End of tour Concert and Awards

After enjoying our final Italian meal together at a nearby restaurant, we gathered in the Boardroom of the Albert Hotel to celebrate the end of the tour with a stunning concert, party and Award presentation.

Concert

An amazing collection of performances was prepared on the final days of the tour by the boys. The items included such gems as:

Salted peanuts
Foreign Affairs
Thank God you're here
When vendors go bad
O Mio Dio
Rav Sckerzo
Italian Feud


After the concert the following awards were presented

Lachlan Smith - Rainbow Warrior Award 

Dylan Glover  - Armani Award 

Paul Gordon- Kodak Award 

Gus Miles- Smith and Wesson Award 

Tim Keys- Rumoroso Award

Luis Alarcon- Casanova Award

Jamie Hawke - Gelato Appreciation Award 

Nat Smith - Eddie McGuire Award

Mark Woodfield - FIFA Ambassadors Award

Dom Gunning - Good Companion Award 

Ben Ackhurst - Nokia Award 

Nick Wood - Duracell Award 

Dom Thompson -  Economic Stimulus Award

Ben Hedditch - Ian Thorpe Award

Jacob - Rupert Murdoch Excellence in Publishing Award

Matt Clarke - Andrew Demetriou Award  

Matt Towicz -  The Lonely Planet Award 

Kieran Kirk- Firenze Merchants' Award 

Kieran Russell -  Purple Heart Award

Lachlan Lennox -Plato Award 

Pat White - Bill Gates Award 

Rylan Gibson- Bondi Icebergs Award

Marco D'Amico- BP Award 

Liam Glew- Shannon Ponton  Award 

Jonathon Leyton- Bob Marley Award 

Campbell Hall - Coca Cola  Award

Andrew Wood- Google research Award

The group flew out of Milan on Saturday April 30 at 2 pm and arrived at Marist 26.5 hours later at 12.30 am on Monday morning.

For the touring group, this was a trip of a lifetime and a taster for future travel adventures.

Arrivederci Italia 

Happy 14th Birthday Nick

Ode to the tour

Andrew Wood's contribution to the End of Tour concert

There were 26 lads from Marist College,

Who decided to improve their Italian knowledge.

So they travelled afar for many hours on Thai International, Only to discover it was hard to speak Italian that was fully functional.

They did persevere through Rome, Sorrento and Pompeii, While consuming large quantities of pasta and tomato puree.

Then on through Assisi, Florence, Venice and The Lakes, And to be fair, their pronunciations did start to sound better than fakes.

The lads ended their trip in Milan at the Albert Hotel, After many interesting moments, some of which I cannot tell.

Because what happens on the tour must of course stay on the tour, Instead read their many blogs, or your view of the trip may be premature.

I will say though, despite a pair of innocent whales in Venice getting slaughtered, And a mascot turtle was tossed around, often abandoned and never properly watered...

And though eight gypsies were observed breaking into a riot at Pisa, Following their interaction with one Marist lad who was a bit of a teaser...

And though the locals were nearly converted to new forms of  football, The Italian culture  knew anything but soccer is of course sinful....

The lads learnt new road rules like maintaining maximum speed, And a funny version of Roman history based on The Assasin's Creed.

Despite what all these tales I could tell might reveal, The truth is these Marist lads were very much full of zeal.

They completed their tour of Italy with good humour, commitment and pride, And now return to their families with new Italian skills that cannot be denied.

The memories, friendships and experiences are something the lads will treasure.

Thank you Assunta and Chris for the success of this Italian venture.

Ultima giornata in Italia...hey babes ;)

This morning we started with a guided tour of Santa Maria delle Grazie where we saw Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper" painting, It was a great sight even though the wrong painting techniques were used !!!! (dry plaster instead of wet plaster). The group was broken up into 2 smaller groups to see the painting as there was a maximum of 30 people allowed to view the painting at once. In between the sessions, we went into the main part of the church and into the garden.

After the painting, we left the area and went on our bus to see the Castello Sforzesco. Originally a Visconti fortress, the red bricked castle was a home to the mighty Sforza dynasty. The defences were designed by Leonardo da Vinci. At the back of the castle you could see an triumphal arc like one of the ones in Paris.

We then proceeded to Il Duomo which is the 3rd largest Cathedral and the largest Gothic Cathedral in Europe. Sitting above the altar is the nail that was believed to pierce Jesus Christ's right hand on the cross. After this we thanked the guide for her time and finished the tour.

Then we hit the shops- Armani, D & G, Sports Fans, Ferrari, Mercedes Benz, Dior etc etc. Underwear was very popular following our lead. We took the Metro back to our hotel for our final night on tour with a dinner to be followed by an 'amazing' concert.


Sincerly yours, my love, from Ben Ackhurst, Dylan Glover, Gus Miles & Giorgio Armani.

It's raining in Lake Como

Today we woke up bright and early at 7am, packed our bags, and prepared for our four hour marathon bus ride. Breakfast was the same as always, bread, bread and more bread!!!! We took our last look at the beach and piled our bags and ourselves onto the bus. 

Our driver, Antonio, told us that he'd been driving since 4am this morning and needed to take a break an hour into the journey. After stocking up on Red Bull and croissants, we took to the road again. We finally arrived in Bellagio at 1.30pm, and looked down at the beautiful Lake Como that lay before us. 

For the two hours of free time we had in Bellagio, time was spent hunting for food and a working ATM. Food was easy to find but the ATM was a bit harder to locate, and impossible to work. Unfortunately, due to the rain, the scenery was not as spectacular as it could have been. The town itself was very beautiful to look at with interesting architecture and many curious alleys to walk up, down and around. 

After some lunch and and a walk about the village in the rain, we waited for the bus to return. The bus finally arrived at 3.30 and we boarded for our final hour and a half ride to Milan.

We passed through numerous valleys and mountains on our way as our skilful bus driver zig-zagged up the mountain ,with some of the boys getting as much sleep as they could. We arrived in Milan around 5.30 and settled into our hotel. We enjoyed some free time to check out the nearby shops (in particular an international food shop with Milo in a can?!), followed by dinner at a local restaurant, where we enjoyed minestrone, a lamb stew and an interesting dessert, a large apple for each of us.

Lake Como T-team

Jacob, Campbell and Dom.

  

Venice: One of a Kind!!!

After a well needed sleep-in, the day began with a journey by boat over to the island on which the centre of Venice is situated. Following some brief free time in one of the city's main squares, Piazza San Marco, the rest of the morning was spent with a guide who took us around the city's main attractions. These included the Doge's Palace and the Basilica di San Marco.

The Doge's Palace was the first site that our guide showed us. While once being the residence of the Doge (the figurehead of the Venetian Republic) and the place in which the goverment would serve its people (containing halls, courts and prison cells), today the Palace is one of Venice's most popular tourist attractions and is home to many beautiful paintings by prominent Renaissance artists Tintoretto and Veronese, to name a few. One of the historical attractions within the Palace is the Ponte Dei Sospiri, or the Bridge of Sighs (a name coined by Lord Byron) that connects the interrogation rooms at the Palace to the prison cells. Legend has it that if lovers kiss under the bridge in a gondola at sunset they will be granted everlasting love and happiness.

The next place that we were taken to was the Basilica di San Marco. Like the Palace, the Basilica is adorned with gold but in the form of mosaics that depict biblical scenes; 8,597.23 square metres of mosaics in total! Along with this, the Basilica is also famous for housing the bones of St Mark (the patron saint of Venice) which were allegedly stolen from Alexandria, Egypt, in 828CE. While not as large as some of the other churches we have seen - St Peter's Basilica and il Duomo di Firenze to name a few - the beauty of its mosaics and its historic significance were nevertheless breathtaking.

After the guide had departed we were left to explore the rest of the city and its winding streets and canals for the remainder of the afternoon. The boys took the opportunity to not only explore the city but to taste local cuisine and invest in authentic Venetian masks. The day was capped off with a boat ride back to the mainland and with the rest of the day free for relaxation after one of the longer days of the tour.

Signing off,

Lachlan Lennox and Matthew Towicz

Happy 16th Jacob!!!