Lake Como- Day 1

After a big day of travel and many weary bodies, the excitement and enthusiasm was evident as the wheels of the Thai Airlines flight touched down in Milan. The students had already embraced the concept of developing their Italian communication skills, even before leaving Melbourne, as Italian became the primary language of all communication. Having arrived at the Language School in Milan and meeting their host families, the students were off for the night. The next morning they arrived at our meeting point with smiles and exciting tales of their first night’s experiences. Witnessing the students’ delight in having successfully conquered the challenge of public transport; not so daunting after all, combined with their recognition that they had already developed skills that would enable them to communicate with their host families, there appeared to be almost instant growth in confidence. Today we travelled to Lake Como. The weather was kind, no rain and no wind. We met the tour guide for the day and headed onto the water for a fascinating tour that included tales of the rich and famous along with a knowledge of the history of the area. Needless to say George Clooney’s three villas along with other residences used for films like Star Wars and more recently James Bond and the Nespresso commercials, just happened to get a mention, along with Lachlan Murdoch, Mariah Carey, Bruce Springsteen and Johnny Depp. Treasures like the thousand-year-old bridge built under the Roman Empire were abundant.