Entry 6: June 19, 2008
On Saturday we left to go back down to Interlaken, which was so much fun! This is where all the college students who are backpacking end up and it was fun. We met a lot of Americans who were backpacking and some British people as well. We arrived in Interlaken around 11 but could not check into our rooms until 4 so we just hung out in the hostel living rooms. Some people were watching Pirates (the first one!) so we watched that for a little while and then just hung out and talked to some people who were waiting to get into their rooms as well.

We did not check into our rooms at 4 because we had an appointment to go WHITEWATER RAFTING at 4! It was sooo much fun! Except for the fact that it was 60 degrees F outside and growing cooler and the fact that the water was developing from a melting glacier, we were excited! We had to wear wet suits and wait for it... Helmets! haha. We went for the higher level as well, a 3-4 rather than a 1-2 or 2-3. I was so excited! We rode in a van up the mountain to the site where we started rafting. During our brief “safety lesson” aka what to do and not do when you fall out, I had to sit on the ground outside the raft as if I had fallen out then the guide showed everyone how to drag someone back in the raft and he yanked me in the raft... it was a bit surprising!

Then we drug the raft down to the water and jumped in. The water was sooo cold when it splashed up on us! We had two guys from Japan with us and they were awesome! The rapids were fun especially when we ran right into a boulder and I almost flew out from impact! At one point we had to stop and take the raft out of the water and drive down the street in order to by pass the illegal rapids. (Darn!) Although we did start again at the end of the illegal rapids and that was fun! We were playing bumper boats with on of the other rafts when it almost steamrolled over us! All in all we had a great time and I am so glad I got to do this!

Entry 5: June 19, 2008

We are in Switzerland now and it is beautiful. We traveled to Interlaken and then up to Stechelberg, which was beautiful. We stayed a cute inn at the end of the valley and there were mountains rising up all around us. I could see a waterfall from my bed! It was amazing!

On Friday we got up and rode the gondola up the mountain to Gimmelwald. The gondola is a suspended cable car that can hold 30 or more people. It was interesting and the view was pretty! We walked from Gimmelwald up to Murren, which is a small mountain town and it was really relaxing. The walk was all up hill and took about 30-45 minutes! We did some shopping in some of the shops and grabbed some lunch in the grocery store. We then hiked up even farther! It was pretty steep and was on gravel, so it was interesting! We walked through cow pastures and the view just kept getting better and better. It was a bit overcast and foggy that day so we couldn't see all of the mountains but it was still pretty. After the hike we stopped at a small restaurant in the mountains and got some ice cream, even though it was freezing outside!

A few of us wanted to walk 10 more minutes up the mountain to get to the snow and it was worth it. We found a big patch of snow and had a snowball fight! It was a lot of fun! I would LOVE to come skiing here some day! It would be so beautiful to ski in the Alps! After our hands were freezing from the snow so we decided to make our way back down the mountain. It had been a long day and by the time we got back to the hotel at the bottom of the valley I was ready to crawl under my feather comforter and read until dinner! It had been a long day but was worth every minute of it because the view was amazing and the snowball fight was a lot of fun!

Entry 4: June 11, 2008

This week has been amazing so far! We went to Monterosso in Cinque Terra on Monday and stayed until Wednesday morning. This is by far the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life! The water was a bright teal and clear. We spent the entire day on Tuesday laying out on the beach and doing nothing! This was the first time I have felt truly relaxed. Although the water was a bit cool it was very refreshing and a nice escape from the blazing sun! The beach was rock and not sand so it was a bit painful on the feet but that didn't even matter all that much! We were having too much of a wonderful time to care! It was amazing and I wish we could have stayed longer.

We stayed in a guesthouse on a hill and we had to climb 124 steps to get to it. (Yes I counted!) The view was amazing and it was definitely worth the climb! The town was dead after midnight which was nice because it was quiet and relaxing. I would love to go back to Monterosso because it is the prettiest place I have ever seen. Today we traveled up to Switzerland! I was sad to leave Italy but excited to see what adventures Switzerland has in store for me! We had to change trains four times which was very frustrating with our heavy backpacks and all our other stuff! But we survived! These next few days will be hectic with all the traveling we have ahead of us, but I can't wait to see everything! I am excited to see the Alps because they are going to be beautiful!

Entry 3: June 7, 2008

This week we went to Venice and it was amazing. I have never seen a more beautiful city in my life! We rode on the Vaporetto for an hour and did some sightseeing of the buildings along the canal. On Tuesday we went to Isola Di San Michele, which is the famous cemetery island in Venice. Many famous people are buried here and it was a really peaceful place to be. I thought it was funny that people are dug up after 10 years to make room for new people. This cemetery was absolutely beautiful and it had a section just for babies, which was sad but sweet at the same time. As we were leaving we saw a coffin coming in off of a boat and it was rather interesting because I was sure that it was going to fall overboard, which would have been really bad!

Then we went to Murano to see the glassblowing demonstration, which was not as special as I thought it would be. But we spent some time shopping for jewelry afterwards. I spent the rest of the day exploring Venice and wandering into some shops and markets. It is really hard to get lost in Venice if you follow signs for major landmarks. Our hotel was near the Rialto Bridge, which was beautiful. That evening we walked over the Rialto to Saint Mark’s Square and it was very crowded. There were bands playing at the restaurants along the outskirts of the square and everything was light up and beautiful. For some unknown reason Venice appears to flood at night. When we got there, there was a little water in the square and by the time we were walking back to the hotel the shallowest section was at least 2 inches deep!

The next day we went back to Saint Mark’s but we didn't realize that it was closed for Mass so we didn't get to see the inside of the church. Later we went to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, which was really interesting. We enjoyed our last night in Venice and I was sad to leave such a beautiful city. I would like to go back and spend some time getting to know the smaller sections of the city. This is my favorite city in Italy so far!

Entry 2: May 29, 2008

This past week has gone by so much faster than last week did, probably because we had our first travel break, which was amazing! I traveled with three other girls and we got to Rome around 5:00 on Monday evening. We checked into our hostel and then quickly went to see the Pantheon. It was amazing! After that we found a neat place to eat and we got a free glass of strawberry wine for having our Rick Steves guide book on the table. That was the best stuff! After dinner we went and got gelato at one of the world famous gelato places and it was delicious!

We walked to the Trevi Fountain. I had no idea it was going to be so big and amazing! This is definitely a place to see at night! It was all lit up and was extremely beautiful! It was crowded with tourists but it was worth it. We then walked over to see the Spanish steps even though we knew that they were not going to be nearly as spectacular as the fountain, we still had to see them. The steps were also crowded with tourists, and there was construction on the building above them so the pictures didn't turn out as well as we hoped but they were still really neat to see. (And I just bought a postcard so I could have a picture of them when they are pretty). We then decided to call it a night since we were getting up early in the morning to see the Vatican.

We got up around 6 a.m. and walked, yes we walked from a hotel near the train station to the Vatican. It took us about an hour and a half to get there. I didn't mind the walk but some of the other girls got blisters. I guess we should have taken the bus or metro but I enjoyed the sightseeing and the exercise! We didn't spend much time in the museum because we wanted to see the Sistine Chapel. I am so glad that we got there early and we could walk around and sit down and look up at the ceiling to enjoy the paintings. I had no idea that it was going to be so beautiful and amazing.

Pictures in a textbook really don't do justice for this church. I did not want to leave! But eventually we had to and we went on to St. Peter's Basilica which was also amazing. The first thing we saw was Michelangelo's Pietà. This is the sculpture where Mary is holding Jesus' body after he has been taken down from the cross. It is so beautiful! I love this sculpture and I felt so honored to see it in person. We then walked around and just looked at how massive the church was. It is so much bigger and prettier than I imagined it would be. I would love to attend mass in this church! Words can not even explain how beautiful it was. Once we finished with the church we went and enjoyed St. Peter's square which was also huge and amazing! After lunch we got a taxi (because the other girls had bad blisters) over to the Colosseum.

I was so excited to see the Colosseum and when we saw it up ahead between two buildings we all got excited. Then we toured it on our own and took our time taking pictures and enjoying the view. It was also weird to be seeing something in person that I had only read about in textbooks. I enjoyed every minute of being in the Colosseum!

When we were finally done we went back to the hotel and rested. Then we went out for dinner and walked around looking for some souvenier shops but didn't really find any. I did find a zip up hoodie :) with Italia on it! We were so proud of ourselves for doing Rome in less than 24 hours!

We got up in the morning and left for Pompeii. We had to go through Naples which was not nearly as bad as I was expecting. When we got to Pompeii it was extremely hot! 95°F!! The city was amazing and I was not expecting it to be so intact. I really enjoyed looking around the city and thinking about the fact that it was once full of people living their daily lives.

After Pompeii we went to Sorrento which was Beautiful! We had a view of the Atlantic Ocean from our hotel window! It was so cool to be able to see the same ocean that I always see but to see it from the other side! Italy is absolutely beautiful and I did not want to leave today and come back. But I am glad to be back in Sansepolcro our small, safe town! I love traveling and am so glad that I got to see everything that I wanted to but I am worn out and we leave for Venice on Monday!

Entry 1: May 21, 2008

So far Italy has been amazing. We have been here for almost a week and it feels so much longer. It has been rainy the whole time but it is still wonderful. So far my favorite experience was the Casa Buitoni, which was wonderful. We hiked up the hillside to the house and every minute we were there was great. The view from the Casa Buitoni is breathtaking—the mountains in the distance and the town down below. I took so many pictures but they do not do justice for the view. The only bad part of the Casa Buitoni was that it rained the whole way back to the Servi. But we decided that it was better to get rained on in Italy then back in North Carolina. The weather here actually reminds me a lot of the weather in Raleigh a few weeks before we left, cold and rainy. But hopefully it will clear up and if not we will still have a great time because this is definitely a once in a lifetime experience.

We are going to Florence tomorrow so that will be a lot of fun. I can't wait to climb to the top of the Duomo tomorrow! It is almost 500 stairs but it will be worth it to have a view of the city.

I find it hard to believe that I am living in the Tuscany of Italy. It is so unreal because everyone is so wonderful and the town is beautiful. I wish I knew a bit more Italian but we are learning how to get by, and many of the younger locals speak some English. We have been so busy and it will only increase with our travel breaks coming up.