Day 5: Our Last Day of School

Today was our last day at Saint John Bosco College. We couldn't believe how quickly this week went by! Here is how our last day went.

Morning

Our last day of school was full of joy but also a little bit of sadness. Some of us followed a different mentor today for our lessons. In the history lesson, we talked about civil rights, what a funny coincidence that this is the same topic that we are learning about at school in Florence. We also went to English class, Religion, Italian, Math, and Science. Today was Valentine's Day so in Italian class, some of us wrote notes to our Valentines. Today in the hallways of the school we saw a lot of students with roses and stuffed Teddy Bears for the holiday. There were also roses for sale at break time for just one pound each to give to your Valentine.

During the morning break we played football, basketball, and table tennis with our new English friends. We talked more about the differences between the school system in Italy and the U.K, and about football, and interest we all have in common. Some guys asked Martina if they could be her Valentine, but only one of them gave her a chocolate.... We had a snack and returned to the lessons.

For lunch we had fish and chips, and it was delicious. After lunch we said goodbye to our tutors and our English friends, it was a special moment. It was very sad and some of us even cried, but we exchanged phone numbers and made a what's app group to keep in touch with them. It was an amazing experience and we look forward two another adventure next year and to greeting our English friends when they come to Florence in October.

Together for our last day at St. John Bosco College!

We said goodbye to our new friends, but we will stay in touch!

Afternoon

 After school we took the bus and the tube to the center of London. First we visited  Trafalgar Square,  where Bianca Maria, Paolo, and Lorenzo presented their research of its history. Then we visited the National Gallery, where we saw a lot of paintings, especially portraits. Every time we saw a bench, we sat down because we were tired! At the gallery, we saw many paintings by Rembrandt, Vincent Van Gogh, and even a Leonardo da Vinci and a Caravaggio. After the gallery, we visited Saint James Park, where we saw ducks, squirrels, and swans. Matteo, Martina, and Giulio told us about the Park, and James the I who was the first to introduced exotic animals to its grounds. We liked all the different birds. Cecilia was even talking with the ducks and they replied to her!

We spent some time sketching in the National gallery

And we even saw a masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci!

Don Francesco took us to "The Mall" where we could see Buckingham Palace in the distance

We were surprised by the beautiful birds in Saint James Park!

Buckingham Palace is a stunner!

Evening 

After Saint James Park, we took the tube to Piccadilly Circus, it was very crowded. Piccadilly Circus is truly beautiful. The first stop we made there was to Hamley's, a seven-storey toy shop. There is even a section where you can make your own Teddy Bear. Sabrina and Francesca took advantage and made their own custom bears. They named their new bears Ben and Jerry after the ice cream! While this was going on, some of the others ate some tasty typical waffles and drank Harry Potter's Butterbeer. Even after all these delicious sweets, we were still hungry so our chaperones took us to dinner at "Shake Shack" where we ate hamburger and French Fries, (or chips as they say in London)!

After our supper, we went to the "M&M Store" where we got so excited by the bright yellow walls and towers of M&Ms!

We seized the opportunity in Piccadilly Circus to go to a souvenir shop. By this time, it was late. We had a full and enjoyable day. We took our last trip on the tube and came back home.

We spoke about Piccadilly Circus, under the angel

    

We visited Hamley's, where we found Queen Elizabeth II, made from Legos!