Missing Italy . . .

Welcome home everyone!  We have now been home for 1 week, and I am sure many of us are missing the luxuries of Italy! We didn't have to go to work, we got our exercise in, walking about 7 miles a day, we could eat gelato all day, we had all of our meals prepared for us everyday, bidays, we hung out with our friends everyday, all day, and we slept in soft, cozy beds :)  I am sure that we are happy to be home, because America has some of it's own luxuries.  We have ice, Dr. Pepper, Big Gulps, butter, soft bread, normal outlets that don't blow up our expensive appliances, TV in English, fluffy pillows, bigger rooms, and taller shower spouts.  

I have heard a lot of good things about the trip, and the overall feeling that everyone had a great time!  I will post some of the pictures that the girls have taken, they have some funny pictures.  I wanted to give a little shout out to our wonderful tour guide Alissandra.  She was so organized and had our days planned out from the moment we woke up til the moment we went to bed.  She kept us all in line, and on time.  She had an obvious passion and love for her country, and she shared that with us.  She would say some of our favorite American phrases, like "Yo-Diggity-Dog" and "Get up off my grill".  She helped make this a memorable trip to Italy, and everyone fell in love with her.  Thanks Alissandra for everything, you are great, and I know that many of the girls and parents miss you!  

 

We look forward to seeing everyone soon!  Check the blog for updates all summer long!  

                            

Venice the "City of Water"

We headed to Venice for our last couple of days in Italy!  I purchased the internet, but it sent my password in my email, which I could not get unless I had the internet, so I could not post a blog on our last couple of days.  We took a boat into Venice and had the tour, and learned all the cool things about Venice, like don't put your hands in the water, swim, or drink the water, that is where they put their sewage!  Venice sits on millions of wooden piles pounded into the marshy ground and has sunk about 7 centimeters a century for the past 1,000 years.  In Venice there are no streets, they travel all by water.  Venice is built on 300 small islands and has 150 canals and is connected by an amazing 409 bridges, which only 3 cross the main Grand Canal.  

It is a beautiful city, and they have shopping all over the place, and they are known for their glass from Murano, they have a glass blowing factory, and it is pretty cool to see them blow the glass into all these different shapes.  We spent our last 2 days there, and it was sort of bitter sweet!  It has been a great trip, and so much fun, and although we were excited to go home, we were sad to leave our big group, which was like one big happy family! 

May 5th, 2008 was also Chris and I (Bug's) 1 year anniversary, and what a great way to spend our first anniversary than with our soccer family, where it all began 3 years ago!  They had prepared a special little treat for us, which was slightly embarrassing!  Andrea Willis, and Jessica Harmon-Carter wrote a little poem for us, and shared it in front of everyone at dinner.  Here are just a few lines:

"Bug and Chris you've made it one whole year

Now it is time to "knock it up" a year

For the longest time we've wanted you to have a baby

But the only thing you tell us is "we'll see" and "maybe"

You say that money is one thing holding you back

But luckily for you, Jen is here to pick up the slack

$5,000 dollars is the price to be paid

Come on, let's go!  There is a baby to be made!

It goes on to say some other things, and it was so funny!  Chris was really embarrassed, but it was really nice of them. The group all chipped in to give us some Euro's to take a Gondola ride in Venice!  I was really taken back, and it was a wonderful surprise!  We had so much fun on the Gondola!  We appreciate everyone's kindness and generosity!  Thank you, it was a perfect anniversary!  

I will post a blog later today, that sums up our adventures in Europe!  We had a great time, and I am awake so early, my body still thinks we are on Italy time!  Welcome home everyone!

 

Beautiful Florence, Italy!

Our trip is nearing the end, and it is sort of sad.  I will not lie, I am excited to come back to the states, where the soda drinks are bigger, and cheaper (in Italy, it costs 5 euros, which is like 7 or 8 American dollars for a Coca Light, or a Diet Coke, no lie), the water is free, and where we have Dr. Pepper, it has been too long!  The days seem to fly by here.  We get up around 6 am or 7 am, and we get on the bus, drive to our destination, where we usually have a long tour of something important, and then some free time, and then back on the bus, then back for our 3 course dinner, that is always pasta, and then to bed around midnight!  Everyone is exhausted by bedtime, but seems rejuvenated by morning!  

Today we were in Florence, Italy, and it is a beautiful place.  We went to church and it was really cool, the Spirit was strong, and the missionaries translated what was going on.  Ashleigh Jameson, and Katie Larkin bore their testimonies, and they did a great job.  Nicole Urry attempted to get up, but she was stopped on her way up by the Bishop, because we ran out of time.  She was shocked, and put her hand over her mouth, and stood there for a while, then went back to her seat.  It was a classic moment!   It is amazing to be in another country and know that although we can not communicate with the members, that we all believe that same thing!  

We had a guided tour of Florence, and I wish I could state some neat facts, but my ADHD kicked in and I was thinking about all the good bargains I was going to get shopping when the tour was over, so I don't really remember what they said!  Sorry!  But Florence is known for their leather, gold, and I think their glass!   It is a very beautiful place, and they have some good shopping!  Funny story about Florence, the Harmon's (Jessica Harmon's mom, and little brother) and Jessica and Austin (Her husband), hold the record for how much spent on Gelato since we have been here.  Gelato is the most delicious ice cream treat, that is only found in Italy!  It is worth some Euros!  But, bless their hearts, they were not sure how much that large cone of Gelato costs, and between the 4 of them, they spent about 30 Euros, which is about 40 American Dollars!  Ha ha, good times!  

Some people had the chance to see the statue of David, and I heard it was amazing!  We are off to Venice tomorrow, so hopefully we have the internet, so I can continue blogging!  Off to bed, a few hours of sleep, then back on the road :) Goodnight!   

                           

Capri and Rome . . . .

We have not had the internet in days, it has been tough!  Well, we had it, but they wanted me to pay too many Euros, so I refused!  But, we are back, and here is a little update on what has been going on the last couple of days!  We went to this beautiful island of Capri, Italy!  Some people took the journey to the top of the island, by foot, or by gondola.  Others went and saw the "Blue Grotto".  It was amazing, you take a boat, and it takes you to some row boats that take you in a little cave, and all the water is so, so blue!  It is amazing!  Then we jumped in the bus for a long 4 hour ride to Rome!  

We won our 3rd game, 2-0!  The girls are looking good!  In Rome we saw the Colosseum, it is one of my favorite things in Rome! We also saw the Spanish Steps, not sure why they are important, and we went to Trevi Fountain, and of course the Pantheon, it is also important in some way :)  Today we went and saw the Vatican, and the Sistine Chapel.  Did you know, that Michealangelo did not even like to paint, so they put jail for 4 months, and he learned how to be an artist, then he was inside the Sistine Chapel for 4 years until he finished painting it!  It is beautiful, he also had a crooked neck for the rest of his life!  

We won our last game tonight 3-0, and it was our seniors last game.  So, it was happy game, because we won, but sad because it was their last game!  They will be missed!  We are now in Florence, and will be here for 2 days!  More adventures tomorrow, and now I am going to bed, because it is really late in Italy!  Goodnight, until tomorrow!  By the way, I tasted this new Fanta drink over here, I thought for sure that it had alcohol in it, it was so nasty!  But, it was just a bitter fruit :)  

Pompeii and Sorrento, Italy

Today we saw some really cool things.  We went to Pompeii, and had a tour of the "re-discovered city".  It was buried in 30 feet of ash from the volcano Mt. Vesuvius, that erupted in 79 AD. The city of Pompeii had a population of 20,000-25,000 people.  It was re-discovered in 1748, and in the mid 1800's they discovered that they could put plaster casts of voids in the ash that contained human remains, and trees and other things.  They plaster casts could show the detail of the faces of those killed in the volcano.  They found 4,000 bodies, and nobody knows what happened to the rest of the population.  There is still 1/3 of the city left to excavate, but they are not doing it right now.  It was an amazing thing to see, there are a lot of ruins left, and we learned a lot about Pompeii, and how they lived life.  

We then went to Sorrento, and it was beautiful.  It is a little city with great shopping, and had an amazing view.  If only we had a few more hours, we could have eaten more gelato, and spent more euros!  We also had our second game, and we ended up pulling off the victory 8-1, the referee struggled, but we still did okay.  Off to bed, tomorrow we head to the island of Capri, and then to Rome!  Still so many things to see! The weather is amazing here, and everyone is having a great time!  Til tomorrow!   

Naples, Italy

Today we woke up, and ate some more of those delicious crepes, and then headed back into Paris for one last chance to see stuff.  Jen and her mom, and Stacey and her mom went to the Opera House, and they said it was beautiful.  Some people ran to Moulan Rouge, and others of us stopped to see the Basillica, and good work to all the people who climbed all those stairs to the top!  

I have a funny story, we were walking up this hill to see the Basillica, and we came across some people who were trying to tie these strings on our fingers.  So, I (Bug) and my husband Chris, missed that meeting, where they specifically said, "NEVER PUT YOUR FINGERS OUT!"  So, I am easily tricked, and they were telling me it was a trick, and this and that, and I was excited to see the trick, but slightly hesitant, because the rest of our group (A group of like 50 people)  were screaming, "Bug, no Bug, come on Bug", and I was confused why everyone was panicking.  So, Chris is tied up, but slipped his finger out in time, and they let me by, I was surrounded by a couple of them.  I guess, they tie that string on your finger, and pull it really tight, and make you pay to take it off!  Sort of funny, but could be scary!  The group did a good job of keeping an eye on everyone, to make sure we made it through safe and sound.  

We arrived in a little place called Naples today, not really the prettiest part of Italy, and slightly scary.  We had to get off the bus and walk a few blocks to the hotel, and they told us to all stay together, and not let too much space get between us!  It was a sight to see, 69 Americans, pulling our big rolling bags through the ghetto of Naples!  It was great!  Tomorrow we are off to Pompeii!  I will let you know what adventures we find there!  I am posting a picture of what Naples looks like from our hotel, it is the one with all the trash in the street :)

                                              

Europe . . . Paris, France

So our journey in Europe begins . . . we arrived on Sunday, April 27, 2008. We had a delightful flight that took up an entire day, so when we opened our beady eyes, and finally arrived, it was Sunday!  The trick is, once you get here, even though you have not slept in over 24 hours, you have to do your best to stay awake the entire day.  We were feeling good, got our stuff and hopped onto the bus to Notre Dame.  We had the opportunity to see Mass.  It is not every day that tourists are taking pictures of Mass, it was pretty cool.  Some of us went to the Louve, where we saw the one and only Mona Lisa!  We saw a million paintings, and sculptures from lots of famous people.  If you took 30 seconds to look at each piece of art, it would take you 3 1/2 months to see everything in the Louve, that's how big it is.  We also hit up the palace of Versialle, King Louie the fourteenth had it built. It had a amazing garden that took 36,000 gardners to build it.  Some people partied all night long, and went back to Paris for the night, and others went home and nestled in bed.

Today we had a delicious breakfast, where we had crepes, nutella, and more delicious crepes.  We took off to the Eiffel Tower, and it is a spectacular sight to see.  We had to push and shove some people around to make sure we stuck together as a group!  Some people get so excited they try to push to the front!  We took a boat tour of Paris, down the Sin River.  An interesting fact that Jess Aquino told me, is that 55 dead bodies are found each year in the Sin River!  We did not see any!  We had our first game tonight, and we won 1-0.  Katie Larkin scored on a PK.  It was really, really, really cold today, and we had some rain!  Yesterday it was like 70 degrees!  Kind of reminds me a little bit of UTAH!  Glad we could have a little piece of that with us here in Europe!  We have eaten rotten cheese, some good pasta, and paid 5 euros, which in the Americas is about $7, for a single can of Coca Cola! It is true!  When you need it, you need it!  After the game we ate some healthy food at McDonalds, yes they have them here in Paris!  Now we are off to bed, tomorrow we head to Naples, Italy!  Yeah, time for some Gelato!  Until tomorrow!  

PS: Sorry there is only 1 picture, the internet is in French, and I can't get it to work :)  Italy, more pictures in Italy!