Day 7: March 30, 2016

This morning the bus went quiet as eyes closed as soon as we hit the road. Last night's karaoke and dance party at the hotel was so much fun, but late nights and early morning starts don't go well together. Luckily we have a long drive up to Switzerland today, so plenty of time to catch up on sleep. We made a mid-morning stop in Verona, the legendary home of Romeo and Juliet. There we saw the impressive Roman Amphitheatre completed in 30AD, the third largest in the world! Mr. McLaughlin then treated us to gelato, before we went to see Juliet’s balcony. Tara and Jerod did the most beautiful rendition of Shakespeare in the courtyard (Romeo, oh Romeo!!). Then we had some free time for shopping and a quick slice of pizza. Some strong Italian coffee was had, and off we went back on the coach and it was time to say Arrivederci Italia, as we crossed another border in the 4th country we are visiting on this trip, Switzerland. The scenery here is beautiful, rolling hills, snow capped peaks, stunning lakes. Our hotel is located right next to one of the lakes. ... I wonder if you guys will be crazy enough to swim here, too, as well as the freezing Mediterranean. We are visiting Lucerne tomorrow and getting ready to go up one of the mountains for some snow fun tomorrow, and of course we will have to try some of the famous Swiss chocolate....