It didn't seem real the whole time. I felt like I was seriously in a movie. Just amazing, amazing, amazing. Everyone in the world should put this on their bucket list of things to do. I wish I had had two more days to explore the Amalfi Coast, so I could have seen ALL of high points of Italy while we were there, but mercy.....we saw a Lot.
We flew into Amsterdam, and tried our best to sleep on the ground or on a bench, but it was not to be done. I even had upgraded to "Comfort Level" seats, which is one tiny step above the "steerage" section in the back and even teased the girls during the flight on how "The cheap seats" were doing. It was NOT my top 5 fun most favorite things I ever done. For one.. I can't sleep on a plane. Even in "Comfort plus" it was brutal. I watched movies and tv shows for the 9 hours going over, getting up to go pee and walk around 2 or three times just because it was miserable.
It even occurred to me as I looked around and everyone else appeared to be asleep on the flight, and that made me even madder. HOW DO THEY DO THAT?
Everyone advised me to stay AWAKE once we got there, so my BODY CLOCK would set.
Sure.
My body clock is iffy at best, and it wasn't having it.
I finally gave in and took a tiny nap at the hotel, while the girls were practicing, and then jumped in the thermal pool when they got home and it was seriously heaven on earth. It felt like the best bathtub on the planet, and I LOVED IT.
Italy doesn't have ice cubes. You need to not ask either, or they look at you like you insulted their mother. They charge for Water. They all smoke like cancer isn't real. They are skinny. Very Very Skinny. I didn't see one overweight person the entire time I was there. It's crazy.
The architecture is to die for. I'm sure Kip went there and walked around in massive glory all the time because there is far too much to take in.
We started in Venice, in our sight seeing, and it was just too much. The narrow streets (paths, if you will) the ancient feel, the water, the shops, the magnificence of the place just consumed me.
I couldn't ever understand the concept of a city "on water" until I got there. It is just something. Yes, some people would think it's "Dirty" and "Old" but it charmed me. Through and through. Just an amazing place. And the food? Shut Up. So delicious. Best food I had on the entire trip.
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| It was so cool how they had a public thoroughfare by water, or tiny streets behind the buildings. |
Tiny Streets.
I'm guessing homes through here. Yellow street signs helped us find our way (sure)
Yes, we had to duck to get through many of them.
"Hey this seems like a great place for a "portrait opp"!"
Both of them took turns taking pics of each other.
Just gorgeous. The view and the girl.
Sydney Morris (A junior (cow, if you will) from San Antonio) and Hallie
The GONDOLA
SO COOL
The boat was a bit tawdry, but when in Venice.......
Yum, gelato. We could have MANY of these pics.
Delicious food, gorgeous view, perfect weather. We LOVED Venice.
Next stop was the Base in Vincenza. The girls listened to a briefing about the base and asked questions. There were several West Point alums stationed there so that was a fun time.
A few of the girls played around in their gym.
Team Pic
Gorgeous view. Hallie's thinking this wouldn't be a bad place to be based!
After the tour, we jumped on the bus (where we almost suffocated it was so hot!) 4 hours north to Milan. Hallie got sick on this trip and ended up with a fever and chills and all the fun of a 24 hour bug. We took the street car into Milan to take a picture of the church and just walk around, but she only made it about an hour or so before we had to head back to the hotel.
The birds greeted us outside the cathedral. Faces were priceless
Cathedral Duomo di Milano
Kara, Syd and Hallie
Hallie and the birds
the gorgeous mall
The streetcars were really neat.
Though I would have loved to have explored it some more, I'm not going to lie that it was pretty nice to let her sleep and I enjoyed catching up on Bewitched and Texas Walker Ranger on the telly. I snuck to a mcdonalds that evening and got us some "good american food" and all it did was make her stomach hurt worse. We were at the tail end (no pun intended) of the sickness at this point though, and after about an 18 hour of sleep day for Cadet Hembree, she was ready to jump on the bus and head to Pisa.
Pisa has a leaning tower, and a church. And turns out, some pretty stellar gelato, but that's about it. So we all stood around and took 100's of pictures of us holding the tower, kicking the tower, licking the tower, poking the tower, then hit the bus for Lucca.
This might be my fav.
Not too great of lighting on this one
Cracked me up....the trainer and one of the staff
Syd and Hal "Portrait"
It took me ONE time. (Pro)
Angle is everything.
I didn't mind eating the gelato out of the cone for the picture. :)
Lucca is one of the remaining cities in Italy that is completely walled in. Hallie decided when the world hits the zombie apocalypse, we should all move there. Sounds like a solid plan to me. The trees were blooming, and the little shops so charming, BUT NO RESTAURANTS open after 2 pm. Totally punked us. I was ready for a big ole bowl of spaghetti after using all that energy to poke that tower, and every one was closed for "Siesta". Oh, Ok. Grrrrrr. We took 100 "portraits" and headed back to the bus.
You can see the wall behind the fountain. It ran all the way around the town
I don't know why I thought it would be a good idea to look homeless.
Gorgeous little town. Streets much wider
LUCCA
Everything is BIGGER in Italy.
We arrived at a quaint little B n B in Tuscany and this was the place that I decided I was so tired of my hair looking like a homeless person, I was going to use my own hair dryer. I brought my own converter so I could use my curling iron and charge my phone...why shouldn't my blow dryer work??? Plugged it in, turned it on, and I'm not lying here, fire shot out the end of it. That's one way to get it dry in a hurry. SMELLED up the whole room. Clearly too powerful for the Italian outlets rigged with converters. For. the. love.
Headed my homeless self to the bus to make our way to Rome, and 5 hours later, we were there. The bus was ALMOST as fun as the airplane ride. ALMOST. And this bus driver thought that since we had complained about the HEAT BEING on the day before, he would SHOW US, and blasted air conditioning so cold, everything in our bags was used to wear. HE SHOWED US, HE DID.
But ROME! The Colosseum, the Trevi fountain, Vatican City, Spanish steps. The shops, the streets, the gelato, the pigeons. The cobble streets.
Trevi Fountain (throw a coin over your shoulder for good luck)
You are just walking along a street and BOOM, there's the pantheon. WHAT?
You know. I've been to Vegas. I LOVE the forum in Caesar's Palace. First thing I thought (I swear it) was DANG, these guys copied Vegas. And then I rolled my eyes at myself and remembered it was THOUSANDS of YEARS OLD and chuckled and went on.
The lighting was just extraordinary the first night we were there. Just gorgeous
The next day we visited the Pope. Vatican City was crammed. It would have behooved us to grab a map so we could know what we were doing IN THE CITY. You know, I'm a NON DENOMINATIONAL CHRISTIAN FELLOW. I'm not privvy to all things Catholic. So I was under the impression it was a museum, and St Peter's Basilica was outside somewhere. We rolled through the Sistine Chapel like we were from Oklahoma or something (DANG ALL THESE PEOPLE and Hallie's "This room creeps me out"). Everyone else talking in hushed whispers how amazing it was and we were like, "OH THE SISTINE CHAPEL, YEAH". One of the girls mistakenly called it the "sixteenth chapel" and honestly it kind of felt like that to me too. Oh Michelangelo drew all over the walls, and it's like one of the seven wonders of the world, and one of the most magnificent masterpieces of ALL TIME? We rolled through it, seeking gelato. Hi, we're from Oklahoma, ya'll. Those guys in that painting needs pants.
Absolutely astounding architecture
This ruins me for the rest of my life admiring buildings and artwork. Nothing will ever compare
Ana, Hal, Hannah and Courtney in the Hall (WOW)
There were just massive amounts of these weird little objects and a baby hugging a duck and why are they all naked? So many questions....
They had hundreds of chairs set up for the next morning for the Pope (or whoever) to deliver the message. I heard someone say that people start lining up outside the walls at 4 am to get a seat. That is massive dedication.
Gorgeous girls, gorgeous view
Hal's illegal picture of the Sixteenth Chapel. I still don't get it. ?
I thought this was more beautiful than the above. What is wrong with me?
I feel you Shaking your heads. Hi, We are Okies!
Then just like that, the vacation I have been looking forward to for 6 months was OVER.
The flight back seemed better. I prefer a 21 hour day that stays light all day. I didn't sleep a lick on that plane either, and watched practically every show on the screen. I'm seriously a first class world traveler as you can tell. It's 4 days back and I'm still asleep by 8 pm and up at 4. Hopefully by the time I travel again I will get it lined out. My daughter and her friends are dolls, and I seriously had the best time laughing at them and walking 7 miles a day (Yeah, that really happened).
A trip of a lifetime.
Oh I forgot about going to Verona and seeing the balcony that Romeo professed his love for Juliet. Folklore has it that if you touch the right boob of the statue of Juliet it will bring you luck. I didn't feel anything except extreme discomfort that I was feeling up a statue. We'll see. I felt pretty lucky just being there so that may be the luck that I got.
Save up your money and swing yourselves over to Italy. It's worth every penny.
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