Map of my trip !
Map of my Trip with ferry and bus routes
Monday, July 16, 2012
Vatican !
Today was a great day ! The day started out with a late wake up at 8 witch was very Nice . From there we went to breakfast . There has been one type of cheese that I have had at every breakfast And I can't figure out the kind .. I am going to miss it so mutch after tommarow ! From there we got on our bus and went to the Vadican ! We went through a museum and saw the Sisten chapel . I was very amazed there were so many paintings .. I could not take my head of the roof . I was literaly in awe seeing it . From there we went to lunch witch was pasta and Lazania ! It was amazing . The pasta was cooked in chicken broth with basil . And the Lazania was some of the best I have ever had ! From there we went and meet with a fourmer Swiss guard .. There life is extremely hard and they only have 2 weeks of holiday for the whole 2 years that they work . They also work long 9 hour shifts . From there we went to meet with a priest to talk about the Vadican . I was very surprised that they have over 50 countries embassy's in that tiny countrie . They also have an embassy in 70 countries . I found that fascinating we also learnd that the official language is Latin And that the pope only has one hour of free time a day ! From three we went to dinner and had baked pasta it was amazing ! I. Can't believe that tonight is my last night in Europe :(
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Full day in Rome !
Today was a great day ! The day started out with a wake up at 7:15 . From there we went to breakfast then right from there went into the city of Rome (we are staying slightly south of rome ) our bus dropped us of In the center of Rome and our leaders set it up for us to have a " city quest " that was basically a list of places we had to walk around Rome and fined . We started With having to fined the Spanish steps . They were very hard to fined lots of small streets that were not marked . When we finally found them we walked up them , took pictures , then it was off to the Italian parliament building . It was easy to fined . From there we had to fined the pathon witch was a temple that was used as a temple for pagans and is know a catholic church . It looks like a mini Parthenon actually . From there we went to the Trevi fountain . Witch was very hard to fined ! A few people actually had to call our delegation manager to get directions because they got so lost. I through a coin over my shoulder and aparently I will return to Rome some day ! From there we went to piatzza nouvana . Witch was very easy to fined and was a very nice area with a fountain , a church, And lots of shoppes . From there we went to lunch . Lunch was a large salad with chicken , eggs , matazerela . From there we went to a small local place witch was rated best in rome for gelato ! It was very tasty ! We had some free time to walk around and explore Rome alone ( relaxed this time ) and do some shopping . From there we went into the cadacomes . Witch is where they buried many people years ago under ground . It was very neet . They actualy had a room they called the " mini Vatican " where they burried several priest . It is hard to believe that tommarow is our last full day of the trip ! Good night !
Saturday, July 14, 2012
All roads lead to Rome !
Today was a realy fun , but as usual a long day . The day started out with a 7:15 wake up which was nice . Breakfast was the same as yesterday and was absolutely disgusting . After breakfast we boarded our bus for a 4 hour bus ride to Rome! The bus ride went very well. I Slept part of the time and listened to music and enjoyed the scenery . Before we knew it we were arriving in Rome ! It was very neat arriving in the city of Rome. It was all farm land, then all of a sudden it transformed into a major city ! The city was very nice right when we got there we went to lunch , which was a very nice pasta dish . From lunch we started out on a walk to the Coliseum. The walk was a long one but it was nice walking through Rome with how nice of a city it is. Before we knew it we could see the Coliseum . I will never forget the moment when I fist saw it. I had a feeling of amazement and shock just noticing I am in Rome and am on my way to the Coliseum which is one of the most known sights in the world . When we got inside it we had a very nice tour of it . We learned lots including how much the Coliseum was used through out history all the way through WWII . I also found it interesting that they took material from it to help build the Vatican . I also learned that it used to be white but the color was changed by all of the pollution in the air . Also, the whole stage collapsed several hundred years ago, but they are in the process of rebuilding a similar one .From the Coliseum we went to the Forum which was the capital area of the roman empire . There were lots of amazing old ruins . They also had an arch for soldiers to march under when they were returning from war which reminded me of the arc d triumph . Except this one was white and very large . From there we had some free time to souvenir shop . After that we went to dinner. We had the option to chose between pizza and risotto and I chose risotto, which is a little harder to get in America . It was very good ! From there we went to our hotel which is very nice, and where we will be stating for the next 3 nights . It is hard to believe that this is the last hotel on this trip !
Friday, July 13, 2012
Pompeii
Today was a long but fun day . The day started out at 5:30 with an early wake up . It was so hard waking up early . We got off the ferry and went into the city of Naples , Italy . We went to a small restaurant for breakfast . Breakfast was ... Umm ... Well ... I'll say we've had better . It was all carbs . A croissant , bread , and corn flakes . Apparently a very traditional Italian breakfast but I am not so sure . From there we got on our bus and drove to a water park ! Yes we did go to a water park and had a very nice, relaxing morning swimming , going in the wave pool , and going down the water slides. It was a very nice water park And it felt so nice to unwind for 5 hours . From there we got back on the coach and drove to lunch . Lunch was gnocchi ! It tasted so amazing ! Better than most I've had in America.From there we drove an hour to the town of Pompeii . I was very excited to see these ruins . In my mind it Is fascinating how a whole city could be covered in ash . We had a guided tour of the city . There was a theater , stores , spas , And many more ! They had an amazing all natural spa it is amazing! In my mind that they created all of that . There was so much history there. The city was actually discoverd by grape farmers who were digging to find a natural stream. From there we had free time to walk around the town . Then we walked to dinner it was pasta , pork and potatoes.
Then we had gelato ! Good night every one!
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Good by Sicily :(
I did not have service on the ferry last night , that's why this Poast is late
Today was an amazing day ! The day started out with a very relaxing morning which was great after the "event " last night . My allergy medication ( Benadryl ) makes me very sleepy, that's why my post was very brief last night . Ok , so as many of you know I have a life threatening fish allergy . So last night the antipasti before dinner was a pasta. To me it looked like chicken and red sauce . I ate it and it was amazing ! I wanted more and I got it ! So I ate dinner and dessert and I felt fine . After dinner our delegation manager ( basically the activities planner ) came over and said how did you like the pasta , guess what the sauce was ? We all said chicken. And he said nope,it was tuna ! I basically fainted when he said that ! I said, " WHAT ? TUNA ? " He was like, " Yes, in the pasta " I immediately said, " I NEED TO SEE LINDA " ( the main delegation leader , also a counselor and registered nurse .) I explained what had just happened. she immediately told me to take some benydril. And of course, it was at the hotel thankfully it was only a 10 minute ride . Linda sat next to me on the bus to make sure I was ok . Right when we got to the hotel we went to my room and I took benydril from there we called my mom and she said just take some benydril which I did and get some sleep. We had free time so I was told to stay with my friend Brooke ( I travelled with her last year and am very good friends with her. She also knew I was allergic to fish and started hyperventilating when she found out I ate it.) So, I was fine at free time, then went right to sleep after and was able to sleep until 8 which was very nice .
So back to the topic of today ! We had breakfast anytime from 8:30 - 9:30 from there we had free time again at the hotel. Me and my friends decided to go swimming. The pool was very nice ! After that at 11:00 we drove to a pizzaria and made our own pizzas from scatch , they tasted so good ! We first had to flatten the dough , then put on Sause , then we could put on whatever other toppings we wanted. I picked pepperoni , ham , and olives . Then they cooked it for us then we went inside it eat it ( we cooked it out side and it was 100 degrees) it was so tasty ! From there we got on the bus and had a coach tour of Palermo. It was a very nice city with lots of history . We got of the bus at a church where a woman had a vision of Jesus , started reaching then all of Sicily converted to Christianity. It was a very nice church with lots of architecture . From there we had 2 hours to explore Palermo with our friends ! I really enjoyed it ! Palermo was such a nice city ! We just walked around got Gelato then just walked around and checked out the city. We had lots of fun just exploring Palermo is a big modern city but with the old European and Italian feel .We looked at our watches and it was 4:55 we had to be back at 5:00 and we were very far from our meeting spot. We started running and made it with 30 seconds to spare . From there we went to dinner . Dinner was potatoes and mozzarella balls . They tasted so good ! We had canoles for desert . From there we went to the ferry port and got on our 4th overnight ferry to Naples . I am looking forward to seeing that region of Italy ! Good night !
Today was an amazing day ! The day started out with a very relaxing morning which was great after the "event " last night . My allergy medication ( Benadryl ) makes me very sleepy, that's why my post was very brief last night . Ok , so as many of you know I have a life threatening fish allergy . So last night the antipasti before dinner was a pasta. To me it looked like chicken and red sauce . I ate it and it was amazing ! I wanted more and I got it ! So I ate dinner and dessert and I felt fine . After dinner our delegation manager ( basically the activities planner ) came over and said how did you like the pasta , guess what the sauce was ? We all said chicken. And he said nope,it was tuna ! I basically fainted when he said that ! I said, " WHAT ? TUNA ? " He was like, " Yes, in the pasta " I immediately said, " I NEED TO SEE LINDA " ( the main delegation leader , also a counselor and registered nurse .) I explained what had just happened. she immediately told me to take some benydril. And of course, it was at the hotel thankfully it was only a 10 minute ride . Linda sat next to me on the bus to make sure I was ok . Right when we got to the hotel we went to my room and I took benydril from there we called my mom and she said just take some benydril which I did and get some sleep. We had free time so I was told to stay with my friend Brooke ( I travelled with her last year and am very good friends with her. She also knew I was allergic to fish and started hyperventilating when she found out I ate it.) So, I was fine at free time, then went right to sleep after and was able to sleep until 8 which was very nice .
So back to the topic of today ! We had breakfast anytime from 8:30 - 9:30 from there we had free time again at the hotel. Me and my friends decided to go swimming. The pool was very nice ! After that at 11:00 we drove to a pizzaria and made our own pizzas from scatch , they tasted so good ! We first had to flatten the dough , then put on Sause , then we could put on whatever other toppings we wanted. I picked pepperoni , ham , and olives . Then they cooked it for us then we went inside it eat it ( we cooked it out side and it was 100 degrees) it was so tasty ! From there we got on the bus and had a coach tour of Palermo. It was a very nice city with lots of history . We got of the bus at a church where a woman had a vision of Jesus , started reaching then all of Sicily converted to Christianity. It was a very nice church with lots of architecture . From there we had 2 hours to explore Palermo with our friends ! I really enjoyed it ! Palermo was such a nice city ! We just walked around got Gelato then just walked around and checked out the city. We had lots of fun just exploring Palermo is a big modern city but with the old European and Italian feel .We looked at our watches and it was 4:55 we had to be back at 5:00 and we were very far from our meeting spot. We started running and made it with 30 seconds to spare . From there we went to dinner . Dinner was potatoes and mozzarella balls . They tasted so good ! We had canoles for desert . From there we went to the ferry port and got on our 4th overnight ferry to Naples . I am looking forward to seeing that region of Italy ! Good night !
Yesterday, Clayton shouted, "Dad's calling" from the family room. The television showed Richard Bone calling, so I went to answer it, assuming it was Rick. It wasn't Rick, but Max. What were the first words out of his mouth after my hello ? "Mom, I ate fish." Oh, my goodness. There was a time when that would have meant a dash straight to the emergency room, trying to get ahead of the closing airway and swelling face that was surely on its way. I know what to do when Max has an accidental exposure to fish or nuts, I have done it more than once. I know what to look for and how to medicate him. This is all well and fine, except that we are on different continents. He had already taken a large dose of Benadryl, a good first step. I asked him questions and tried to calm him down. I think he had visions of an Italian emergency room in his head ! He used his inhaler, proactively, and of course, informed me that he lost his Epi Pen. I was pretty sure he was going to be okay. He typically reacts quickly and severely, usually vomiting right away, his body's attempt to expel the allergen. He had done none of this, didn't have any hives or facial swelling. I spoke to Linda, his leader, and she couldn't see any visible signs of a reaction. Luckily,she is a registered nurse so I was confident that she'd notice if Max was reacting. Max said he felt a tightening in his chest, but he thought it might just be his nerves. Wow, is he maturing and wow, does he know himself ! It sure sounded like he'd be fine, and at 1.oo per minute, we agreed he'd call me back in fifteen minutes to check in. He did, and he was fine. It is likely that he has outgrown that allergy. Wouldn't that be great ?! I have to say I am proud of Max and proud of myself. He handled himself perfectly when he realized, after two plates of dinner, that the pasta contained tuna. He did what every concerned and confused kid should do. He called his mom ! I didn't lose my cool or panic, even though one of my worst fears of sending my son around the world without me was materializing on the other end of the phone. Like mother, like son. Maybe we are both growing up.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Sicily !
Today was an amazing And very fun day ! The day started out at 6:45 when we had to wake up . breakfast was amazing ! I had a croissant , cheese , and pruscitto . From there we got on a bus and went to a school ! It was an amazing experience ! We first went to a class room and attended a class with students then we played sports. They didn't speak good English,so it was fun playing a game of acting out our words . After that we played sports with them . It was very fun interacting with the Italian students . From there we went to a Greek ruin it looked just like the Parathenon . There was an amazing view though.From there we went to the Erice. It was a great town ! The town was a fortress itself. It was very neat ! From there we went to the bus , drove back to the hotel and and had some time to swim in the very nice pool. From there we went to dinner and had pasta. I accidentally ate tuna pasta ( oops ) I am better now, though, after taking some Benadryl I am very tired. Good night !
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Palermo !
Today was an amazing day ! The day started out with a late wake up
At 7:30 witch was very nice . From there we got on the bus and drove three hours to a very small town that was known for its pottery . We got to see how they make it . It was very neat . They first soak clay in water then put it on a spinner and mold it into a pot , mask , and many more things , also , the view from the back of the studio was breath taking . That is one thing I love about this region of Europe , it is very mountains and there are lots of amazing views . From there we had some time to go into the gift shop . I did not buy much because it was way to expensive . From there we got on bus for a short ride to a vineyard where we had lunch . It was very good . A salad with steak and then some peaches for desert . From there it was time for yet another three hour ride to the town of Cefalu , this town was absolutely amazing ! When we got there we had to walk about 10 minutes through nice European streets to a cathedral . It was very nice inside and out sadly , we only had 10 minutes inside because there was a wedding about to start . I felt extremely bad for them it was 112 degrease out and there was no ac in the church . After that we had free time and were told to report to the town square at 5:45 because we had to go to dinner . The first thing my friends and I did was go and get gelato . It tasted so good in the heat . I gave had gelato almost every day I've been in Italy ... After that we had some free time to do souvenir shopping . There was not a good selection of shops in the town but there were lots of food stores . I purchased packaged olives , olive oil , And many more things to bring back . After that we just walked around the city . We reported back to the square on time then we were told we had an extra 40 minutes because dinner was delayed . We heard there was a rely nice pier/beach only a few blocks away from where we were so my friends and I decided to go and check it out , it was amazing there were mountains every where , the water was clear blue And very warm , and the view was amazing . We were the only people from our group that decided to go and check it out so it was very nice we felt like locals . We then climbed on some rocks and stuck our feat in the watter we also saw Many see urchins , star fish , and more . Before we knew it it was time to had back . Aftor we meet up the group walked to dinner we had some meat And pasta dish . It was very good we then had conoles for desert . We then drove and hour to our nice hotel in Palermo . Good night !
At 7:30 witch was very nice . From there we got on the bus and drove three hours to a very small town that was known for its pottery . We got to see how they make it . It was very neat . They first soak clay in water then put it on a spinner and mold it into a pot , mask , and many more things , also , the view from the back of the studio was breath taking . That is one thing I love about this region of Europe , it is very mountains and there are lots of amazing views . From there we had some time to go into the gift shop . I did not buy much because it was way to expensive . From there we got on bus for a short ride to a vineyard where we had lunch . It was very good . A salad with steak and then some peaches for desert . From there it was time for yet another three hour ride to the town of Cefalu , this town was absolutely amazing ! When we got there we had to walk about 10 minutes through nice European streets to a cathedral . It was very nice inside and out sadly , we only had 10 minutes inside because there was a wedding about to start . I felt extremely bad for them it was 112 degrease out and there was no ac in the church . After that we had free time and were told to report to the town square at 5:45 because we had to go to dinner . The first thing my friends and I did was go and get gelato . It tasted so good in the heat . I gave had gelato almost every day I've been in Italy ... After that we had some free time to do souvenir shopping . There was not a good selection of shops in the town but there were lots of food stores . I purchased packaged olives , olive oil , And many more things to bring back . After that we just walked around the city . We reported back to the square on time then we were told we had an extra 40 minutes because dinner was delayed . We heard there was a rely nice pier/beach only a few blocks away from where we were so my friends and I decided to go and check it out , it was amazing there were mountains every where , the water was clear blue And very warm , and the view was amazing . We were the only people from our group that decided to go and check it out so it was very nice we felt like locals . We then climbed on some rocks and stuck our feat in the watter we also saw Many see urchins , star fish , and more . Before we knew it it was time to had back . Aftor we meet up the group walked to dinner we had some meat And pasta dish . It was very good we then had conoles for desert . We then drove and hour to our nice hotel in Palermo . Good night !
Monday, July 9, 2012
Day 2 in Sicily
Today was an amazing and very fun day ! The day started out at 6:45 when we had to wake up . Breakfast was very good ! I had prosciutto ( It is very different here ! It is more of a thick ham with a few spots of fat . (I like it better at home ). I also had salami , cheese , and a small dish of canole filling with chocolate chips . It was very , very , good ! From breakfast we got on the bus and drove for 3 hours to Mount Etna . When we got there we started the long hike up the mountain . What I find interesting about the hikes we do is it is a great way to see how much of the group is in shape . Today was a perfect example . Me and the people in the front of the group got quite annoyed when we were stopping every 100 meters for the group to catch up and take a break . We eventually made it up to an area where we started seeing volcanic rock . It was very neat seeing it because I had never seen it before in my life but had seen lots of pictures of it . The farther up we got, the smaller the path was and the harder it got to hike . The volcanic sand turned into small rocks and it started getting in our shoes . We finally made it up to the final point of our hike . The view was amazing and you could see the volcano with smoke coming out of it !
Then it was time for us to start heading down. I was not looking forward to it. We started heading down a steep down hill. We did see a few volcanic craters on the way down which was neat. The walk down was very challenging...down slippery volcanic ash . Many people fell .When we finally made it to the bottom we had some time to rest and get some water. Then it was back on the bus to lunch ! It was amazing ! It was Lasagna ! It tasted so good and it was neat to have it in Italy ! From there we went to the beach of Cantina . We went to Cantina yesterday and I saw the beaches and I wanted to go there so bad, so I was very happy when we finally were able to go there today. My friends and I got in the water and did not get out for the entire 3 hours . The water was so clear and warm ! The Mediterranean is by far my favorite body of water I have ever been in . From there we got back on our bus and drove an hour to the city of Siracusa . When we got there we walked about 15 minutes through the amazing city to the restaurant, where we were going to have dinner . The antipasto was a zucchini dish which was very good but it didn't even compare to our main course which was a chicken pasta with parmesan on . It was amazing ! Desert was a canole. It was amazing . From there we walked back to the bus. We waked through the city at night and it was very nice ! We then got on our bus and drove to our hotel,which is also in Sericusa .
Then it was time for us to start heading down. I was not looking forward to it. We started heading down a steep down hill. We did see a few volcanic craters on the way down which was neat. The walk down was very challenging...down slippery volcanic ash . Many people fell .When we finally made it to the bottom we had some time to rest and get some water. Then it was back on the bus to lunch ! It was amazing ! It was Lasagna ! It tasted so good and it was neat to have it in Italy ! From there we went to the beach of Cantina . We went to Cantina yesterday and I saw the beaches and I wanted to go there so bad, so I was very happy when we finally were able to go there today. My friends and I got in the water and did not get out for the entire 3 hours . The water was so clear and warm ! The Mediterranean is by far my favorite body of water I have ever been in . From there we got back on our bus and drove an hour to the city of Siracusa . When we got there we walked about 15 minutes through the amazing city to the restaurant, where we were going to have dinner . The antipasto was a zucchini dish which was very good but it didn't even compare to our main course which was a chicken pasta with parmesan on . It was amazing ! Desert was a canole. It was amazing . From there we walked back to the bus. We waked through the city at night and it was very nice ! We then got on our bus and drove to our hotel,which is also in Sericusa .
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