Written by Macey T. and Grace N., this Italy gap year farm Garfagnana update covers a week of chestnut harvesting, community cooking, waterfall swims, and fireside music at Paladini farm in the mountains. For the last week, we’ve been at a farm called Paladini in the mountains of Garfagnana. It’s a beautiful place and it was so nice to get back to nature after a busy week in Florence. There… Read More

Written by Sydney and Liam, this gap year Italy Florence update covers a week of urban garden volunteering, a guided city tour, and iconic art encounters at the Uffizi and Accademia. We’ve been in Florence this week. Traveling into the city was a nice change of pace after being at Panta Rei for a week and a half. We volunteered twice an urban garden called Orti di Pinti. There we… Read More

Written by Megan and Mary, Overseas Educators on the Italy gap year Umbria orientation week, this update covers Terra 23’s first days at Panta Rei in the Italian countryside before heading to Florence. Ciao! The Terra 23 group has been whisked away to the Italian countryside at the beautiful property of Panta Rei in Umbria. We’ve been knee-deep in orientation activities- fun games, learning about tools to build a healthy… Read More

Written by Mariana, the Italy Greece semester farewell letter from Overseas Educators Mara and Ariana, celebrating 10 weeks across Italy and Greece with a group who made every location feel like home. What a semester! 10 weeks, 2 countries, 13 locations, 7 local partner organizations, 4 puppies, and countless gelatos and cats later – we’ve finally reached the end. Though the blog is traditionally written for your friends and family… Read More

Written by Tai and Henry, this Italy Greece semester Aegina update covers their final week of student directed travel, from the Temple of Apollo and Moni Island to the Panathenaic Olympic Stadium. After leaving our final permaculture community Re-green, we began our final week of student-directed travel. We arrived by ferry to Aegina an island to the south of Athens. We visited the archaeological museum and site of Kolona (which… Read More

Written by Cat and Naomi, this Greece permaculture community semester update covers a week of gardening, composting, drum circles, and mountain hikes at Re-Green in the Peloponnese peninsula. This past week, we were at a permaculture community in the mountains of the Peloponnese peninsula. We participated in everyday activities such as morning movement, a morning meeting, and a drum circle. We did a main activity for most of the day.… Read More

Written by Cat and Laura, this gap year Greece Athens Acropolis update covers their final days in Crete, Greek Easter celebrations, a free visit to the Parthenon on national monuments day, and a jazz bar sendoff before Re-Green. This week we ended our stay in Crete and said goodbye to Xeno and Marcos. We hope to see them again in Athens at the end of our trip. We were sad… Read More

Written by Jonah and Aiden, this gap year Greece Crete Minoan update covers Greek language classes, Easter egg traditions, pottery with Alex, and ancient archaeology with Carly in Agios Ioannis. This week, we left Italy and made our way to Crete, Greece! After a long day of planes, trains, and automobiles, we met our host, Xeno, in the airport and drove to Agios Ioannis, our village for the next 10… Read More

Written by Tai and Henry, this Italy Greece Paladini camping update covers a week of volunteer work, cold nights in tents, campfire nights with international volunteers, and a final farewell dinner in Rome before flying to Greece. After we arrived in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana by train we were excited to finally arrive in Paladini. We were met by wonderful volunteers from Ireland, France, Italy, and Hungary. Our partner, Colm, his… Read More

Written by Aiden and Naomi, this Via Francigena trek Italy update covers 25 miles of Tuscan countryside, a medieval village, a silent hike, and a final evening exploring Siena with guide Lauren. After sadly ending our stay in Florence, we made our way to Gambassi Terme to begin our Via Francigena Trek!! That afternoon we met Lauren, our guide for the trek, and prepared to begin our journey. Lauren guided… Read More

Written by Laura and Jonah, this Italy Greece Florence Panta Rei update covers their final days at the eco-community before exploring the Uffizi, Orti Dipinti garden, and a Fiesole wine tasting. This week we finished up our stay at Panta Rei, and went to Florence. In Panta Rei, we helped give back to the community by picking up any trash around the property that we could find. We also made… Read More

Written by Cat and Henry, this Italy Greece Panta Rei Rome update covers earth wall building at Centro Panta Rei, a guided tour of the Colosseum and Trevi Fountain, and the group’s anticipation for Florence. We spent this week at Centro Panta Rei. On Monday we embark by train towards Florence. We are all looking forward to being back in a city! We can’t wait to see and walk around… Read More

Written by Tai and Naomi, this Italy Greece Matera farm stay update covers a week at La Masseria La Fiorita, building birdhouses, hiking the Gravina gorge, and a cultural exchange evening with local Italian students in Altamura. This last week we were staying outside of a beautiful town called Matera. We were staying on a working farm called La Masseria La Fiorita. The farm had everything from horses and cows… Read More

Written by Italy & Greece Overseas Educator, Ariana The Italy and Greece program is off to a great start! We landed in Rome and after a day of planes, trains, and automobiles we made it to Sora. Since arriving we’ve explored the countryside, done yoga, made pasta and gnocchi, and started our orientation activities. Our host Antonello has been amazing and the crew of volunteers here has warmly welcomed us… Read More

Written by Megan That’s all, folks! The Terra group has been back home for almost 2 weeks, adjusting back to the normal pace of daily life. Did we really just do all that we did? Whatever motivated each student to step on that plane on September 15th and fly to a foreign country with complete strangers, we applaud them! It takes courage to do what others aren’t doing- to walk… Read More

Written By Bella After our time at Re-green, we spent this final week directing ourselves around the Peloponnese region of Greece. Our first stop was Olympia, where we leaned about the ancient ruins, artifacts, the Olympics, and the Temple of Zeus followed by a race on the ancient track. We also had the opportunity to check out an amazing honey farm where we learned the process of bee boxes and… Read More

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Written By Bella & Avery The group continued their time in Agios Ioannis, Crete, with an archeology lesson lead by Carly, in which we visited her lab and saw the process that artifacts are restored and studied. After an educationally stimulating morning, the group learned how to cook a traditional greek feta and jam dessert by our lovely chef, Kristina. As the night went on, in our American nature, the… Read More

Written by Valerie & Isaac Our week began in Naples, our last destination in Italy. Staying in the residential part of the city, the group enjoyed a night filled with Italy’s authentic seafood and one last gelato stop. We arose the next morning bright and early to catch our flights to Athens and Crete. Following our smooth connecting flights, we were picked up at Crete’s airport and got to enjoy… Read More

Written By by Anne and Mateo The Carpe Terra group has had a lovely and eventful week! After a quick stop in Sorrento for some much needed rest and relaxation, we ventured on to Matera where we began our time at La Fiorita. We got to see how the volunteers and staff at Fiorita ran their farm sustainably, and even participated in various jobs and activities around the farm! We… Read More