Classics Trips

 

Port Regis Educational Trip to Greece: 23 March - 28 March 2012

"If I may say so, your commitment to creating an experience both fun and educational for the children was in the highest Port Regis tradition."  A Parent

 

"When I am older I shall look back at the running races in Olympia and think, 'Did I really do that?'" A Pupil

 

After the airline strike which had threatened the Italian trip in 2010 and the cancellation of last year's visit to Tunisia because of the Spring Revolution, it was with some relief that twenty six children and four teachers boarded flight BA 632 for Athens at midday on the last Friday of term. Their eventual destination, at which they arrived just before midnight, was Olympia, site of the ancient games for over a thousand years, from 776 BC well into the period of Roman domination of the Mediterranean.  The following morning the party toured the site: notably visiting the palaestra where the Olympic wrestlers trained, the workshop where the sculptor Phidias built the gold and ivory statue of Zeus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the elaborate hotel where distinguished (and obviously very rich) spectators stayed during the Roman period.

 

The children now became athletes and, after taking the oath confirming that they had trained properly over 11 months and that they would compete fairly, proceeded to the stadium.  The first race, the blue-riband event , was the stade race for boys, a straight race of just over 192 metres.  Tom was a clear winner, as was Rosanna in the girls' stade.  The diaulos race over twice the distance went to Seb, who with the other two winners, was crowned in traditional fashion with a wreath of olive leaves on the steps of the Temple of Zeus by the holy priest, or on this occasion, Mr Jonas.

 

Greek architecture provides an excellent opportunity for sketching, an opportunity which this particular group seized with relish.  Besides the massive tumbledown columns of the temple itself, the excellent museum offered metopes depicting the 12 Labours of Heracles, pediment sculptures showing Centaurs fighting Lapiths, and the famous statue of Hermes by Praxiteles.  It was difficult to drag the children away when the museum closed at three, but this left plenty of time to visit the memorial to Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympics, to shop for souvenirs and to take part in the quiz "Who Wants to Be an Olympic Millionaire?"  This tested how much the children had learnt about the Ancient Olympics and encouraged them to speculate on lesser known facts about the modern equivalent: that Ghandi was a reporter at the 1932 games; and that the exact distance of the marathon has nothing to do with the battle of that name and its distance from Athens, but the exact mileage from Windsor Castle to the Olympic Stadium in West London.

 

The following day (March 25th) was Greek Independence Day, on which all the sites are closed. So the party  took the scenic route through the mountains of Arcadia to the north-eastern Peloponnese stopping at the attractive mountain resort of Vitina to watch the locals dancing in the square in full national costume, and to enjoy the first of four excellent taverna lunches in front of a blazing log fire. (The enthusiasm of this group for sketching was matched only by their huge appetite for Greek cuisine.)  After stopping in Syntagma Square in  Nauplion for an ice cream, appropriately as this was the first capital of independent Greece, the group made the short journey to the seaside resort of Tolon where they were to stay for the next three nights in the superb Hotel Minoa, the front door of which led right onto the beach.  There was time for a quick paddle before dinner and early  bed; the next day was to be their busiest.

 

The acropolis at Corinth is a mightily impressive sight, but a visit there had to be left for another day and for older and stronger legs as the climb is long and arduous.  Instead it served as the backdrop as the children sketched statues and columns from the site in the warm morning sunshine.  After more Greek salad, tzatziki and souvlaki we reached the day's highlight, the magnificent fortress city of Mycenae.  Here the children marvelled at the Cyclopean walls and the famous Lion Gate, heard how Agamemnon, the legendary king of the city, had been murdered by his wife on his return from the Trojan War, and went underground with torches to explore the 13th century BC water cistern with its wonderful corbelled ceiling and the haunt of a solitary bat.  After a visit to the museum to look at a copy of what the German archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann, mistakenly thought was the death mask of Agamemnon (two hundred years too early) there was then time to visit the Treasury of Atreus, not a treasury at all but a massive beehive-shaped tomb, probably of a king, perhaps Atreus: not quite the pyramids but equally impressive in the precision of its circular design.

 

An hour after leaving Mycenae the children were on the beach at Tolon, again sharing time between paddling in the warm Aegean and preparing their entries for the sandcastle competition.  There were many original constructions but two were outstanding: Varya took second prize with her very accurate "Treasury of Atreus" complete with relieving triangle; and first prize was taken by a group of C Form girls who managed to recreate the whole city of Mycenae, complete with Lion Gate, shaft graves, cisterns and beehive tombs.  After dinner, for those still with energy to burn, there was the chance to learn some basic Greek dances and by bedtime some were rather good at it.

 

After an early breakfast the group boarded the bus for Epidaurus, arguably the most impressive of Ancient Greek theatres.  They almost had the place to themselves which was good as, in three teams, they prepared to act out the scene from the Agamemnon by Aeschylus where the king is murdered.  Their performances were lively and so clear that most could be heard at the back of the open-air theatre which had a capacity of over 12,000. The winners were a team headed up by Cecily, speaking in the original Greek, who played the part of Agamemnon, and featuring Charlie as the scream of Agamemnon. (Cecily had a bit of a sore throat!)

 

 After inspecting the stadium at Epidaurus, the seating of which is currently being excavated, the group enjoyed another splendid lunch at a cliff-top taverna in the seaside town of Ermioni.  An amusing sequel to this saw the group leader being whisked away on the back of the waiter's motorbike following some confusion over the bill.  A private ferry had been hired to take the party across the extremely choppy strait to the island of Hydra, where time seems to have stood still and where the only motorised vehicle is the town dustcart.  Question: how do you get twenty six children to walk up a steep hill in the afternoon sun?  Answer: hire three donkeys and two horses for them to take turns to ride.  The views from the top were a reward for their efforts and there was shopping and an ice cream when they climbed back down to Hydra town.

 

All too soon the final day of the holiday had arrived.  With bags packed safely in the coach, and after a brief stop to wonder at the Corinthian Canal, the group arrived in Athens for their visit to the Acropolis.  After taking in the spectacular views from the summit and learning the basics of Greek temple architecture, they had the final opportunity to sketch either the Parthenon or the famous Charyatid columns of its Ionic sister, the Erectheion.  A short walk downhill took the party to the Plaka district where a taverna had been booked for lunch and where the children were allowed to choose straight from the menu. Those who ordered calamari got something of a shock here when the expected bland battered rings turned out to be rather more gutsy fare resembling the actual fish!  Presentations were made here to the winners of the various competitions and then it was time to rejoin the bus for the airport and a trouble-free flight back to UK.

 

Outside the Treasury of Atreus in Mycenae

 

"Wow! The children didn't stop talking about the trip the whole drive home...and beyond! They had a magnificent time. A huge thank you to you all for looking after them so well and giving them such a marvellous experience which will stay with them all their lives."  A Parent

 

 

Port Regis Educational Visit to Tunisia: 25 March - 1 April 2011

 

Sadly, this trip had to be cancelled because of the political situation in Tunisia at the time. We hope to be able to offer this trip in 2013.

 

Friday 25th March - After leaving Port Regis by coach mid-morning, fly London Heathrow to Tunis

16.20 depart Heathrow 20.15 arrive Tunis

Transfer to Hotel Mediterranee Thalasso Golf in Hammamet for 3 nights on half board basis.

This hotel is right by the sea and has indoor and outdoor pools, mini-golf, volley ball, quick tennis, archery, table tennis and other facilities which the children may use free of charge.

Saturday 26th March - Hammamet/Tunis/Bardo/Sidi Bou Said/Carthage/Hammamet

After breakfast travel into Tunis and visit the medina, the souks, Bardo Museum to investigate the Roman mosaics, the pretty village of Sidi Bou Said (lunch stop) and the Roman site of Carthage where the children will learn about Dido and Aeneas. Return to hotel for dinner and overnight.

Sunday 27th March - Hammamet/Dougga/Bulla Regia/Hammamet

After breakfast travel to the Roman site of Dougga with its temples, fine theatre and other public buildings, (take lunch in the Hotel Thugga) then travel to the Roman site of Bulla Regia with its underground villas and mosaics in situ. Return to hotel for dinner and overnight.

Monday 28th March - Hammamet/El Djem/Matmata/Douz

After breakfast travel south to El Djem and visit the Roman amphitheatre, almost as good as the Colosseum in Rome but far less crowded. After visit, travel to Matmata (take lunch at the Hotel Sidi Driss which featured as the house of Luke Skywalker the original Star Wars movie) and a troglodyte cave dwelling. Journey continues to Douz, gateway town to the Sahara for dinner and overnight at the Hotel Mehari.

Tuesday 29th March  Douz/Chott el Jerid/Tozeur

Before breakfast take a camel ride into the desert for sunrise. After breakfast travel across the Chott el Jerid salt lake (stopping for contemplating mirages en route) to the oasis town of Tozeur with its 200,000 date palms. (lunch in Tozeur) Afternoon, visit an oasis and the Dar el Cherait museum or alternatively travel into the desert in 4 x 4 vehicles (not guaranteed; I will have to look at the health and safety implications!) and visit the film locations for the English Patient and Star Wars at Once El Jemel. Dinner and overnight at the Hotel El Hafsi in Tozeur.

Wednesday 30th March Tozeur/Metlaoui/Gafsa/Hammamet

After breakfast travel to Metlaoui and join the Lizard Rouge train for a journey through the Gorges of Selja. Take lunch in Gafsa and then travel to Hammamet and the Hotel Mediterranee Thalasso Golf for a further 2 nights on full- board basis.

Thursday 31st March Hammamet

Free day for swimming and other activities in the hotel and on the beach. We will also try to organise a football match with a local school on this day. Lunch and Dinner and overnight at the Hotel Mediterranee Thalasso Golf.

Friday 1st April - Fly Tunis/Heathrow for coach to Port Regis

Transfer to Tunis Carthage Airport

13.20 depart Tunis 16.15 arrive Heathrow. Arrive back at Port Regis at approximately 19.30.

 

Port Regis Pompeii Trip: March 2010

 

It is perhaps ironic that this account of the 2010 Classics Trip, a visit to Vesuvius and the Roman cities it destroyed which was up to the last minute under threat from BA industrial action, was concocted whilst I was grounded in France for eight days because of flights cancelled by the eruption of another volcano.

 

Day One
Two thirty in the morning is not the ideal time to start a school trip, but by midday all thought of our chilly awakening in windy Dorset was forgotten as we tucked into pasta in a sun-drenched restaurant perched on the slopes of Vesuvius. Thus fortified, we were ready for the climb to the summit of the volcano. The hardened lava flow from the last eruption in 1944 and the occasional puffs of sulphurous fumes from inside the crater were reminders of the threat that Vesuvius still holds for those three million Neapolitans living in its shadow, but this danger was easily forgotten as we took in the views of Naples and looked across the bay to Sorrento where we would stay for the next four nights.

 

The journey to our hotel (imaginatively named the Hotel Tourist) was longer than expected because a closed tunnel meant a detour, but in an itinerary designed to immerse the children not just in classical but also modern Italian life, there was a chance to observe the native character at its most volatile: our unfortunate coach driver, a delightful man named Enzo, when trying to drop us of at the hotel clipped one of the many scooters triple-parked in the street opposite; his attempts to manhandle it out of the way were met with complaints from the hotel owner, who waved his arms frantically to emphasise his point; voices were raised and punches were threatened, but as usual it came to nothing. We settled into our hotel, ate supper and were all ready for an early night.

 

Day Two
Next morning we took the Circumvesuviana railway to Pompeii.  After inspecting the ancient tombs outside the walls, including the largest, that of Eumachia the wealthy priestess of Venus, we entered (like the Nucerians in Stage 7 of the Cambridge Latin Course) town through the Porta Nocera and made our way to the amphitheatre. Here, in small groups the children devised ways of estimating its seating capacity.  First prize for ingenuity went to Tom (C Form), James and Lawrence (both B Form) for a method which involved Pi and pacing out the diameter of the arena.  Moving on past the palaestra, the bars, food outlets and election slogans in the Via d’Abondanza, and the fulling workshop of Stephanus, we soon found ourselves staring into the glass case which houses the casts of unfortunate Pompeians who failed to escape the eruption. Further on we came to the house of Ceius.  Here the children, like clients in Roman times, were told to wait outside on benches before being invited in by their patron’s doorkeeper.  Ushered inside, they found themselves in a typical middle-sized Pompeian house with all the features familiar in Stage 1 of the CLC: the atrium with its compluvium and impluvium below, the small bedrooms to the side, the triclinium, the tablinum, and the small garden at the rear with frescoes depicting hunting scenes. 

 

After a quick tour of the forum, it was time for a pizza lunch before the children were escorted through the suites of rooms in the adjoining Forum Baths.  The shorter afternoon tour took us the Pompeii’s largest residential building, the House of The Faun, past the House of the Vettii (sadly closed, like so many buildings in the town, for repair) to the House of Caecilius, the hero (if that is the right word) of the first book of the CLC.  As usual it was closed to the public, but we were able to look through the entrance, past the CAVE CANEM mosaic, to the atrium (where Metella sedet), the tablinum (where Caecilius scribit) and the hortus (where Clemens laborat).  Moving on, we left the town through the Herculaneum Gate and made our way past more tombs to the spacious out-of-town Villa of the Mysteries with its richly coloured frescoes and its reconstructed wine press.  Here the children were able to explore the rooms on their own, most readily now recognising the important features of this rather special building.

 

Conveniently our tour finished close to the Circumvesuviana station from where we took the train back to Sorrento for our first taste of Italian ice cream. Licking was of necessity hurried for we needed to be at the nearby astro pitch for the 5 o’clock kick-off of our scheduled game of "Il Calcio" against a side of Italian boys.  Dressed in the “azure” of their national side, and with both a coach and trainer, and two supporters waving a huge Italian flag, they looked formidable opposition.  And when they slotted one easily past Milo in our goal just minutes after kick-off, hearts began to sink as we contemplated an embarrassing mis-match.  But marshalled by manager Jonas (who also refereed) and inspired by the speed and skill of James (now at Sherborne) we fought back to win quite comfortably by three goals to two.  After this hotly-contested international, the remaining boys and girls took part in a lively encounter between the Jonas X team and the Wall Y team, the latter coming out comfortable winners largely thanks to some constructive play from Molly (C Form) who is clearly something of an expert.

 

As if all this footballing excitement was not enough, after dinner we walked across town to play ten-pin bowling where Daisy (A Form) won the prize for the highest score.

 

 

Day Three 
After breakfast our coach whisked us south through Salerno to Yanullo, the only organic buffalo farm making mozzarella in Italy, and probably the world.  After sampling various flavoured yoghurts and ice creams made from buffalo milk, much creamier than the cow’s equivalent and so making the addition of sugar unnecessary, we visited the animals in their state-of-the-art, luxurious accommodation.  Their barn is air-conditioned, flushed out by a “tidal wave” every five minutes, and comes equipped with rollers, not unlike those in an automatic car-wash, for round-the-clock massage and back scratching.  A chip allows these pampered creatures automatic entry to the robotic milking machine when they are ready to give milk. Next we watched the cheese-makers deftly fashioning the boiling hot cheese into a variety of shapes, including an elaborate plait, before sampling small balls of it on sticks.  Forget the rubbery and tasteless mozzarella found on our supermarket shelves, these were creamier, much more subtle in flavour and strictly to be eaten within 12 hours of manufacture – on its own, and certainly not melted on a pizza.

 

 

The coastline to the south of Naples was a popular area for Greek colonists and just minutes from the mozzarella farm lies the splendid settlement of Paestum with its three 5th century BC temples.  These masterpieces of the Doric order helped the children to understand some of the basic features of Greek architecture (pediment, metope and triglyph, for example) and also offered a perfect opportunity to sketch in the warm sunlight.  Angus (B Form) and James (now at Millfield) produced some particularly commendable architectural drawings.

 

After a panini lunch, the afternoon was spent sketching details from the metopes in the nearby museum and studying the oldest extant Greek painting, The Diver, which was only discovered in 1968 on the underside of the lid of a sarcophagus.

 

The coach returned us to Sorrento in time for some shopping in “The Drain” before supper, after which it was straight off to the Hollywood disco to let off steam.  Elliott (A Form) impressed our judge, Miss Roberts, sufficiently with his vigorous and rhythmic steps to win the dance prize, though there were several who thought that a worthier winner might have been Mr Jonas with a rather more restrained, yet nevertheless lively, routine.

 

 

Day Four 
After train and coach, today was the turn of the hydrofoil, which would take us to Naples.  On our way down to Sorrento harbour we stopped at a suitable vantage point looking across the bay to Vesuvius and listened to Mr Jonas reading Pliny the Younger’s account of his uncle’s experiences during the AD 79 eruption.  This day the sea mercifully calm and we were soon disembarking in Naples and starting our one mile trek to the National Museum which houses most of the treasures discovered at Pompeii and Vesuvius, including the mosaics though this section was sadly closed for reconstruction on the day of our visit.  But there was still plently to look at, photograph and sketch: busts of emperors, including Vespasian, a favourite of the Pompeians who, as a young man, had led the Second Legion through Dorset in the invasion of Britain; statues of Athene, instantly recognisable with shield and helmet, of Aphrodite, and of Hera; and the remarkable statues of the Farnese collection, brought from the Baths of Caracalla in Rome and featuring Circe and the Bull, the largest classical statue in existence and carved from a single block of marble.  After learning of the strange story of Dirce, the children began to sketch this and other statues nearby.  The results were immensely impressive, in particular Lawrence’s (B Form) attempt to capture all the action in the Bull statue, and Archie’s (A Form) beautifully detailed study of Antiope begging her two sons not to tie Dirce to the bull.

 

Whilst some sketched, others visited rooms on the second floor of the museum, notably that housing the frescoes from houses in Pompeii.  The children were encouraged to explore these and consider the subject matter of the paintings. The sharpest were soon recognising architectural features such as those they had seen the previous day on the temples at Paestum:  columns of the Doric order, metopes and triglyphs.  Other spotted characters from well-known myths, Perseus and Medusa, and Dirce and the bull.  But all instantly recognised one of the smaller but deeply informative pictures, that showing the riot of AD 59 which took place in the Pompeian amphitheatre between the home crowd and visiting Nucerian fans and which resulted in the imposition of a twenty year ban on such events.

 

Lunch beckoned and in Naples that could only mean pizza.  Neapolitans invented pizza and they are very strict about the proper way to bake them and the type of tomatoes and mozzarella used (and you can certainly forget about deep pan Hawaiian!)  Our chosen restaurant, run by the Mattozzi family, has been baking pizzas since 1890 and proudly displays the “Vera Pizza” sign above its door to show that their oven and their ingredients are authentic.  But authenticity comes at a price: it takes its time, but eventually all thirty two were cooked and consumed, and we were able to resume our walk down to the harbour, making a short detour through some of the ancient back streets where laundry hangs from washing lines rigged up from second floor windows.

 

After more ice creams on the small beach adjoining Sorrento harbour, we made our way up to the limoncello factory (organic again), having accepted the kind invitation of its proud owner, Signor Cataldi, for a tour and some sampling.  The children practised peeling lemons, sampled slices of the unusually sweet fruit, and enjoyed bits of cake soaked in a sort of lemon sherry.  However, we had to forsake the samples of the liqueur itself which Signor Cataldi had prepared thinking that the children would be a little older!  We walked back to the hotel via the Cataldi lemon groves, a tranquil oasis in the heart of bustling Sorrento – stopping on the way at the Cataldi shop for free samples of their lemon ice cream.

 

After supper – and the food at the Hotel Tourist had been consistently good – came the final opportunity for shopping till dropping, rather too literally in the case of some of the female members of the group who had succumbed to a twenty four hour sickness bug.

 

 

Day Five 
By eight thirty our bags were packed on the coach which was to take us to our final destination, Herculaneum, Pompeii’s smaller but more up-market neighbour. Here the children were to make use of their experiences of the previous four days as, divided into three groups, they map-read their way around the ancient streets in search of various buildings on which they would have to answer questions.  One group, made up entirely of A Formers, found the map reading something of a challenge, but all eventually found their way to the three buildings which required investigation: the House of the Stag; the women’s section of the Forum Baths; and the House of the Wooden Partition, sadly closed and so necessitating craning of necks through doors and windows.  The answers provided by all three groups, some of which required the speculative instincts of the archaeologist, were excellent but first prize went to a team of B Formers marshalled with enthusiastic expertise by James of A Form.

 

Lunch was hurried as we had been rung to say that our flight was leaving earlier than scheduled.  After an overcast and drizzly start, the sun had come out for the fifth day running, the temperature was in the mid-twenties, and many of the party would have happily continued to bask in the warm sunshine in the coach park at Naples Airport rather than wheeling their bags across the road to check-in.

 

Our plane, with its thankfully non-militant cabin crew, touched down on schedule at Gatwick where some of the group were met by their parents.  The rest of us arrived at Port Regis a little later – just 3 minutes behind schedule.