Day 1 (A very long one)–Adelaide/Singapore/Rome-Friday, January 3rd 2014: Mr Scritchley

The Departure from Adelaide and the flight to Singapore.

Our intrepid travellers met at the Adelaide Airport check in nice and early at 4:30pm. This is always a hectic time for the organisers, worrying if everyone was there, handing out the e-tickets and the nice yellow ribbons that we attached to our cases to identify each other’s bags on the arrival carousel. Then of course the ritual removal of all metal and then the irradiating of our hand luggage to make sure everyone is safe and secure. Some were tested for explosives and fortunately none was found to be in danger of exploding!

We all then met at a bench in the general concourse area to fill out our immigration departure cards and to wait for immigration to open. While we were waiting we were greeted and farewelled by our Principle Mr Lawler. He wished us well and said that he was envious and would like to be coming with us.

Mr Lawler talking to Carey, Julius and Reece

Some of the boys were obviously worried that they were going to suffer from severe starvation if they did not fuel up on some fast food before they left. Who knows how long it might be before they were again able to find a Hungry Jacks!

Brandon in need of sustenance

Soon  Immigration Departures opened their doors and we were able to go through, straight into the duty free shop before getting into the departure lounge. Where we waited…and waited..and waited for our aircraft to arrive. Finally we were able to board and take off half an hour late.

After take-off once we were settled dinner was served. The Beef and the Chicken dishes seem to have met with the approval of the boys. As we headed NW we were treated to an exceptional sunset.

Sunset off the Port wing of the 777 at 40,000ft above some part of NW West Australia

As this part of the Blog is being written we are currently cruising along at 888kph 3 hours from Singapore. Most are enjoying the inflight entertainment and believe it or not some are even asleep!

The Flight to Rome

We arrived in Singapore at 12:00am and had to wait till 1:00am before we boarded the connecting flight to Rome.

Waiting in the departure lounge in Singapore

The flight was uneventful (except for 3 of the 5 toilets in our section of the aircraft blocking up) but long. Most of the boys managed to get some sleep and some even managed to sleep quite a lot. I think some of them could also sleep on a barbed wire fence! The aircraft arrived 40min early, which was good thing because the baggage handlers were in no rush to get our bags. After a long wait all the luggage was retrieved and we finally joined our bus to start the tour of the “Eternal City”.

The tour of Rome

Our first stop was to the Basilica of St Paul. This is the burial site of Saint Paul after whom our school is named. The Basilica is very beautiful and impressive in both size and decoration. We all were awe struck by both the exterior and interior.

Arrival of the group at St Pauls Basilica

All too soon we had to leave this place and move on to new sights and experiences.

 

The exterior -------------------------------------- The interior --------------------------------------- St Pauls Tomb

Our tour guide took us on a general short tour of the ancient Roman sights to be seen from the bus in and about the city, including the Roman Public Baths and the Circus Maximus. However it was not long before we arrived at the focus for the day, the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.

Listening to the Guide

Approaching the Colosseum

Inside the Colosseum

Mr Scritchley looking down from the 2^nd level

The entire group were astonished by what they saw. Here was something that they had heard about in class, seen on TV and read about, but it did not prepare them for the reality and the size of this 2000 yr old structure. To see the height that the upper seats reached and the intricate nature of the tunnels that were beneath the stage areas staggered the imagination.

A short walk brought us to the Forum. This was the seat of Roman power, this is where the Senate sat, where the great temples of Rome were and where a lot of powerful men made deals and discussed business. This was once the heart of the Empire.

The group listening to the guide in front of Julius Caesars cremation pyre.

We saw the remains of the Temple of Jupiter, the Senate and the place where Julius Caesar was cremated. The alter still remains and still motivates people to place flowers there.

Julius, James and Brice seeing where Caesar was cremated. (note the flowers on the alter)

We could have looked around the forum for ages, but time was pressing and we had to move on. A short walk through the small and intricate streets of Roma (dodging mad scooter riders double parked cars and Kamikaze motor bikes ) brought us to the Fontana De Trevi.

The beautiful Trevi Fountain (with a huge number of tourists in front)

James, Christian and David listening to the guide….but thinking about Pizza!

For some reason today was exceptionally busy and crowded with tourists, most unusual for Winter. Once the fountain was seen and the requisite pictures taken it was time for the group to eat! (A favourite pastime of the boys). Much Pizza and Gelato were eaten. 

Brandon “dealing” with a Pizza!

Our next stop was the Pantheon one of the few Ancient Roman buildings that have survived almost intact. The reason for this was that it was converted into a church, so it escaped having its stone “recycled” into other buildings. This means that the magnificent domed roof, made of concrete, is still there for us to marvel at today.

By this time everyone was exceptionally tired after our long flight, a long day of sightseeing and walking on cobblestones, so getting back to the bus was well received by all. About ½ an hour saw us arrive at our accommodation. Soon many had gone to their rooms, fallen on beds, had hot showers and were recovering from the last 36 hours. However there was one more event…Dinner! A good solid bit of Italian fare was finished by a surprise for Reece Skinner who went and got born 15 years ago today. So a cake and candles were needed as well as a chorus of Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday Reece!