Hello from Italy!

Good morning!
Just a very quick post from Salerno, Italy.  In a couple of hours, I will be giving two sessions with teachers here.

My journey started in Turin on Monday.
I helped out with the storytelling session given by Marcus Tubby.  (Here's me and the picture washing line!)

And I shared tips and ideas with teachers for getting the most out of pictures and for useful knowledge to pass on to young learners about words.

Then it was on to Milan.  Unfortunately, I don't have any photos from Milan.

One thing I will say is that I have been impressed (as always) by the dedication and obvious love of teachers for their subject and their vocation.

And also this time, by the architecture of the three venues we've been to.  (The photos I have are still on my camera, so I can't share them with you yet)

And what about this sky? - yesterday evening, Salerno.  You can just about make out the Costa Amalfi through the clouds.

And this sunset??????  Even on a mobile phone photo, it's still impressive.

Right, time to get a move on.  Off to meet and share ideas and experiences with lots more teachers here in Salerno.

http://www.quirkyguide.com/story/seconds-to-spare

Travel inspiration

"We love exploring new places, taking photographs and staying at the most unique hotels we can find. "

I can relate to that!!

The above sentence is taken from the 'About' information on the Global Grasshopper.com website.

As I told you in my previous post, I will be in Italy Monday 26th November through to Friday 30 November.  It's going to be a packed trip and I was trying to work out which cities I might have a bit of time to explore (I'll not have much tourist time, unfortunately, but will probably be inspired to return to certain places as I whizz through them).

  

I hope to get a taste or snapshot of the five cities I'll be giving sessions in - Torino, Milan, Rome, Salerno, Reggio Calabria).

So when I ended up at the Global Grasshopper website after following a link I'd received in an email about eltblogs, I checked out the places mentioned in the article on '10 of the most beautiful places to visit in Italy'.  I'll be paying very short visits to Rome and Milan (2 of the places mentioned) and won't get to see the others on this trip.  I had a fantastic holiday in Sardinia this summer, so I fully support the mention of that island.

And I also took a quick look at the article and photos '10 of the most beautiful places to visit in Spain'.  I found myself nodding when I saw the 10 places that were covered.  Fantastic photos!!

I think the site, the organisation of the features (based around 10) and the photos have some fantastic material for use in class.  I'll certainly be using it for teaching and for personal reasons...  The hidden places in London might contain some great ideas for my upcoming trip to London ......

I'll try and find time to write posts when I'm in Italy.  If I don't post them while I'm there, I'm sure I'll be coming back with vast amounts of inspiration!   

Ciao!

See you in Italy!

You may have noticed that I have not been very active on this blog this week.

That's not because I've been putting my feet up!

Image:  http://storibookdesigns.blogspot.com.es/2010/11/blog-bites-kick-up-your-feet.html

In a couple of hours, I will set off for Bilbao, where I'll be giving a seminar on 'Cambridge English First:  Exam Tips' at the British Council.

Then, on Monday, I have a very exciting trip to Italy!

I'll be giving training sessions in five different cities:

On Monday afternoon, I'll be in Turin at the Istituto Valsalice.

On Tuesday afternoon, I'll be sharing ideas with teachers in Milan at the Istituto Zaccaria.

On Wednesday morning, I'll be in Rome at the Auditorium Antonianum.

Thursday morning it's Salerno at the Mediterraneo Hotel.

And on Friday morning, I'll be in Reggio Calabria.

As you can imagine, I'm really looking forward to this trip!

And the great news is that on Monday, I'll be meeting up with Marina, who used to teach Italian at the school I managed for many years here in Santander.  She got in contact via this blog to let me know and I'm looking forward to catching up and to getting back in touch.

This blog has many readers in Italy and I hope to meet some of them somewhere in Italy next week!

You can find information on the different venues and sessions and register here.