Entry 7: July 1, 2008

Our last location in the first half of the program was Lugano, Switzerland. We had our own beds, kitchens, bathrooms, desks, everything...This place is sort of like Italy because everyone here speaks Italian. The girls call it "Switaly." I enjoyed my stay here. It was sort of our last time to be together. We had all of our big projects due and we had class everyday. I actually enjoyed the routine; traveling every day or not having a set routine is very draining. It was nice to be in the exact same place every day.

The greatest thing about here is that we have kitchens. We cook every night. Each night someone different heads it up. I recall having baked chicken, pasta, breakfast for dinner (which included gluten free pancakes that the girls so lovingly made for me!), and all sort of delicious meals each night. I had the "last supper." The girls loved to talk to me about it before hand. We all wanted our last supper to be really good. I cooked baked chicken, pasta, garlic potatoes, and we all brought our own drinks. Then after supper we took an actual picture of us like the famous painting of the Lord Supper. Sheryl was Judas, Jessi was John, Shayna was Peter, and I was Jesus...they said I had to because I was the tallest. The other girls were the rest of the disciples. It was loads of fun and hopefully one of my friends will post it on line so everyone can see!

My next destination will be Austria where my friend and I will go on the Sound of Music Tour. After that I am heading to Paris for the point of bringing my friend. Her name is Chelsea and her boyfriend is flying into Paris to propose to her. My mission was to keep her busy in Austria until the 25th. Everything is working out beautifully, I am so happy for her. After Paris, then off to London. I will probably not be able to write anything until London.

I miss all of my family more and more as the days go. I am so thankful for this opportunity but everyday I thank the Lord more and more for how much I have at home and the people who love me!

Entry 6: June 19, 2008

Let me talk about Switzerland! I have found my home away from home. It is the most beautiful place on earth. I am not kidding, so amazing! The mountains take your breath away and the people are quiet and nice. It is so different from Italy. Everywhere you look there is a waterfall off a mountain. You are standing in the mist of nature that definitely has God's special touch. The place that I fell in love with was Stechelberg at the Alpenhof hotel. It is a lovely town that is in a valley surrounded by rows of mountains and too many waterfalls to count. The beds that we have are so comfortable. Once you lay in them you go straight to sleep, amazing!

Our trip here consisted of hiking up the Swiss Alps and buying Swiss Army knives. Once we got to the top we had a nice lunch. One of my friends and I looked at each other and the sight that surrounded us... after looking at all of this we said "where are the golden gates?" They had to be close because we were as close to heaven as I've ever been. I wish that I could share the beauty with everyone, but it's just not possible.

The Alpenhof was so wonderful! We had great meals and the only thing there to do was hike, entertain ourselves, or play board games. That is exactly what we did. We played board games like there was no tomorrow. Good times in Switzerland!

If I choose where to return after all of my travels it would be this town. It will forever be in my memory.

Entry 5: June 17, 2008

After we left Sansepolcro we stopped in Cinque Terre for about two nights and then headed to Switzerland. Cinque Terre is a wonderful place with five or six different towns on a stretch of sea. The place my group went to was called Riomaggiore. For this trip we used all of our luggage; our pack, big pack, and any extra things that we had. I had a purse and a souvenir bag with all of my gifts in it. So four bags in all.

One of my friends made the reservations. We were expecting it to be pretty bad because they were last minute. The only thing we could do because everything else was booked was rent an apartment for 25 euro a night. This confirmed our worries since it was such a low price. We walked three flights of stairs to get to our room. We opened the door to our home for two days, this is what we found:

There was a small hall leading to three doors. One door went to a den that was decorated with tile floor and a red couch with pictures to accent. There was also a TV. The bedroom was right beside the den, with a king size bed and plenty of closet space. Going back to the hall to the door on the right there is a kitchen with a gas stove and fridge; also blue and red cabinets with table and chairs. As I am amazed by the wonderful place I am living in I hear Chelsea scream my name. I go back to the den and I notice that we had a balcony. That is why Chelsea was so excited. We had a balcony with a swing, chairs and a table to eat. We were definitely in paradise!

Before we found our apartment we had met a nice couple (who had helped us find our living space.) They informed us that we had to go down to the rocks and watch the sun set. We figured that this was "a must" and decided to go when it got a little later. When I say rocks I mean huge rocks that are going out to the sea... like the ones in the movie "Free Willie" when Willie jumps over them at the end; those kind of rocks. It was just outstanding. We just set there, took some pictures, and watched the sun set. I was very happy at that moment and truly did not want to leave. It was one of my favorite things we have done on this whole trip.

I am so glad I came to Europe. I will send something about Switzerland as soon as I can.

Entry 4: June 16, 2008

My last days in Sansepolcro were very sad and sweet. We spent the last week going to classes, seeing more sights, and saying goodbye to our host families. My host family is very sweet and they take such good care of me. Every Friday when we were in Sansepolcro we would have dinner with these families. My hostess was named Sylvia and she has the same allergy as I do. She would make wonderful meals of pasta, meat, bread, sweet/warm tarts, cheese, and any Italian dish you could possibly think of. (All of this I could eat!) Her husband, Leonardo, is an educated man who is a religion professor with the church. He would love to talk politics with me. We would talk about Clinton, Obama and McCain and discuss who was better for the running. Even though I truly don't have a strong opinion, we would still discuss the three people like we knew them. He enjoyed that. When ever there was an awkward stage in the meal that evening, when all of us were quiet and did not know what to say he would slam his hand down on the table and say "ah, but we for Obama." Everyone would laugh. I think he enjoys the United States of America and our issues with the politicians right now.

They had two children, two daughters, one who was 18, and another who was about to turn nine. The 18 year old knew English better than her parents and the 9 year old did not know any. They were all so sweet and I miss them very much.

At the end of the week, right before we left, we had one big final dinner. All of our families came and we enjoyed the company. All of the Meredith girls had to sing and I sang a solo. We just had a good time. It was very enjoyable seeing the Italians in their culture and having fun. Good times were had for all. After we said goodbye we knew that we would be friends for a very long time. I look forward emailing my Italian family as soon as I can.

It is getting harder and harder to deal with being away from home. I am hopeful though and am enjoying everything I am seeing. I am presently in Lugano, Switzerland. My next destinations are Austria, Paris, and then London. Until next time!

Entry 3: June 7, 2008

Hello again from abroad.

We have done so much! It is truly hard to talk about everything we have done. We have been to numerous amounts of places across Italy. We recently got back from Venice, known as the prettiest place in the world. It IS beautiful! Four friends and I stayed at a Hostel that was owned by a Methodist Church. It was very nice and had a great view, also free breakfast.

My main highlights were St. Mark’s Square, the Rialto Bridge, and our Gondola ride. Everything was just amazing and life altering. If you can picture a city surrounded by water, no cars, boats everywhere, millions of people walking on tiny streets, and glass shop after glass shop...then you can picture Venice.

St. Mark’s Square is one of the most romantic places I have been to. There are several orchestras and bands that surround the square competing for the traveler's attentions. One of my friends, Sheryl, and I just thought the moment deserved some dancing. Since we both had no male figure that we knew on the trip we decided to dance together. We decide to do the waltz from the movie "The King and I," and we did a sort of ok job. It was such a wonderful time and it will definitely be in my memory forever. (Some of the funniest moments I have had were at St. Mark’s that night, I might say some of us "fell" over laughing).

Shopping is the main thing in Venice. There are so many Murano Glass stores that you cannot even go into all of them. That is the main thing around the Rialto Bridge. Vendors and vendors of pretty glass treasures just waiting for someone to take them and cherish their beauty. Venice is a great place to buy things for your friends and family back in the states. I am looking forward to them seeing what I have received in my travels.

We are leaving Italy soon. After that we will go to Switzerland, then me to Austria and Paris, and off to London. I am looking forward to what is in store for me next!

P.S. The Gondolier even sang to us!

Entry 2: May 29, 2008

We just had our first big travel break. We have been to numerous places around Italy but this time we went to ROME! I was with a group of four girls. We all decided to travel to Rome for two days, then to Pompeii, and after to spend the night in Sorento. This trip would take days to tell about so I am just going to hit the highlights.

We went to Rome and I had the pleasure to see the Trevi Fountain, Michelangelo's Pieta, and the glorious Sistine Chapel. I tell you when I walked into the Sistine Chapel I almost started to cry because of its beauty. I recently took an art history class, taking all that knowledge from that class and seeing all of the work that this man did was truly inspiring. My friends and I just sat there, looking up, in amazement. I am pretty sure we were there for 20 minutes.

My second favorite sculpture in the whole world is Michelangelo's Pieta. It is a wonderful statue of Mary holding Adult Jesus after he has already died. Michelangelo kept Mary looking young and created a wonderful symbol of peace and the knowledge that everything was complete and was going to be alright. It is held behind a plate of bullet proof glass. I guess they think people want to shoot at it. I am not sure why though.

The Trevi Fountain was our second stop when we first arrived in Rome. We wanted to see it at night, so we could see the lights and the fountain when it is at its best. It was beautiful and stunning. I have never seen so many people in my life, but the fountain was wonderful. All four of us took coins out and threw them into the fountain in hopes that we would return to Rome once again in the future.

My friends and I were not the smartest in the bunch and walked to the first two sights on the second day of our trip. Our hotel was on one side of the map, Vatican City, the other side of the map. So we were pretty tired this whole trip.

We then took a train to Pompeii. I cannot really describe something that has so much history and meaning behind it. Pompeii was just wonderful, knowing that we were walking where centuries ago; men and women alike were walking and living out their days, of the time of Jesus Christ. Knowing that all hope was lost when a volcano, Mt. Vesuvius, blew covering everything in smoke, lava, and ash. We saw houses, the theatre, streets, artifacts, people, all just distant memories of this Roman town. It was very sad and yet thrilling because we were walking-standing where these people had been long ago.

What a wonderful travel break! Thanks to Jessi, Katie, and Shayna for making it a great one!

Entry 1: May 21, 2008

I cannot believe it, I am in Italy! There is such a presence here; calm and serene. I am amazed every time I walk out the door into the small city of Sansepolcro to explore, travel, worship in the various churches, etc... I never pictured that this trip would mean so much to me, I am definitely going to mention this to every person when I get back to Meredith. I have only been here a few days and I would do it all over again.

There are so many places that I could describe and discuss. I am only going to mention a few. We have one computer and I am sure others are preparing to get on after me. We are living in the small town of Sansepolcro and have enjoyed the city these passed few days. This is a city that is surrounded by walls and has several stores, restaurants, and numerous houses where some of the nicest people in the world live.

Two of the main places we have been to are the Casa Buitoni and Museo Civico. The Casa Buitoni is a beautiful house that we visited known for their Buitoni pasta. Most people that visit the house are members of the company. The house was breath taking with its golden exterior and magnificent garden in the back with a balcony and wonderful garden. We had lunch on the balcony and just enjoyed each others company.

We also vested the Museo Civico which houses the famous paintings of Piero della Francesca. You can see how wonderful and talented this man was by viewing his wonderful skill and mathematical eye. He painted all of his paintings from a more scientific point of view than most modern painters do today. Some of my favorites included San Giuliano, which is a painting that holds more emotion than I saw in other paintings in the museum. The Resurrection is one of the most famous paintings that Piero did. It shows Jesus on top of a structure with four guards underneath. The emotion in this painting is very sad and is represented through the holes in Jesus's feet, hands, and side. His eyes are also very moving.

This has been a wonderful trip so far and I cannot wait to do more. Ciao from Italy (That means goodbye and hello in Italian)!