Happy 30th Anniversary Mum and Dad!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To the best parents three girls could ask for:

Sarah, Claire and I made this video for our parent's thirty year wedding anniversary. Wow, thirty years. The older I get the more I am impressed by their commitment to each other, and to our family. 

Thank you Mum and Dad, for being you. 

~V

xxx

Recent Travels

Most likely if you're reading this blog you already know this, but I have just started working at a university in England, after almost two years in Florence. It was hard to leave (especially the people), but it was the right decision, work wise. I will post more about moving, my last time in Florence, and how it's been here soon.


But, for now, I would like to further reminisce on more travel adventures! This semester I was fortunate enough to travel to Budapest, Paris, and to Ireland and Northern Ireland with the school. All of them were repeat trips, so I don't have quite as many photos to post, nor do I want to completely repost the same itinerary notes. But to read more fully about my time on those trips, you can (if you are so inclined) read about them through these links (Budapest, Paris, Ireland, and Northern Ireland).


Budapest was the first trip of the semester that I went on, after our Opening Tour to Rome. (In my time since moving to Florence, I have done six overnight trips and two day trips to Rome)! Budapest was a really large trip, so all of the Student Life staff went, which was really nice. The trip was at the beginning of February, and it was pretty cold. In fact, it even snowed when we were there. At the time, that was a big deal as it was the first snowfall I had seen that year. Now, however, it snowed in Ireland, and it's snowed THREE times since moving to England, so I'm less thrilled. . . . But it was pretty, for sure.

A view of snow-covered Buda from my hotel room

We took a rather unusual route to get to Budapest, which was fun, but resulted in long days. We flew from Florence to Vienna, with a stop-off in Bologna to pick up more passengers. We then took a train from Vienna to Budapest. That was my first time crossing international borders on a train!  It was a nice train, although there was a man walking through our carriage carrying a chainsaw, which was so weird. But no one outside of our group seemed to think it was anything out of the ordinary.

We did a couple of different things on this trip than on the one I went on before, so I'll talk about those mostly. This time we did a tour of the Synagogue, which was really cool. It is the largest synagogue in Europe. We heard a lot about the history, and then we also walked around the gardens which have a Holocaust memorial.

This "weeping willow" bears 400,000 silver branches for each of the Hungarian victims of the Holocaust

We also did a bus/walking tour of Budapest, where we went into parks, Heroes Square and over to the Buda side of the city to the Fisherman's Bastion. That night we had dinner in the hotel, which was nice, but the best part was when the waiter brought over a basket of bread, proudly declaring it to be "Tuscan bread". Many of you have heard me complain about Tuscan bread, but if you haven't, basically, it has no salt, and no flavor, and we avoid it at all costs. Thankfully, this wasn't actually Tuscan bread, just a standard French baguette. But still, it was funny to see our faces when the waiter said it!

On the Saturday we did an optional tour to the baths, which was so nice and relaxing. It was strange to be sitting outside in a bikini when it was so cold, but the baths were lovely and warm. There were groups of old men playing chess in the baths, which apparently is a common sight. We had some free time in the afternoon, before a tour of the Opera House, and then the cooking class.

With Shelley and Linda at the cooking class

It started snowing that evening, and lightly snowed all night and on Sunday. Thankfully it didn't snow hard enough to interrupt our travel plans, and after another train and flight, we were back in Florence.


Again, I had a WONDERFUL time in Paris. It was so nice to go back. We had lots of fun, a good group of students, and some terrific food! Our hotel was close to the Eiffel Tower, and I could see it from my room, but unfortunately the entire weekend it was super foggy. I tried to take a photo of it from the room, but with very little success.

This is the clearest one, you can see the top of it peeking from behind the apartment building

We got to Paris early, so we did some scouting around of Metro routes for the rest of the weekend, and then we went to look for a gluten-free restaurant that Shelley had heard of.  By the time we got there, they only had three lunch dishes left, so we didn't have to worry about menu options, we just ate what they had left! We had a delicious soup, and a really good quiche. And then desserts! They had all of these beautiful gluten-free pastries in the display, and we sampled quite a few of them. While they weren't all hits, each of us found a few that we liked!

On the bank of the Seine.

On Friday the trip officially started for the students, and, like last year, we began with the bike tour again, which was again a great part of the trip. It's such a cool way to see Paris, and it's nice to be active, and Parisians are pretty friendly to cyclists. After the tour I went with Linda and Shelley to a little cafe where I had a croque monsieur and mulled wine. It was a great lunch! We then met the students at the Musee D'Orsay for a guided tour. It was a good tour, and the woman had the best accent I've ever heard. I wanted to bring her home and just have her speak English with her cute French accent. It was a fun tour :)

Statues outside of the museum

Friday night we walked around the neighborhood close to the Eiffel Tower, and we ended up having sushi at a restaurant that Shelley and Linda had been to on a previous trip to Paris. It was great! Delicious sushi and at a really affordable price. Can't beat that! I know it's not super French to go out for sushi, but when you live in Florence, you start to jump at any opportunity to eat ethnic foods.

On Saturday we did a French Revolution themed walking tour of Paris, and we had a great guide for that. He was knowledgeable, engaging, and funny, which is great with a group of university students. The only downside was that it was FREEZING cold that morning. At one point we passed the National Assembly building and there were police standing guard outside. They had heated glass boxes for the police to stand in, and I was seriously tempted to jump in one to warm up. The only thing that stopped me was that I wasn't 100% positive that French jails are heated, so I decided not to risk it.

Can you see the glass boxes to either side of the large doors?!?
They have heaters in the bottom of them.

After that we had some free time, so I wandered around on my own for a bit, visiting the Jardin du Luxembourg and walking into many chocolate shops in the hunt for Sarah's birthday present. We then met up with the students at the Eiffel Tower, for a trip to the top. It was super cold, and we had a group dinner that night, so we didn't stay too long.

Our flight didn't leave until Sunday afternoon, so Shelley, Linda, and I went to for a stroll down the Avenue des Champs-Elysees (as one does). It was the only day that we saw the sun, and it was a beautiful spring day in Paris. We walked along, making a couple of stops, and then headed back to the hotel to check out and head to the airport. All in all, a lovely weekend.

We arrived back to Florence on Sunday night, and on Thursday morning we left for the Spring Break trip to Ireland! It was hectic turnaround, made more so by the fact that I needed to start packing to move. I brought an extra suitcase with me on the way, as we stopped overnight in London, so I was able to leave it with my uncle and aunt. Traveling to and from Ireland was like a planned version of Planes, Trains and Automobiles. We took a taxi to the Florence airport, a plane to Paris, a train to the train station, the Eurostar to London, a taxi to our hotel, overnight in London, a taxi to the airport, a (severely delayed by fog) plane to Belfast, and then a train to Dublin, capped off by a taxi to our accommodations in Dublin!! Wow, it's making me tired again just typing all of that. But it was cool to take the Eurostar between Paris and London, and it was nice to have a quick stop in London.

Ireland and Northern Ireland was a Fantastic trip, I loved it! Even though I had done it the year before, I still took so many photos; everything was beautiful! This time we weren't in Dublin over Saint Patrick's Day, so we were able to do a proper tour of Dublin. That afternoon we had free time, so I met up with a friend from junior high who lives in Dublin now, and we had a lovely catch-up. We also made time to stop in to a natural foods store so that I could buy peppermint oil for my friend Lis who is in Rwanda for the Peace Corps. Apparently, peppermint oil keeps mice away - who knew?

Linda trapped at the Kilmainham Gaol

We had the same bus driver/tour guide from last year, and again, he was brilliant. Similar to the guide in Paris, he was funny, engaging and knowledgeable. Sometimes though, his sarcasm went right over the students' heads - as evidenced by them believing him when he pointed to some cliffs on the northern coast of Ireland and told them that they were the White Cliffs of Dover!

This was at the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge site

We did lots of driving around the Irish countryside, and it is so incredibly beautiful. Everywhere was green, and there were lots of sheep and tiny baby lambs all over the place! Lovely!  We visited Killarney National Park (where it snowed), Cork, Cobh (the Titanic's last port of call), and other tiny towns and villages.

At some mini cliffs near the Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher

Linda's vacation home in Killarney National Park

With Shelley and Linda outside of Linda's home

Boats in the harbor at Cobh

After touring around Ireland, we made our way up to Belfast to explore Northern Ireland. We got a lot of history about the Troubles, including a tour of some of the neighborhoods of Belfast, the murals, and a tour of the Crumlin Road Gaol. We also arranged for a police officer to talk to some of the students about his experiences in Belfast over the years. We also did a tour of the Stormont Parliament, although it was shorter than last year's visit. It was nice to see the students so interested in learning more about the political situation there.

The Real High Score - Peace

We spent a full day exploring the coast of Northern Ireland, with stops at the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge and at Giant's Causeway. Again, it was beautiful:

The rope bridge

Walking down to the causeway

The Giant's Causeway

A cute coastal village

We all had a great time on the trip, every part was beautiful and interesting. The food was delicious, and it was nice to have a full week in an English speaking country. Also, I was able to visit with my uncle and cousins, and it was nice to see them all.

Travelling back was much the same as getting to Ireland, although thankfully we were already in Belfast, so we could skip out on one train. We arrived back in Florence late on Friday night, and I was left with five full days in Italy before I moved to England.

I am so happy that I got to do all of the incredible travelling that I did while at Gonzaga, and this past semester has been great. I am sad to give up all of the travel (although I hope to still do a little on my own), and I am really sad to leave the friends I made. But, I am happy to be starting the next adventure, and I am really happy with the new job.

Hopefully more posts to come soon!

Christmas Time in Egypt

December 2011 was spent in China with the school. This past Christmas, however, the school trip was really small, and so I was able to spend Christmas with my parents in Sharm El Sheikh. I was there from the 22nd until the morning of the 31st, and it was a fantastic time. 

However, and this is a big HOWEVER, my bag got lost on the way there. So, I flew from Rome to Cairo, and then from Cairo to Sharm. When I arrived in Sharm, my bag was not there waiting for me, and after waiting for over an hour to fill out my luggage claim, it hadn't come in on the next flight either. At that point I was not too worried, as the same thing had happened on my last trip to Sharm, and my bag arrived the next day. This time, I had brought a change of clothes and a bikini in my carry-on, just in case. Unfortunately, that did not prove to be enough, as my bag did not get there until the following Saturday!!! It was insane. I am just glad that my mum and I are close enough in size, and that I was able to raid her closet for the week. But all of my Christmas presents, chargers, diabetes supplies for my dad, and my carefully picked out wardrobe for the trip were all gone for that entire week. 

Other than that, though, it truly was a great time. There was an employee Christmas dinner the night that I arrived, to which I happily tagged along. There I got asked to participate in the staff Christmas Carol concert. I reluctantly agreed, but am glad I did, as it was fun. 

I'm second from the right, Mum is far right, and Dad is in his chef's uniform in the back.

On Christmas Eve night we sang Christmas carols for the guests in the lobby of the hotel. It was nice to get into the spirit of the holiday, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. That night we had a super fancy dinner in one of the restaurants, with my mum and one of her friends, Joanna. 

On Christmas Day, I went over to my mum and dad's place (I was staying in a room near the beach), and we had breakfast, played some games, and I opened a few presents that mum had quickly found and wrapped up (She had mailed me my Christmas presents from England, and I had put them into my suitcase to open on Christmas day). That afternoon we went round to one of mum's friends' houses and had a fantastic Christmas dinner. It was a lovely time, with lots of people, and really good food. We ended by sitting around a firepit outside, and it was really great. Dad was done with work by then, so we picked him up and dropped by the house of another of my parent's friends, and had some dessert and drinks. 

The view from Emma's house

Sitting around the campfire

With my Christmas cracker hat on!

The next day we went back to the airport to see if there was word about my bag, which there wasn't. I still didn't have any of my own clothes, so I asked for some compensation to buy some things. I was given 200LE (Egyptian pounds), which seemed like a lot to me, until mum told me the conversion. Just about $30. So I got my haircut instead!

Mum and I went to an Arabic food night at the hotel, which was on the beach in little tents. There were belly dancers, fire spinners, camels, and a snake charmer. It was cool to see it all, but I was not too happy about the snakes. However, the food was nice, and it was a fun night. 

Me with the fire spinner right behind!

I spent the next few days doing a couple of dives and lounging by the pool - it was a rough life!  Actually though, the water was so much colder than the summer (duh!) and I was a big wimp about it. I actually ended up wearing two wetsuits for one dive - a full long one, and then a short one over the top to keep in more core heat. I was definitely warmer, but I had trouble moving my arms and legs! I only did four dives while I was there, but they were all really nice and relaxing. One dive was just me and the guide, and it was soooooo peaceful and lovely. We didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but just floated along among the coral and fishes - it might be my favorite dive yet. 

Me and mum, lounging by the pool

My bag finally arrived on Saturday, just in time for me to unpack it, try to wear as many outfits as I could, and then pack it back up again. 

At Sails, the new restaurant

In the last days, I went to a Nia class, ate in Dad's new restaurant overlooking the water, and Mum and Dad had some people over for dinner one of the last nights, which was a fun evening. It was so nice to be able to spend Christmas with family. One of the best parts about being in Italy has been that I've seen my parents so much more frequently than I would have otherwise. 

Annie, Jen and Vic's Italian Adventure!

In December, Annie and Jen came out to visit me in Florence. We all worked together at Lynn University, and became good friends outside of work. Now, we're all three in different places, so it was super awesome that we all got together.

Annie arrived a few days before Jen, so it was "Take Your Awesome Friend to Work Day" for Annie, (as she put it!) It was so nice to get to spend some time with Annie, and to catch up on the last year and a half. Annie almost left the secure area of the airport without her luggage, so word to the wise - if you're flying into the Florence airport for the first time, it's a tiny airport, and there's no passport control - don't go through Customs without your luggage!!

We didn't get up to too much on those days, as we were saving all of the sightseeing until Jen could join us. We made our own dinner at home, with fresh pasta and caprese salad, complimented with a bottle of prosecco. Delicious.

When Jen arrived the sightseeing commenced. It was a busy time for me at work, so I couldn't take off as much time as I would have liked. During the work days Jen and Annie would explore Florence together, and then meet me at work for lunch. We tried a couple of different local places, including Lo Skipper, one of my favorites. It has the best cannoli! Since we were eating at restaurants for lunch, we continued the tradition of cooking delicious food at home in the evenings.

One afternoon we went to see the David, which Annie and Jen promptly fell in love with. Honestly, the carving is so impressive, I was happy to get an excuse to go back to see it. We also went through the Uffizi Gallery, which has a super large collection of Renaissance art.

On the Saturday that they were there, we did a day trip to Pisa and then to Lucca. We went to Pisa primarily for the Tower, which was fun to see. We asked someone there to take a picture of the three of us with the Tower in the background, but they failed at that.

Where's the tower?

2nd attempt by someone else = much better!

We stopped at a delicious little cafe on the way back for caffe lattes and pastries, and then caught the next train to Lucca. It was the Feast of the Immaculate Conception that day, so some of the places in Lucca were closed, including the lovely little cafe that Tiff and I had lunch at on my last trip to Lucca. So we pulled out the smartphone and went onto Trip Advisor. We found a recommendation for somewhere right on the edge of town, by the wall, and made our way there. We had to wait quite a bit for a table, but we are so happy we did. It was a delicious lunch!! 

We walked around the wall for a bit, and then caught the train back to Florence. On the train we played one of my favorite games, Ticket To Ride - Europe, which was apropos :)

That night we went to Il Pizzaiuolo - a pizzeria near to my apartment. Oh man, we had another delicious meal (that day was one of the best food days I've had in a long time!) We all shared the burrata appetizer and it was insanely good. Mmmmm, I'm sad that it's not in front of me right now. 

On the Sunday we woke up early and made our way up to Piazzale Michelangelo, which overlooks all of Florence. We then made our way down and to Piazza Santa Croce, where the Christmas market was going on. Jen and Annie stayed to walk around, while I went to the calcetto fields to help with the Gonzaga-in-Florence inter-pensioni calcetto tournament (a short field soccer tournament among the different places where the students live). That night we went across the river to a nicer restaurant. It was very nice, but not nearly as good as the night before.  

On Monday it was the End of Semester dinner for the Fall term, so Jen and Annie cooked for themselves, and I went to that. 

On Tuesday, I took the day off and we all three caught the train down to Rome. Jen and Annie booked their flights to depart from Rome Wednesday morning, and we booked a hotel room in Rome for the that night. We arrived in Rome, made our way to the hotel to drop off our stuff, and then went on a whirlwind tour of Rome. 

Annie on the bidet in our (tiny) hotel bathroom

Our first stop was to the Vatican for a look around. We walked through miles of museum, into the Sistine Chapel, and then through to Saint Peter's Basilica. We had a lot of fun marveling at the enormity of the collection, the Swiss guards, and the size of some of the objects themselves. I was worried that we wouldn't have enough time to do everything, so we moved pretty quickly around the city. 

 
Jen next to a GIANT column, and Annie and I next to a giant vase/bowl thingy!

We then made our way over to the Colosseum where we posed for photos outside. Our next stop after that was Piazza Navona, where another Christmas market was set up. We also stopped at the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, the Forum, and at the Trevi Fountain, where we all threw coins in to wish for a return visit (it must have worked, as I was back in Rome less than a month later!) We made a stop for gelato at Gelateria della Palma, which is my all time favorite place. 

We spent some time wandering around and looking at all of the Christmas decorations and Italian fashion. Then we stopped off for an early dinner, and a walk back to our hotel. We stopped at the train station on the way back to get everyone's tickets, as we had an early start the next morning. 

On Wednesday we all got up early and made our way to the train station. After a little time we figured out which platform Jen and Annie needed to be on to get the train to the airport, and then I left to catch my train back to Florence. 

All in all, it was a fantastic trip, full of good food, good company, and lots of laughs (melons; the CDC; I'll just finish myself; Annie using French instead of Italian . . . . .) It was great!!  I can't wait for the next Jen, Annie, and Vic Adventure!!

Next stop . . . . London?!?