No sleep till...

well, not for a very long time; in fact I ended up going for about 43 hours without sleeping.
I made it to school for 4:30am to meet everyone; I decided that there was no point in going to sleep and kept myself awake by watching ridiculous tv programmes and drinking coffee! We had the coach loaded and ready to go in no time at all and were soon on our way to the airport. There were tears from some of the students (and some parents) as we left, but the mood was generally good considering the time. When we arrived in Italy, we were met by our guide and made our way to the hotel for lunch. We were staying 10 minutes away from Lake Garda and the hotel had a lovely, quiet location. Part of the itinerary was for the students to participate in 5 dance workshops; they had the first one after lunch. We returned to the hotel hoping to make use of the pool; but before you could say bikini, it was raining. Rain turned to hailstones and the next thing we knew it was a storm; sun loungers were being blown around the pool and then the electricity went out. I couldn't believe it; surely not another holiday with terrible weather.
Thankfully, it cleared up and we were able to enjoy the evening dining Al Fresco at the Pizzeria. The night was rounded off watching films; I stopped off to speak to some locals on my way down to the cinema.