Il Sabato Primo

We finally found a sign that said Aosta!

After a great sleep, the noise of the Sat. marketplace woke me around 6 AM.

I had to look outside to see the beginning of the set up. It was so interesting to see the automatic  umbrella canopies opening on the various trucks and vans. What a process!

Those are the kinds of serendipitous things I like to stmble across. I would never have gotten up early to go somewhere to see it, but from our room, I could keep checking the progress. I might make a movie of it later.

Around 8 AM, we stumbled down to breakfast and met up with Greg, who also was awoken by the hubbub.

Market day here in Aosta, right outside our hotel.

He did not want to wait for the others to come down to breakfast so he and Ray set off to explore. I was not too far behind and truly enjoyed going up and down the rows of goods that ranged from clothing, tons of shoes, household goods, junk, and the most beautiful meats, cheeses, and fruits and vegetables I have seen for a while. It actually made me want to cook!

I bought some fennel biscuits (absolutely wonderful), a coin purse, and a white linen top. Not bad prices.

 The girls made their way down and were a little hesitant to bargain, so I helped them. I saved Jordan about 7 Euro for the day, and Nancy about 5. Shakela bought an adorable jacket. It was a good morning.

Cathedral

St. Stephen

We headed to the Cathedral, the Church of St. Stephen, and on our own for lunch. We met back to visit the Church of St. Orso and the cloister next to it for a little meditation time.

Back to the hotel for a rest and then finally a meeting with my new friend Elana Roullet. Elana has been my °email° pen pal for almost a year. She has been so extremely helpful to me in making suggestions on where to stay, where to eat, and to arrange the busses for our field trips. She is a teacher at the high school, and we will visti her classroom on Wed. morning. Following that, we will take a trip to the castle in her town, and then to Cogne, a small village in the Aosta Valley.

Elana met us at the hotel at 3.30 and we exchanged gifts. She made 3 different DVDs for each student and for Ray and me. One is about her school, another on the products they grow, and Iòve forgotten the third. Each was in a case and professionally made. We were very surprised and happy to get the gifts.

She wanted to show us around Aosta, but since we had already seen the main attractions, we decided to rearrange our time and she drove us all to Sarre' Castle.

Ending here....  More on this to come.

Finalmente! Finally

Ray, Jordan, Me, Dr. Strozier, and Greg at JAX yesterday!

The Internet is not so good, so it has taken me a few days when we have had time off, to get the Blog to be working. My students are ahead of me and I cannot wait to read what they have posted on their blogs!

The Arch of Agustus

We arrived safely and happily, although a bit weary, on Friday morning at 6:45 AM Italy time, a bit later than expected, but 12:45 AM BODY time. After a trip back inside the airport for a lost wallet, we were on our way to Aosta with a van full of sleeping students. When we hit the Aosta road, I had to wake Greg, for him to see the first sightings of the Alps.  He was pretty amazed and out came the cell phone to snap a few photos.

Gradually to 'oohs' and 'ahs' everyone awoke to the magnificent sights ahead of us. Jordan's face lit up. Nancy, Shakela, and Sky seemed pretty impressed, and tried hard to wake up enough to grasp what they were seeing! It was so much fun to watch their reactions!

The view from our room

Hotel Turin on Via Torino, is a wonderfully centrally located hotel, right next to the Roman Wall, near where we stayed last year. It has good sized rooms and the breakfast included meats, cheeses, fruit, and the most magnificent, creamy local yougurt in jars! Ray and I have a wonderful view of Becca Nona Mountain and the Pila Ski Resport out our windows. Unfortunately, they looked so gray, today!

The Roman Theater

We checked in around 11, and I sent everyone to bed until 3.30. We met at 4 PM, and walked the town a bit. The weather was a bit iffy, and we all had our rain ponchos and umbrellas. We were told the sun would come out on Sunday.

Sample meats and cheese at La Vineria

The Roman Theater was beautiful as the sun broke through for us to take some amazing photos. We had some local Pizza and water as we walked through the town past the Pretoria Door and the main Piazza Chinoux.

Valdosta wine

As the rain started around 7 PM, we headed down via Saint Anslem to  La Vineria for a sample of wines and local meats and cheeses and breads. Greg did not  like ANYTHING! We enjoyed an hour and a half orientation, and then the sutdents went in search of their first gelato. They also had a group scavenger hunt to complete though selfies.

Everyone was ready to hit the sack by 9.30 PM. We slept VERY well until 9.30 on Sunday ' breakfast.

Feeling blessed. Now if I can nly figure out how to add photos to this blog!!! (Obviously, I did, but after a week!)

Buona Notte!

We are here!

Nancy, Sky, Jordan, and Shakela

Greg

1. VALDOSTA TO VALLE D'AOSTA...

We have arrived safely! It is amazing to see the mountains all waiting for us!

 After a 4 hr. nap, we are getting ready to meet rainy Aosta. 

Hotel Turin on Via Turino

The Dining area for Breakfasts

Hotel Turin is very centrally located. This will be a great location to work from. We are near the Carrefour Grocery store, just past the city wall. It is open 24 hr. and has some cooked food. 

 A great breakfast room and a wonderful space for meeting. Our room overlooks the mountains.

More later!

Much more than a Continental Breakfast! Yeah!!

BENVENUTO! - WELCOME

Shield of the Selva Contrada in Siena, Italy

Scene in the Alps

This is the official page of
Valdosta to Valle D'Aosta: Children, Culture, and Cuisine - Early Childhood in Italy, Maymester, 2015.

 Smart Car in VSU Colors

Here, you will find day-to-day reports on what we have done and seen each day on our Valdosta State University Study Abroad in Italy Program.

I will post daily, with highlights of our travels. Stay Tuned... We don't leave until May 14th.
You can find more information about Italy at my other site: DancingEtruscan.blogspot.com

This is a short introduction video we made for the Festival of Children in Marano Sul Panaro -
See you SOON!

Make your own blog with these easy directions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA4s3wN_vK8