Travel Information

Objective: To help restore some of the historical sights of Rome. A lot of the old historical landmarks of Rome are starting to wear down and because of the increase of pollution in Italy today and our modern world, the buildings are getting ruined because of this. I want to help with a volunteer program where people can help to restore these amazing buildings. It requires a lot of hard work, but I would love to help with the preservation and restoration of Italian culture and history.

Italy’s rich cultural heritage, which dates back to ancient Rome, is increasingly in danger of crumbling or being overrun by modern life. Volunteers looking for a labor-intensive way to engage with Italy’s historical past should research groups that specialize in landmark preservation. Contact Museums directly for volunteer docent openings. Local colleges and universities in your home country are excellent sources of information on archeological digs and other projects. Check with the departments of the Classics, archaeology, anthropology, fine arts, or other relevant area studies; many excavations send information and applications directly to individual professors or departments rather than to the general public.
 http://www.letsgo.com/21965-italy-travel-guides-rome-beyond_tourism-volunteering-art_culture_and_restoration-c
Flight- https://travel.travelocity.com/checkout/CheckoutReview.do;jsessionid=B936C53EFFB5D756B816316BEE48C5E8.p0605

Tue, Apr 19:	Depart 07:10AM Arrive 09:30AM Next day	Houston George Bush Intercontinental Ap, TX (IAH) Rome Fiumicino Airport, (FCO)	US Airways - 1 Stop Flight  1696  / 720
Thu, Apr 28:	Depart  11:50AM Arrive 08:54PM	Rome Fiumicino Airport, (FCO) Houston George Bush Intercontinental Ap, TX (IAH)	US Airways - 1 Stop Flight  719  / 3139  Operated by:  US AIRWAYS EXPRESS-REPUBLIC AIRLINES

 

1 Adult:	$717.60
Taxes & Fees:	$59.20
Ticket total:	$776.80
Travel Protection-1 plan	$39.95
Total payment due:	$816.75	*

Hotel- http://www.nycerome.com/h_bookings3.php?id=52&f=r This hotel (Hotel Hermitage) is a nice 4 starhotel and it's about 532,00 Euro- Which is about $688 and it will be 8 nights. It also includes a breakfast buffet which takes away breakfast prices for food.

Check-in:	Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Check-out:	Thursday, 28 April 2011
Number of nights:	8
Number of rooms:	1 Single
Nr. of persons per room:	1
Room rate:	night 1: 66,50 Euro per room night 2: 66,50 Euro per room night 3: 66,50 Euro per room night 4: 66,50 Euro per room night 5: 66,50 Euro per room night 6: 66,50 Euro per room night 7: 66,50 Euro per room night 8: 66,50 Euro per room
Total price:	532,00 Euro

Transportation- Since I can't drive yet. I will be taking the buses and trams to get around the city.

http://www.european-vacation-planner.com/rome-famous-places.html

Wednesday-
Arrive at Rome
Rest for a while
At night:
Visit the Colosseum
Arch of Constantine
Roman Forum

Thursday-
Piazza Novana
Pantheon
Trevi Fountain
Spanish Steps

Friday-
Meet Archeologists at Museum
Training/Preparation for restoration of Roman site
Eat dinner at a not too expensive Italian restaurant

Saturday
Go to archeological site
Help with restoration
Night: Rest (1st day of hard work!)

Sunday
Back to archeological site- restoration day 2
Rest
Walk around city at night

Monday
Morning~ Restoration
Afternoon~ Go back to Piazza Novana and find some unique restaurants that serve authentic Italian cuisine
Night~ Still stay at the Piazza, maybe walk around the area a little

Tuesday-
Full day of restoration on the site (finish restoration of site)
Intensive work
A lot of rest required

Wednesday
The Vatican Museum: Learn about the amazing the historical culture and art of Rome
Sistine Chapel
Spend full day there

Thursday
Depart Rome

Costs
 8 days April 20th to April 28th

Plane- 816.75 (Round trip)
Hotel- 688
Food~$300
Transportation~ $5-10
Colosseum and Forum- Free (Younger than 18)
Pantheon- Free under 18
The Vatican~ $11

Pre travel expenses~
Passport- $0 (already own one)
Visa~ $80
Insurance~$100

Total~ $2,006

Packing~
clothes
personal items
credit card
cash
medicine kit
english/italian dictionary
phone
laptop
small backpack to carry important items ex: money

Goals?
Learn more about Italian culture, history, cuisine, maybe even a little of the language
Learn more about the history of the archeological site I will be working on.

Skype

One interesting fact I learned from the Skype yesterday is that Indonesia is so muddy. I never realized that the environment was so muddy and tropical. His presentation definitely changed my perspectives because I wouldn't usually think of traveling to the places he did. It opened my eyes for traveling to different places, and not just for vacationing. It also helped me to think about all the things I need to prepare for on a trip. I didn't really think to bring a medicine kit, but after hearing it, it was a really good idea.

KWL

Learned Section Update:
Yesterday I learned some interesting things about Europe. Here are some facts that I learned-
Europe is the second smallest continent
Paris is the largest city
Europeans like to play all sorts of sports like soccer and rugby.
Mt.Elbrus is highest point/mountain

Want to know?
I want to know more about European culture.
I also want to know more about some of the traditions they have.
I think the European history would also be interesting as well.

What I learned today

I learned that it's not that easy to plan a whole trip. There is a lot of things you have to do before hand. There are tons of thinbgs you have to plan, before you even leave. I learned how to book a hotel and a flight and learned how expensive it is to travel to different countries, especially across the ocean. I also learned about some interesting things about Italy that I didn't know. There are a lot of interesting places to visit while in Rome that I had no idea about. I really look forward to actually getting to see all these famous landmarks that I have only seen on TV and in pictures. I think it will be absolutely amazing to actually experience getting to do somethin like throwing a coin in the Trevi Fountain. Hopefully my trip will be how I planned it to be, and maybe even better!

Some questions I would like to ask over Skype would be: What are some strange things have happened while you were traveling?
Was it hard to travel?
Did you get to make a lot of new friends?
What is it like to travel in a place like Indonesia?

My Travel Destination

I'm planning on going to Rome, Italy. I've always wanted to go to Rome because of the food and culture of the city. There are also a lot of historical sites that I've always wanted to see such as the Colosseum. Rome is a beautiful city that's still ancient. I've always loved italian food as well, so it will be really exciting to try the food there. This city is also a really famous city and it's known for all it's beautiful landmarks. http://romeitaly.ca/ Here's a link that has some of the landmarks I would really love to see there.

Why do we travel?

“We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next, to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again – to slow time down and be taken in, and fall in love once more.” - Pico Iyer

We travel to get to know different places in the world. We like to travel to be able to know the different cultures, religions, food, and languages of countries. We also travel to learn new things and meet a lot of new people. Traveling is also a fun experience. You get to try things that you're not normally used to. You're also in a different environment that you usually don't get to live in. So, while you're having fun enjoying a country, you're also able to learn about the culture of the country as well.

I personally love to travel. It's fun to get to go to different places because it's so different from what I'm normally used to. I also like going places because all the unique cultures I get to see, and some of the scenery is just so beautiful. Not to mention the famous landmarks of the country. Traveling has always been an adventure to me, and hopefully someday, I'll get to travel to a lot of new places around the world.