Egypt - The Fourth (and final?) Visit

After celebrating Sophie and Brandon's wedding with the Nash family, I headed into London and caught a flight to Sharm El Sheikh for a week with my parents. This post is filled with exclamations and photos - it was a truly fantastic week!!

I didn't want to have the stress of losing luggage again (see here for the horror of an 8 day baggage loss over Christmas on my last visit), so I only brought a carry-on this time. So traveling was really easy and simple. I took a red-eye from Heathrow to Cairo, and then a quick jump across the Red Sea to Sharm.

The view from my balcony!

 Once again, I was fortunate enough to be able to have my own room at the hotel and it was A-MAZING! It was nicely located about halfway between the beach and where my parents live, and it had recently been redecorated and was stunning!

Loved the inset couch! (Not pictured - massive bathroom, walk in closet, changing area, and living area!!)

I spent the week having a truly relaxing and lovely holiday. I was able to squeeze in 7 dives, which was fantastic - although I did have some trouble equalising my ears properly. I'm still not sure why that happens sometimes, but not all the time. Two days we went out on the yacht Virginia, which was really nice and beautiful.

View of the hotel from the boat

One afternoon Dad was off of work, so Mum, Dad, and I went out for a dive off of Tiran Island (which I just learned is actually part of Saudi Arabia, so can I count that as a new country?!?) and then the next day Mum and I went out for a full day's diving to Ras Mohammed National Park. We had a fantastic day with two gorgeous dives, including one around a shipwreck.

Lunch after the second dive

We saw so many different fish - trigger fish, clown fish, moray eels, blue spotted rays, barracuda (including one HUGE one), jackfish, and much more! Also, during the surface interval between the two dives, a massive pod of dolphins that spent about twenty minutes swimming around our boat - so awesome!

This is a little hard to make out, but while underwater all the dolphins would swim right next to each other and formed a massive blob of dolphins - apparently it was to help teach the young ones

When I wasn't diving, I was either relaxing by the pool or on the upper beach area with my mum - or we were escaping the heat by playing games in their house. We played lots of games throughout the week, so it was just my kind of holiday. I was also able to finish three books - so, for me, it really doesn't get better than that!

A hot bubble bath + tea + a book = pure luxury!

Mum and Dad's car broke down while I was there, so we had to "rough it" by staying in the resort the whole time - what a rough life! We were able to go to most of the restaurants there, and Dad was able to join us most nights, which was lovely. The food was delicious at all of the restaurants (the chefs knew we'd be reporting back to Dad if they weren't!)

On the way to Sails, the restaurant right on the water

We did the leave the resort one night, to walk down the road to the Savoy shopping area, where we stopped in at the Duty Free to buy some alcohol. You can't bring alcohol in duty free if you fly through Cairo, but then you are allowed 48 hours to go to a duty free store in town, and get some. I picked some up for my parents (and helped them drink some), and they make a notation on your passport - so now the only thing in my British passport is an Egyptian visa with a notation that I bought two units of alcohol!

View of the hotel at night

It was Ramadan when I arrived, but it finished mid-week, and then it was Eid - I even got a cute plate of cookies and chocolate to celebrate! The whole place was decorated with lights and bunting, and everyone was happy that the fasting was over!

While there my dad interviewed for a position as head chef at the Four Seasons in Shanghai, and they have offered him the position and he has accepted!! I am super happy for them, as it will be a new challenge at work, and there will be lots more to do in Shanghai than there is in Sharm. I am glad that I've been able to make it out to visit four times, and will definitely miss the hotel there, and the diving. But I will be excited to explore more of Shanghai in the future.

Last lunch at the hotel - not too bad of a view!

Summer Shenanigans - part 2

I started talking about my summer here, and realised that it was too much for one post. Here is July and August! June is all set and ready, but I'm waiting on a few photos from friends, so I'm posting this anachronistically - apologies.

One of the best parts about moving to England has been getting to see family, and this summer has truly illustrated that. I have been able to see lots of the Frosts and the Nashes since moving here, and am excited for trips to come. Also, I've been able to see Mum and Dad quite a bit too! My mum was over in England for a long time, and I saw her twice before my dad came out to join her, and I was able to hang out with them on a couple of different occasions.

We spent the weekend at Paul and Ann's - a couple with three boys around the same age as Sarah, Claire and myself - who have been friends with my parents since they met on holiday many years ago. We have done so many family vacations with the Inwoods, and now our parents continue that, meeting up with Paul and Ann multiple times throughout the year to continue vying for top position in their games tournament. Which, in case you don't know them, is super serious stuff - they have two traveling trophies, a set system of games, a notebook to log all of the scores, and, as they developed this summer, a contingency plan in case one of the four adults is unable to make the tournament - David would have first dibs on an Inwood opening, and I have first dibs on a Frost opening. It was a fun weekend and a nice chance to see all three of the Inwood boys!

One of the bays near Canary Wharf

The next weekend after that I was back in London for a night with my cousins Issy and Harry before heading off to the Four Seasons Canary Wharf. I had a lovely time chatting with Issy and playing games with Harry and Issy. Then, they took me to a delicious little cafe around the corner for a terrific, and cheap, breakfast! It's nice being able to get to know my cousins without years going by in between visits.

Mum and Nanny in the tunnel

Canary Wharf was a great time as I had never really explored that area before. Nanny came up to stay as well, and we had good food, walked around Canary Wharf, Greenwich and Stratford. We walked through an underground pedestrian tunnel under the Thames, which I didn't even know existed. We saw the Cutty Sark - a famous British clipper, walked through a cool market, and explored the Greenwich Visitors Centre. We also walked up to the Royal Observatory and saw the Greenwich Mean Time line - and we happened to be there at 1pm GMT in Daylight Savings, so noon in olden times!

Me by the GMT line

That was cool. It was also cool to visit Stratford and see the Olympic Park - it wasn't open to the public, but it was still cool to see the various stadiums. We also watched Andy Murray win Wimbledon in a pub there - it was so cool to see so many people get so invested into the game. There was a pair of Italians watching who did not initially want Murray to win, but by the end they were cheering for him too (hopefully not just from peer pressure).

The Velodrome and The Orbit at the Olympic Park

The last day there, we visited the Maritime Museum - which might be one of the best museums I've ever visited. It was really well laid out, very informational, and interactive. We spent 2.5 hours there and I could have easily stayed for hours more. There was a funny moment when we were just finishing watching a video when a siren started. It almost sounded like it could have been part of the video, but I quickly realised that it was actually a fire alarm (too much practice living in Residence Halls). Because of the timing, no one else realised, and so I was trying to convince people to evacuate until a docent came up to take over! You never really leave Student Affairs!

After that, Mum and Dad came back to Colchester with me for a lovely little visit that primarily involved getting things set up in my house - Thank You!! It was sad to see them go, but I knew I was going to see them in the beginning of August, so that wasn't so bad. Egypt was a fantastic trip that will get a post of its own. Link here!

One of the other great parts of the summer was that I was able to attend two weddings of two very lovely cousins! My cousin Amber got married to Darren at the end of June, on one of the first truly beautiful days of the year, a perfect setting for a lovely, fun day. And at the beginning of August, my cousin Sophie married Brandon in a gorgeous and love filled day. I will also post a weddings blog soon.

After coming back from Egypt, I was so happy to be able to meet up with my friend Dave, who has just embarked upon Semester at Sea as a staff member. Dave came out to England a little early, and we hung out in Colchester for a bit, and then made our way to London where we saw Spamalot (hilarious), explored Hyde Park, met up with his friend Kevin who is in acting school, and did lots of walking around. It was a really lovely, fun visit, although a bit too short.  I'm super jealous of all of his travels, if you don't know Semester at Sea, check out where they're headed!

Dave and me in front of Tower Bridge

And, finally, this past weekend was a bank holiday, so I went up to London to visit my aunt and uncle on my dad's side. They have two boys, aged 9 and 11, and we all went to Thorpe Park on the Saturday to hit the roller coasters! I absolutely love rides, and it was a good mix, as Helen, their mum, absolutely does not. It rained fairly steadily all morning, but didn't actually downpour until mid-afternoon. By that point we had gone on all of the main roller coasters and were content to head home (with a slight detour for a silent disco that the boys participated in - I'm not cool enough for that!) We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out, my Nanny came up for one night too. I brought my laptop which has Roller Coaster Tycoon on it, and that pretty much made me the boys' favourite person! George asked me if I would leave him the game and my laptop in my will, and Henry asked if I would just give it to them now! We also went to see the second installment of the Percy Jackson series, which was a fun movie.

And while that almost completely wraps up my summer, I am SUPER looking forward to a visit next month from Miles! There will most likely be a blog post specifically about that!

Moving to England

This post is well overdue, seeing as how I moved to Colchester five months ago!

I absolutely loved working at Gonzaga in Florence, it was such an incredible opportunity, and I made some truly terrific friends. I learned a lot more about some parts of Student Life that I hadn't had a professional opportunity to experience (study abroad, student activities, health & fitness, spirituality on campus, etc.) However, I did feel that some of the day-to-day parts of my job were not challenging enough. Since the student population completely (or almost completely) changes every few months, I spent a lot of my time answering the same questions over and over.

One of my last nights in Florence - after gelato on the bank of the Arno

Now, if you want to know the closest ATM to GiF, or where/how to buy stamps in Italy, where is XX? what are the opening hours for the museum?, then I am your woman (turn right out of the school, through the arch on your left; tabaccheria are the easiest and the cost to the US is €2.00 and stamps go in the upper right corner; there's this awesome website, it's called google . . . )

So, I decided that after this academic year ended, that I would move on to somewhere else. I thought that I would have to return to the US, as the vast majority of Student Affairs jobs are in the US. However, I found a post at the University of Essex that was for a Residence Life position, and I applied, they interviewed me, and very quickly offered the job (When I landed back in Italy after the interview, there was a voicemail on my phone with the offer!!)

Mid-packing

It was a quick turnaround to leave Florence, as part of my responsibilities are to provide the maternity coverage for the Director of Res Life, and she left at the beginning of April. I am sad that I didn't get to finish out the school year in Florence, and I really do miss everyone there, but it is good to be working here. There is a lot more to do, and it uses a lot more of my degree and previous work experience, which is great. I am also supervising professional staff, which isn't something I have had the chance to do before.

The weather it England is not so great (it snowed three times after moving here, and was cold until well into June), but it's not been terrible. It is nice to be at a school with an actual campus again, and to work with students who won't leave you after a few months (that's actually both a good and bad thing!)

My second morning in Colchester - SNOW!!!

I really miss some things about Florence, but there are a large number of good things to living in England. I have gotten the chance to attend two family weddings this summer, I have spent lots of time with other family members. I have been into London countless times, to visit family, friends, go to museums, see a musical (Spamalot!), and enjoy the city. I'm volunteering at a local amateur theatre doing lights and sound, which is great. I have been to the library in town at least 25 times already. And, I am, for the first time ever, living in accommodation that I chose, for myself, and am paying for, by myself.

In my empty living room my first day!

I live in a little terraced house not too far from campus, and have spent the past few months getting it furnished and set up (thanks Mum and Dad for your contributions, your advice, and your actual labour in putting things up). There have been a few kinks to work out, but all in all, it is going really well.

After my very first night in the house, I woke up and the electricity was completely out. It was a bank holiday, so when I called the power company, they were closed. I didn't know what to do, and when I finally got a hold of my landlord, it was already evening and it took a while for him to figure out what to do. When the emergency electricity company man arrived, he found out that the power wasn't coming in to my house at all. I ate dinner that night by the light of a headlamp, while they figured out how to hook up an emergency generator. 

 Then, the next morning, the power company came, installed a temporary traffic light on my street, and dug up half the street in front of my house! A major piece of something had blown up, and they needed to replace it. Just my way of letting the neighbors know that I had moved in!!

This means that in May, for the first time ever, I paid rent, paid electricity, gas, council tax, and a cell phone bill! Guess I really am a grown up now.

Will try to post again soon with some photos from this summer!

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.