EGMO - First Impressions & Opening Ceremonies
Florence - a city so rich in culture and heritage!!
With a 6 hour time difference, it was really important for us that we adjust our body clocks as quick as possible. So after getting into our hotel rooms and freshening up, we then went back out on an impromptu tour of the city with one of the EGMO guides. To be honest, while it was nice to get a tour, the main purpose was to keep moving in fresh air so no one fell asleep!!
Our hotel is quite close to downtown, about a 10 minute walk, and every inch of it filled with beautiful vistas or fascinating buildings and art. The architecture is beautiful, but what really got me was all the color they used in the marble. Our guide gave us fascinating tidbits of history, like how during WWII certain areas of the city avoided bombing because the Germans found some things too interesting to destroy, like the Ponte Vecchio. On our mini-tour we got to see some beautiful pieces of art all over the city.
It turns out that our impromptu tour gave us an advantage in the scavenger hunt the next day!
At the end of the tour, we specially requested some famous Florentine gelato...our guide delivered.
I'm not going to lie, this was the highlight for me of the day. We needed a pick-me-up badly after all the travel, and I've been dreaming of gelato ever since I learnt EGMO was in Italy this year!! It did not disappoint!
The next day, we were off to the opening ceremonies. Here we once again headed downtown to an old, beautiful theater in the middle of the city.
We heard from a few distinguished guests and sponsors, but my favorite part has always been the parade of countries. This time, we were actually ordered by average age of contestants - Canada was the 48/51 countries! We have a very young, very promising team this year to start our annual tradition. Here's a great shot of everyone, including Dorette and myself before the ceremonies began.
Canmoo made friends too at the opening ceremonies! Here she is with Fermat & Fermat's Little Theorem, the mascots for Australia:
We're hoping to get shots of Canmoo with all the other mascots here this week, so stay tuned for more photos :)
Sarah
With a 6 hour time difference, it was really important for us that we adjust our body clocks as quick as possible. So after getting into our hotel rooms and freshening up, we then went back out on an impromptu tour of the city with one of the EGMO guides. To be honest, while it was nice to get a tour, the main purpose was to keep moving in fresh air so no one fell asleep!!
Our hotel is quite close to downtown, about a 10 minute walk, and every inch of it filled with beautiful vistas or fascinating buildings and art. The architecture is beautiful, but what really got me was all the color they used in the marble. Our guide gave us fascinating tidbits of history, like how during WWII certain areas of the city avoided bombing because the Germans found some things too interesting to destroy, like the Ponte Vecchio. On our mini-tour we got to see some beautiful pieces of art all over the city.
It turns out that our impromptu tour gave us an advantage in the scavenger hunt the next day!
At the end of the tour, we specially requested some famous Florentine gelato...our guide delivered.
I'm not going to lie, this was the highlight for me of the day. We needed a pick-me-up badly after all the travel, and I've been dreaming of gelato ever since I learnt EGMO was in Italy this year!! It did not disappoint!
The next day, we were off to the opening ceremonies. Here we once again headed downtown to an old, beautiful theater in the middle of the city.
Canmoo made friends too at the opening ceremonies! Here she is with Fermat & Fermat's Little Theorem, the mascots for Australia:
We're hoping to get shots of Canmoo with all the other mascots here this week, so stay tuned for more photos :)
Sarah
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