. God I’m dying of thirst! I don’t feel too bad, as what little sleep I got wasn’t too horrible. The neck pillow really helped, though the accommodations here in steerage aren’t the greatest. You just can’t seem to get comfortable…my butt is sore! I guess we’ll be on be ground soon enough and I can stretch my legs and my posterior.

The kids are crazy hyper right now, probably since most of them haven’t really slept much. I’m sure they are driving everyone around us nuts with their teenager conversations. Maybe they’ll be happier with some breakfast. Apparently it’s the good ole standby, banana bread. Not that I don’t like banana bread, but it’s not my usual morning meal. Hold on, it’s cinnamon banana bread. Fancy. I guess it doesn’t matter, since I’m not really that hungry but rather thirsty. So I had myself like 6 or 7 Dr. Peppers…wait, wrong movie.

We’re on the ground now in Munich. Gluten tag! It was really nice to get off that airplane after 8 hours…it was getting a little stuffy. It was also nice to stretch my legs and get the blood going. I demolished a whole bottle of water; I guess I was thirsty. Anyway, Munich has a nice airport; very modern. The kids had a chance to get some food, look at the shops and relax.

Unfortunately when we landed we got some bad news. I received a text from the St. Ignatius group and their plane had to turn around 1.5 hours into the flight overseas. They were supposed to go to Frankfurt, and beat us to Amsterdam. Now we’re waiting to hear when they’ll meet up with us. Hopefully it won’t be too long. Our fingers are crossed.

Alright, we’re up in the air and on our way to Amsterdam. I think all of the hyper energy from before is passing into exhaustion. We have been going for more an 24 hours now, many of us with very little sleep. Some of the kids did grab some sleep in the airport, but I’m sure everyone will sleep much better tonight.

A frequent topic of conversation has been our agenda once we land. After retrieving our bags and meeting our Tour Director Jason, we are supposed to proceed to the hotel. Beyond that I had to tell the kids I did not know. Maybe something is happening before, after or in conjunction with dinner, but that’s up to Jason to decide. For myself it will be nice to get out of airports, breathe some fresh air and relax. Not that I will ever relax on this trip, but it makes me feel much better that we are almost at our destination. Well, they are coming with snacks and beverages (except for Zach, who managed to end up in business class and gets meal), so I’m shutting down for now.

Amsterdam airport, April 2017.

Amsterdam airport, April 2017.

Okay, so it’s almost time for bed. The last part of the day was a lot more relaxed and easy. So we’re all checked into the hotel and the kids are getting ready for lights out. Our hotel is literally 5 minutes from the airport, which made things very simple. It took us a bit to get checked in, but we’ve been spending a lot of time waiting the last few days anyway. The hotel is very nice, though the rooms are a bit tight. I know Mr. Marcon and I could use a bit more space in our room.

Amsterdam rooms, April 2017.

We had dinner in the hotel, which was very good. It was buffet style, which let the kids eat their fill. There was all kinds of salad, chicken, roasted potatoes and fish. Quite the spread! Desert was awesome too.

After dinner we had a chance, with our Tour Director Jason, to brief the kids on tomorrow’s agenda. The good news is that St. Ignatius finally made it to Europe, and should be here from Frankfurt very shortly. So we will leave the hotel after breakfast for a guided tour of Amsterdam in the morning. Following lunch, we will have a canal cruise which will take a few hours. Then there will be more walking and time for some shopping. Should be a nice day.

Hotel fountain, April 2017.

Anyway, I better get running. Our hotel has tons of EF travellers in it, so it will be an early morning and a busy breakfast. I’ll be back tomorrow with all the details. Until then…

 
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Posted by on April 6, 2017 in History, Travel

 

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Vimy 2017 Day 1

06 Apr

So here we are…Day One. Hours from departure. I’m at home getting all the last minute packing done before I head over to the airport.

I am so unbelievably nervous. If you know me, it’s nothing unusual and par for the course. Do you know how many times I have to “go” before a football game? It’s ridiculous! It’s just who I am; I’m a worrier. I was wake this morning just after 4am and could not fall back asleep. I think everything is ready and I’ve done my best to make sure all the “T’s” are crossed and the “I’s” are dotted. I just need to relax. I’ll check back in once we’re on our way to Toronto…maybe I’ll feel better.

Well, we’re sitting here in the secure area of the Thunder Bay airport, patiently waiting for our flight. The kids are just wired, as I’m sure I was way back in 1992 on my school trip to Europe (and Ms. Caza too). I am feeling a little more relaxed, but I’ll breathe a sigh of relief once we are on the flight to Europe. I’m an impatient person (though I’ve gotten better since I became a parent) and this waiting thing kills me.

Our group, April 2017.

We’re in the air now, on the short flight to Toronto. One down, two to go. One of my biggest concerns of this whole trip is the time between our flights from Thunder Bay to Munich. We have just over an hour (depending on how long this flight takes) to get from gate to gate. It is a bit of a hike, since Pearson Airport is not a small place. My fingers are crossed that it will all be okay and we’ll get to the next gate with time to spare.

It’s funny, I was just thinking I that one thing I didn’t do before we left was to ask if we had any first time flyers. I can’t imagine all the emotions they are feeling. Most of our kids have not been away from home without their parents before, so I’m sure they are nervous. The excitement will take care of that though. Obviously I cannot remember all the feelings I had the first time I was away from home by myself (that was probably when I was in the reserves), but there was a lot going on.

Pearson selfies, April 2017.

Our ride to Europe, April 2017.

Whew! We are on our way to Europe. All 23 students and 3 chaperones are onboard this Airbus 330. Next stop, Munich! Wow, I feel like such a huge weight is off my shoulders, at least for the time being. I’m actually exhausted and want to go to sleep. The stress of the day and making sure we got on this flight on time has wiped me out. I’m sure I’ll perk up in a little while, especially after I get some food in my body. I had a granola bar, but nothing substantial since 1100. I wonder what’s for dinner?

I feel a little weird, since for the first time on an overseas flight I am not sitting in a window seat. I always like taking a shot of the rising sun over the ocean, but those are the breaks. Anyway, I have a nice spot. I’m in the middle section, but there wasn’t another passenger in the other aisle seat, so my next door neighbour moved. That gives us lots of elbow and leg room. Maybe I’ll actually get some sleep tonight, er morning. It’s 1900 eastern, but 0100 in Europe. Whatever.

So that was disappointing. Did I say I was hungry? Well, I was, and the food smelled so good. The choices this evening aboard AC 846 were chicken and pasta, and as is always my luck, they ran out of chicken just as they got to me. So pasta it was. I’m sure it was the chicken that smelled good. The pasta, or what passed for pasta, was definitely not to my liking. I’m not a big pasta person on a good day and if I wasn’t so hungry, I probably wouldn’t have touched it. I ate half and that was it. The coleslaw salad or whatever it was was okay, and I liked the bread and brownie. Thank God I brought snacks; that energy bar hit the spot. Besides, I can stand to lose a few pounds anyway.

Now that dinner is done, I’m going to finish my movie and try to get some sleep. We land in about 6 hours and it will be morning by then, so I don’t want to be too messed up. I’m sure I’ll grab a nap during our Munich layover. Anyway, I think this is enough for today.

I’ll post this as soon as I can and starting working on the Day 2 ramblings. Until then…

 
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Posted by on April 6, 2017 in History, Travel

 

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There’s places I gotta see…

04 Apr

There certainly are…many in fact. In less than 24 hours, I’ll be on my way to make it happen. If you’re wondering about the title, you need to listen to more classic rock. Connoisseurs will recognize the line from the iconic Lynyrd Skynyrd song “Freebird.”

So after nearly 3 years of planning, we are finally ready to go to Europe. I can’t believe we started all of this in the spring of 2014. Where has the time gone? It feels like an eternity ago. And it’s not just me; the students have grown up along the way. Those young Grade 9 or 10 students are now in Grade 11 or 12, some getting ready to graduate. What a fitting way to leave the school!

If you read this blog regularly, you’ll know that I usual write about how busy I am and how crazy my life is. My last post ironically said exactly that. Well, when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I managed to find another gear. What an insane few days! So I guess I should tell you about it.

Since this is a once-in-a-lifetime event, I thought it would be great to have the media at the airport for our departure. Last Monday however, I received a call from our school board communication officer, Mike Thompson. He said he was in contact with our two local MPs, Patty Hajdu and Don Rusnak, and they wanted to visit with the students before they left. The trick was that it had to happen by the end of the week, as Parliament is back in session at the start of April. We settled on Friday, but a lot of work had to be done to prepare. Mike would look after the politicians and the media, but I had to find a venue in the school and line up some students to be present.

During our trip, we will be visiting two cemeteries; Tyne Cot near Passchendaele, Belgium and Bretteville-sur-Laize south of Caen France. At those cemeteries, we will honour the fallen but in particular those that served with the 52nd Battalion, CEF and the Lake Superior Regiment. Both were organized in Thunder Bay and are perpetuated by the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment (LSSR) today. I served in the LSSR in my teens. Therefore I thought it would be fitting to invite one of my former officers, David Ratz, who is now a Lieutenant Colonel and commanding officer of the regiment, to the event. It was great to to catch up with him and the students were very appreciative of his knowledge of the history and his stories.

I had to MC the event and scramble with some last minute issues, so I was extremely nervous and sweating like a hog. Fortunately everything went well, and I am very thankfully for that. The media interviewed some of the kids, and even though I knew it was coming, it was still so nervous to speak to them myself. You can read more about the media conference on TBNewswatch, CBC and the TBT News.

MPs Hajdu and Rusnak visit students from St. Patrick & St. Ignatius, March 2017.

Probably the biggest source of my stress and the thing that had me running around the most was the tickets for the Vimy ceremony. For security purposes, everyone attending the ceremony has to have a ticket, which makes sense. However, the registration and distribution if said tickets turned into a bureaucratic boondoggle. There was a mad rush to register within a short window and with it came some technical glitches. Then there was the drama getting the tickets. I received my ticket in early March, along with one other chaperone and that was it. We kept receiving messages that because of technical issues, it would be delayed; March 21st, then March 27th and still only 2 tickets. Last Friday Veterans Affairs reported that at the behest of the French Government, all tickets would be reissued. Finally, tickets began to roll in. Cutting it a little close you think, especially since the tickets needed to be printed before we left!

In any case, it’s done, so now there’s just little things left to go. I still have some packing to do and if you know me, I started getting things ready weeks ago. I am not a last minute person; in fact I tend to be quite obsessive about this aspect of traveling, most likely due to the fact that I have some OCD. I don’t care though, better prepared and organized than not.

I have all the boarding passes printed, so we’re ready to hop those flights across the pond. From Thunder Bay we head to Toronto (of course), and from there to Munich. We have a fairly long layover at the Franz Josef Strauss Airport before we heading to Amsterdam, which I guess will give everyone time to nap, including me. I’ll probably be taking the time to blog as well.

Anyway, I better get going. You’ll probably hear from me again from Munich with details of our first day. Until then…

 

 
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Posted by on April 4, 2017 in History, Travel, Writing

 

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Europe 2014 Day 10…The Lost Post

12 Apr

This was supposed to be posted at the end of our trip, but due to a little glitch, I was not able to retrieve it until now. It seems so long ago, but I think there are some things that need to be said even if they are a bit late.

Day ten. This is it…back to Canada. I think there isn’t one person who isn’t sad about our departure; the trip has been awesome. However we have consumed our time in Europe and we now need to return to reality, which for us includes snow and cold! We all have fond memories of the trip and I guess I’ll share some as I write this blog today.

I really have only one negative thing from this adventure, which has been the wifi at this hotel in Paris. I thought I was going to be able to post two days worth of blogs last night, but after being on for a while, I was disconnected and could not reconnect. It is very frustrating from a blogging sense, but it also made it hard to stay in touch with the boys. We should be able to get some FaceTime in today, especially since it is Ethan’s birthday…9 already!

Alright, so we’re in the air now; next stop Toronto, seven and a half hours away. I wonder when lunch is…I’m hungry! I’m also curious as to what type of gastronomic delight is on the menu for today, hopefully it something good. Well, I’ll come to back to this later, after I eat and have a nap. For now, I’m going to enjoy a little Star Trek action on the TV.

So here we are, half way across the Atlantic. Up here, above the clouds might be a good place to reflect on the past 10 days. I’m tired, and really need some sleep. Even though it is way colder than what I’ve experienced while over in Europe, I miss home. And I really miss my boys; I’m sad that I’m not there for Ethan’s birthday. Despite all of this, I’m glad we went.

To me, teaching is more than just a job; I probably wouldn’t do it if it was just a job. It is about making a difference, and sometimes we have to sacrifice a bit to do that. This trip at times has been exhausting and stressful, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I was fortunate enough to travel to Europe when I was in high school (way back in 1992) and I relish all the memories I have of that trip. Twenty years from now these kids will not remember what they learned in my classroom, but they will remember this journey. They will remember when they look at the photos and when they tell their kids about it. It is then they will have understood what learning is all about.

The fact that these students have the good fortune to be in a classroom and have opportunities like this is due in part to the sacrifice of people not much older that them a long time ago. I hope that visiting the battlefields and cemeteries have taught them that the life they enjoy is not free; it was bought and paid for by the blood of Canada’s youth. Each one of them has a story and our remembrance ensures that they will never be forgotten.

I guess you can say that in many ways this trip is like when I coach football. Well that’s an interesting analogy isn’t it? Football and European travel…yes, I did get a good nap in. What I mean to say is that this trip allows you to make more of a personal impact on the kids, much like what happens when you coach. You can see the impact of what you’re doing more easily than in the classroom…or at least I hope!

Extra-curriculars like this also allow you to get to know the students better, which certainly helps with that connection is just spoke of. At times I did feel like a bit of a taskmaster though, the one who makes all the rules and cracks the proverbial whip. But I guess that comes with the territory of being the group leader…with great power comes great responsibility right? Parents are trusting you with their most precious possession and safety comes before everything.

We’re back in the air now, on our way to Thunder Bay and home. The layover in Toronto was a nice little break, though it was a bit stressful finding the shuttle to the hotel and getting everyone there. Thankfully EF had everything taken care of and there wasn’t much we had to do. Dinner was at the Mr. Greek restaurant attached to the hotel. The food was good and everyone ate their fill.

From Lake Huron, March 2014.

From Lake Huron, March 2014.

Frozen Lake Superior, March 2014.

Frozen Lake Superior, March 2014.

Since we were in Toronto for the evening, my older brother Dominic joined us for dinner; it was good to catch up with him since I had not seen him since Christmas. A few of the kids left the hotel to meet up with family. After we ate, we went up to our room where we were able to FaceTime with the boys and wish Ethan a happy 9th birthday. We’ll be having his party next weekend.

I’m sure all the kids are anxious to see their parents and tell them all about our adventures. As great and fun it’s been travelling with the kids for the past 10 days, I’m glad we’re going home too. Looking after 23 teenagers is at times exhausting and stressful; my wife Jo-Anne commented that she now knows what it feels like to be the Duggars and travel with 20+ people. However, I do it all again in a heartbeat…and we will.

My colleague at St. Ignatius Alicyn Papich and I have already begun looking forward to the 100th anniversary celebrations of. Vimy Ridge in 2017. I know that EF has the gears rolling as well, since Felicity told us she has been working on scouting hotels in anticipation of the arrival of thousands of Canadians for the event. It should be awesome!

 

 
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Posted by on April 12, 2014 in History, Travel, Writing

 

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