Tuesday June 1

We all woke up for breakfast ready to enjoy our last day in Florence and our last full day in Europe. We started out on a sad note, saying goodbye to John and Matt as they set off for their extended stay overseas. We then set off for the Ufizzi art gallery. We all waited in line at the gallery for around one hour passing the time y circling up and singing together for the last time. A large crowd eventually gathered and it was really cool to see our work being appreciated in such a public setting. After realizing that the line was moving too slow for us to be able to really ejoy the gallery, we all left the line to enjoy Florence for the last time in other ways. Some went shopping while others of us waited in a much shorter line to climb the 463 steps to the top of the Duomo. THe view was amazing and those of us who made the climb were all really glad that we did. Everyone got some lunch which for a lot of us included our last gelato of the trip. We then headed back to the hostel to load the bus and take off for Milan. The bus ride included a lot of napping, the movie Cars, cards, and just conversing during our final long bus ride. We got to the hotel in Milan, settled into our rooms and went to a delicious buffet dinner. After dinner, we made one last sweep of the bus before we had a short pow-wow to wrap up the trip and give everyone a chance to give their two cents about their experience in Europe over the last three weeks. We hung out for the remainder of the evening and finally went to bed for our last time across the pond. It was a sad day because it was our last, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who's excited to get home and see my family and to find out what the rest of the summer has in store.

Rudy Litwiller

Monday, May 31

Today was me and John Murray's last full day with the tour, as tomorrow we strike out on our own. It was, however, a wonderful day in Italy. We awoke, and while some of us were rather cheery, others (myself) had to work to get out of bed after a late felato run last night. After some coffee and breakfast, we boarded the bus for Siena. Upon our arrival, we explored the Duomo of Siena, and then were set loose upon the town. We spent the day indulging in a variety of activities, including tower climbing, cathedral investigation, crypt exploring, and shopping. There were also many museums, as well as gelato and 1/5 slices of pizza for 2.5 euros. I personally climbed to the top of a part of an uncompleted cathedral, the view was amazing. After returning to our hostel in Florence, we were allowed the evening free to find supper and just relax. A large group met on the roof for memory sharing and story telling. All in all, it's been a fantastic day.

Matt Lehman

Sunday, May 30

Today, we got up and went down to breakfast by nine. Breakfast looked like a down home meal, bacon, eggs, and mushrooms. We also had bread, cereal, juice, and yogurt. After most of us were nice and full, we headed towards the museum that houses the David. You walked into a room with paintings much like the other museums we have been to. After you walk through that room, you walk into a long room and at the end of this room, David is standing over the crowd of people. he is so much bigger than I thought, his hands and head are extra big. Many of us stood in awe while Matt Lehman gave a presentation about it. We had a few more minutes to look around the museum, then we went to the Duomo. We had Amy Brubacher give us some back ground on that, then we were free for about 2 hours to find lunch and do some shopping. There were so many venders that finding final gifts was not hard. We headed to the Duomo and got into line. It was not a very long wait. We were not allowed to take pictures inside. The inside was very plain while the outside was very ornamental. There was a line to go down into what looked like a crypt. Infact, it was only a gift shop. When a group of Hesston kids got in line, it was very short, when we came back up, the line had extended very far. Many of us laughed a little because we knew that most of the people had just gotten in line not knowing what they were waiting for. While waiting, we had a little show your youngest ID party. THen a man over a loud speaker shhhed everyone in the whole place. Most of us went to wait outside. Bradley led us to another cathedral. This one was 5 euros to get in. Of course we just recieved a ticket. THen headed in. I notice the silence inside immedeatly. It was a silence that seemed unhuman from looking around at all the people who were in the cathedral. This cathedral had very many tombs. The floor was almost covered with them, especially at the front. Inside were tombs of Michaelangelo, Rossini, and Galileo. While it is very interesting to be around all these famous old men, it is really unnerving to have to walk over dead people to get to the gift shope, or any part of the other wing. At 3 we were on our own again Many went to go see the Ponte Beccio, get fellato, or do some more shopping. We all trickled back to the hotel by about 6. Many took naps, used internet, or just relaxed from a long day of sun and walking. Supper was served at 8. We had another home style meal with chicken and fries, everyone enjoyed the sight of some fried food. After supper, most of us found our wat to the terrace where we all proceded to sing a few selections from our tour. Afterwards some did more relaxing, chatting, playing games and walking to get more gellato. Today was a success. Good community and a beautiful day to enjoy it

Megan Letherman

Saturday, May 29

We ate breakfast at the hotel, loaded our belongings into the bus, and deaded out for a morning in Milan. THe highlight was the cathedral, Il Duomo di Milano. The Duomo defies description. It is the single most amazing thing i have ever seen. The outside is all gray stone, but every wall is covered with statues and intricate ornamentations. THe inside is enormous and even more extravegantly decorated. There are paintings and sculptures everywhere you turn, even up by the ceiling where the light doesn't shine on them. The entire floor is a pattern of inlaid stone. Inside there are four rows of pillars, each about twele feet in diameter. Outside, each one is topped with an ornate spire. There are over a hundred spires. I felt I could have sat in the Duomo for a day and still not have been able to take it all in. After some eating and shopping time in Milan, we got in the bus and headed across the rolling hills of Tuscany to FLorence, or Firenze as the locals call it. We found our place of lodging, a youth hostel with cool things like a pool, pool tables, and a rooftop square. Three KU students happened to be there as well. After a bit of downtime, we ate supper at the hostel's resaurant and decked out in our pretty clothes, walked to the venue where we would see Puccini's "La Boheme". On the way there, we had a great view of the Ponte Vecchio, Florence's famous bridge. We knew the opera would not be in an actual opera house, but most of us were expecting and auditorium of some kind. We were suprised to walk into a church with a sanctuary about the size of Northlawn 109. There were also columns in the middle of the room. The only intrument was a piano. It was about the smallest space possible in which to put on an opera. The intimate space and the exclusion of some characters left me with low expectaitions, but these were all dispelled when they began to sing. The level of musicianship of the gour performers was jaw dropping, and was only helped by the acoustic. It was a treat to hear all for acts. I personally loved it. I read in the program afterward that St. Mark's Opera Company is a non profit enterprise that supports children's homes in South India. In the bio of the lead soprano, it said she has performed in Milan at La Scala, which Ken told us is one of the premier opera houses of the world. Yet here she was in a church with 100 seats. This company can truly be described as a group of extremely talented musicians doing what they love. We got back to the hostel late, and not much elso to do but sleep.

Sam Kauffman

Friday, May 28

This morning, we all left our host families and met to leave the Mennonit Church in Langnau at 9:30. Our destination was Milan. On the way, we stopped in the city of Luzern, where money needed to be wxchanged from Swiss Franks to Euros. This meant that we had an hour to explore the city. We were on the road again and the entertainment on the bus was "Dirty Dancing". During the movie, our bus had issues. It was saying that the engine was overheating and that there was no cooling liquid although the tank was full. The mystery was whether the bus had a sensor problem, or if it was actually overheating. While the bus was stopped, we took advantage and used up some energy by playing basketball, juggling soccer balls, throwing frisbee, climbing a mountain side, and playing a mini game of tag. It was decided to continue our trip to Italy, so we were on the road again. We went through a 17 km long tunnel under the Alps, which was pretty crazy. We arrived in Milan, parked the bus, and went directly to tsee the Castella. It's and old castle that is now filled with many museums and is an icon of the city. It is connected to a beautiful park. There are many cats that live inside the Castella and many of us saw a cat laying awkwardly on its back. It seemed as if it had fallen and broke its back, it was really sad. We then headed to our hotel and awaited our dinner. We had noodles with clams, fish and cauliflower, and for dessert, a pear tart. The mean probably wouldn't have been our first choice, but we were hungry and dealt with it. We then dispersed to the hotel rooms to relax.

Melina Hunsberger

Thursday, May 27

THis morning we all got up, had a wonderful breakfast, and then had to say goodbye to our mountain getaway of 2 days. We traveled down the mountain by train, then got on the bus and away we went, our destination, Berin, where we saw bears and a parade of hourses, but nobody really knew what the celebration was about, even the towns people had no clue. While there, we looked around in shops and took pictures of bears. Around 3:15, we loaded the bus. It was and hour drive to our destination in Langnau, where we had our last concert. During the trip, we slept, played the card game, Roth (which was created by Alex Roth), and watched Kayci teach Laura how to knit. Once we arrived at the church, we were treated to snacks of chips and goldfish and a drink that tasted and smelled like smarties. We hung around, played pool and chatted, then had practice. Later, around 6:00, we had a wonderful meal with amazing dessert that followed. We gave what was probably the most moving concert yet, and were divided into pairs for host families, where conversations to place.

Jodi Ferguson

Wednesday May 26

Today was probably the most relaxed day thatwe've had so far. We all got up whenever we wanted, except for the 3 people that went up to Jungfrau, they had to leave by 7:00 am. We had another wonderful European breakfast that included and egg cooker that apparently required you to ready directions before using... who knew, and we all went our own ways. Many of us decided to go shopping before setting out while some wanted to leave as soon as possible. Ther was a store that engraved swiss army knibes that was probably the biggest hit. The shopping strip itself was kind of mediocre, aside from the one most of us bought knives at, the majority of them were by definition tourist traps (full of overpriced, pointless trinkets). Lunch was on our own today, a big group of us went to the coop and bought food to take up the mountain. We climbed a short ways up and had a picnic whicle staring in amazement at God's beauriful works of art layed out around us. From there we split off into smaller groups. Some went on random hiking adventures, while some just went back to the hotel to journal or just relax. By around 6:00, everyone was back. A large group of us played scum while we counted down the time till supper. At 7:30, we had and amazing meal from wonderful salads to calamari, to ham. Dessert was also amazing. There were small donut holes filled with fruit filling and cream puffs. There was also tiramasue, and ontop of all that, there was a platter of cheeses and one of fruits. None of us left hungry. At 9:00, we had a random mini concert in the lobby and the owner was so pleased by it that she brought out white wine for everyone without charge, it was a wonderful day. It's getting late and we only have a bit of time left here, so goodnight.

Ashley Fehlberg