Written By Sarah & Gillie We awoke on our first morning at Paladini farm to the smell of pancakes cooking – with a twist. Chestnut pancakes, made from chestnut flour harvested and milled by our host Colm and the volunteers. On our first day, Colm explained to us how important the chestnuts are to the success of the farm – beyond having an endless supply of roasted chestnuts to eat,… Read More

Written By John and Ellie On Saturday, the group packed up early and ventured toward the birthplace of the renaissance, Firenze (Florence). After setting up at our new hostel, we spent our free time further exploring and appreciating the beautiful architecture around us. On Sunday, we were sent on a scavenger hunt, and through our wanderings got to know the heart of Florence. Our final destination of the scavenger hunt… Read More

Written by Ishtar & Ellie Hello friends, family, and staff! We hiked the Via Francigena starting in beautiful Tuscany — specifically, a little town known as Gambassi Terme! We reunited with our lovely guide, Lauren who took us from town to town to learn about historic Italy. Our agenda: San Gimignano Poggibonsi Colle di Val d’Elsa Monterigionni Siena! The trail we’re hiking “Via Francigena” means the road that comes from… Read More

Written By Ishtar & Gavin The Carpe Terra Group has marched through the busy streets of Rome — a big switch from the countryside where we started! Our bellies are full with pasta and pizza — as expected. On our first day, we met our new Italian language teacher, Michaela, from whom we learned to ask, “Come ti chiami?” and “Come sai?”. To this we answer, “Mi chiamo Terra Group!”… Read More

Written By OEs, Adam & Megan The Carpe Terra program began their journey in the stunning region of Umbria, the green heart of Italy. This could not have been a more perfect beginning to the environmental focus of our semester, staying at the impressive family-run farm of Adolfo and Darcy, who have tenderly loved and cultivated this land for over 20 years. Students were welcomed with a traditional Italian meal… Read More

We’re happy to report that the TERRA group has arrived safely in Italy! They are making their way via private shuttle from the Rome airport to Località Il Piano, where they will spend the week learning about each other, the program, and Italy. They’ll also get to explore the countryside, help with harvests and cooking, and start diving into their learning about sustainability and climate change. They will post a… Read More

Hooray, all the members of the Italy & Greece TERRA group have arrived safely to JFK and are gathered together as a group for the first time. They are looking forward to getting to know one another and are ready to start their journey. We wish them safe and easy travels to Rome! We will post another blog when we’ve received word they have arrived safely in Italy.… Read More

Hello parents and students alike from Megan and Adam, Carpe Diem’s Fall 2022 Italy and Greece trip leaders! We write you from Carpe Diem staff training in sunny (for the most part) Portland, Oregon. Here we find ourselves working to put the finishing touches on our upcoming adventure together, getting to know each other better, as well as relaxing, recharging, and having some much needed fun! With just over one… Read More

Written By OEs Rachael & Adam Greetings Terra family, friends, and fans! This is the final blog by your OE’s Rachael & Adam. It has been an honor herding your kiddos through airports and train stations for the last couple months! We have shared many a laugh, lots of gelato, weird dance experiences in a yurt, some tears, and met and loved many donkeys along the way. We started in… Read More

Written By Riley START It is raining outside. The campfire is smoldering. Two of us help our Irish contact, Colm prepare breakfast in the outdoor kitchen. The rest of us sit on the outside tables, in the yurt, or huddled around the campfire, waving off the smoke. We eat delicious chestnut pancakes (made with Paladini’s own supply of chestnut flour), scrambled eggs (not without lack of eggshells), and Colm’s delicious… Read More

Written By Riley Ciao! This week the group got a healthy mix of suburban, urban, and then rural living, as we moved from the suburbs of Florence, to central Florence, to our current camping spot in Garfagnana. By last week, each member of our group had gotten the chance to step into the role of group leader and so the group devised a council system to equally split up group… Read More

Written By Nick & Charlotte For this week during our trip we went trekking along the Via Francigena. We started out in the city of Gambassi Terme and finished in the city of Siena while making our way through the country side of Tuscany, staying in Abbeys and Convents along the way. Our journey started off with bread making and a 14km hike to the city of San Gimignano. We… Read More

Written By Jack & Cedar Salutations to our beloved fans! My, what a week it has been! Following a challenging week at Re-Green, we returned to Athens for the afternoon. After dropping our bags off at the AirBnB, the very stinky group scurried over to the trusty laundromat, followed by lunch at our favorite souvlaki place (for the 100th time). The group then went their separate ways- some of the… Read More

Written By Riley & Ethan This week we boarded an early morning flight from Crete to Athens to explore the independence of Greek city life. After settling in to our spacious AirBnb on Loulianou Street, afternoon free time was spent napping, locating laundromats, vintage shopping, and sampling the wide variety of cheese pies Greece has to offer. That night, the group dined together at a local souvlaki restaurant where we… Read More

Written by Natalie & William Greetings Carpe Diem enthusiasts, Our group had an excellent second week in the mud houses in the mountains of Crete. The week was focused on further Greek exploration. We continued our Greek classes with our teacher, Maria. Our lessons focused on more common sayings and greetings which were useful on our trips to local towns. We even learned some traditional Cretan dances – made even… Read More

Written by OEs, Rachael & Adam Yasus Terra friends, family, & fans! OE’s Adam and Rachael here writing with an update. We can’t believe it has almost been a week since the group united for the first time in NYC. We went straight into a loooooong journey from JFK to Amsterdam to Athens to Crete to a two hour drive to our destination. We arrived in stormy rain and cold… Read More

Dear families and friends of the Spring ’22 TERRA group, After a full day of travel, the TERRA group has made it to Crete. They look forward to settling in, getting some sleep, and then to waking up and diving in to their orientation. They’ll spend the next few days focused on getting to know each other, the program, and getting an introduction to Crete! They’ll post an update about… Read More

Hello family and friends of the Spring ’22 TERRA group, We’re happy to report that all TERRA students have arrived safely to JFK and connected with Adam and Rachael. They are all together as a group for the first time and are already enjoying starting to get to know one another. They are looking forward to their adventures together – and we are all looking forward to following along. We’ll… Read More

Written By OEs, Adam & Rachael Yasus Terra Crew and family and friends who will be following us on this journey! This is Adam and Rachael your OE’s writing from training in Portland, Oregon. On this blog from here on out you will be hearing directly from students about our adventures and their experiences! This week we have been enjoying seeing old Carpe friends, getting out and about in chilly… Read More