Entry 6: June 23, 2008

Since the last time I wrote we have not done too much. We had class in the beautiful town of Lugano all last week. After class, we spent most of the afternoons laying out and hanging out next to the lake. The weather was not so good at the beginning of the week, but it got better as the week went. We finished class this past week and now we are traveling on our own. My first stop on this travel break was to

Munich, Germany. The day we got here we did Mike's Bike Tour and it was so great! Our tour guide was hilarious, and knew a great deal about the town! The tour ended at the beer gardens and we joined the locals in having a beer or two. Today I am off to Paris, France. After that, it's off to England and back to classes. For now I am just enjoying Europe!

Entry 5: June 18, 2008

We traveled to Stechelberg, Switzerland since the last travel journal, and my sister was staying with me during this time. On the way to

Stechelberg, we stopped to see Tummelbach Falls. Here three major rivers meet and 5,200 gallons of waters rush though the sight a second! It was pretty cool to see and nice that we did not have to walk all the way to the top.

Once we got to Stechelberg we checked into our hotel, the Alpenhof.

This is a small bread and breakfast owned by a cute couple, Diane and

Mark. The view from the valley where Stechelberg is located was amazing! Just looking out the front of our B&B we could see five waterfalls. The view was unlike anything I have ever seen before in my life!

We took a gondola up to Gimmelwald the next morning. My parents were staying up there, so it was great hanging out with them. From

Gimmelwald we hiked up to Murren. This was not a stroll in the park.

Some of us kept walking up after Murren and even found snow. I have to say this was my first snowball fight in the middle of June.

We had to leave Stechelberg the next day, destination: Interlaken. It was at this point I had to say goodbye to my parents and sister, and it was a sad moment. Interlaken was a ton of fun and we got to go whitewater rafting! We only stayed one night in Interlaken, and then the next day we left for Lugano. Now we are in Lugano and have classes every day.

Entry 4: June 11, 2008

Since last week we have moved on from Sansepolcro. We got back from Venice on Thursday. After that it was all work in Sansepolcro. We did have our final family dinner and had to sing to all the families. Some of the girls were great. I, however, was not. We left Sansepolcro on Monday for good. It was sad but the thought of Switzerland made everything better.

We arrived in Monterosso, Cinque Terra that evening at 7 p.m. At the train station to meet me was my mom, dad, and sister. It was SO good to see them. My parents took us all out to eat that night. The next day we did nothing but lay out on the beach...Cinque Terra is amazing and I really hope I get to go back again. Today was a day of travel yet again. We made it to Interlaken, Switzerland. For dinner, we had Mexican for the first time since we got here and it was delicious. My mom and dad went all the way up to Gimmelwald but I got to spend the next three days with my sister and will see them again too. I love having them here.

Entry 3: June 5, 2008

Since last week, we have been very busy. Once we got back from Rome we only had four days of classes before our next travel break. Monday we left Sansepolcro and headed for Venice. We got to Venice around mid-day, after a four-hour train ride. As soon as I got out of the train station, I fell in love; the beautiful weather definitely helped. It took us a good 20 minutes to figure out how the Vaporetti (water buses) worked. That night we grabbed some food at a small café and met up with some other girls. Instead of paying for a gondola ride, we decided the next best thing was a late night ride on the Vaporetto.

The nine of us filled the back of one and rode it from on end of the Grand Canal to the other, and back again. This is by far the most fun I have had yet! The next day we got to sleep in till 9:00, which was amazing and much needed. Once up, we made our way to Murano, the glass blowing island. This was not a good idea; I bought way too much! We had lunch on the island and then did a little more shopping before taking yet another Vaporetto back. I stopped at the markets that were everywhere and spent even more money before dinner. That night we walked to St. Mark's Square. The lights there were remarkable.

The next morning, after another 9:00 start, it was back to St. Mark's to see it in the daylight. The weather was not as great, so we cut our visit short. From there we went to see the Peggy Guggenheim
Collection. This collection of modern art was a nice change from all the Piero della Francescas we have been seeing. We hung out the rest of the day and just took in the sights of Venice.

Today we had to catch a train back to Sansepolcro. They changed the location the train was leaving from, so we came very close to missing the train. The good news, though, is that we made the train; the bad news is that we had to leave Venice.

Entry 2: May 29, 2008

Since last week, we have been very busy! Thursday of this last week we went to Florence. It was so much fun! The first thing we did was visit the Uffizi Gallery. That gallery is so large, there is no way to see

it all in one day! My favorite piece of art I saw was the "Allegory of Spring" by Botticelli. After that we had free time. With my free time I went and climbed all 463 steps of the Duomo. The view was out of this

world, and made the climb worth it! That was all we had time for since we didn’t want to miss the bus. Now I want to go back to Florence!

We had class for a few days in Sansepolcro. Monday we left for our first travel break in small groups. My group wanted to spend all three days in Rome. The night we got there, Monday, we went to see the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. They were both packed, but the fountain was amazing.

The next day we started off to the Vatican. We went to St. Peter’s Cathedral. It was SO pretty! In order to get tickets to see the Pope the next day we had to go up and ask the Swiss guards! We spent a long time in the Vatican Museum because there is so much to see, including the Sistine Chapel. All I can say is wow! From there it was off to see the Pantheon and surrounding areas.

The next morning we got up and headed back over to the Vatican to see the Pope bless the crowd. If that was all I did in Rome it would have been enough, just seeing the Pope in person. We finished out the day at the Colosseum and Roman Forum ruins. There was no way to see all that in the time we had but we made the best of it.

The travel break was packed full of sight seeing and I had a great time.

Entry 1: May 22, 2008

We got to Italy a week ago and it has been non stop! Other than the plane ride I have been having a great time! The town that we are staying in, Sansepolcro, is beautiful, and the food oh my goodness amazing! We have not had the same thing twice nor have we had anything I didn't like.

On Monday we went to see the Dalla Casa Buitoni. This is a wonderful old house that is located up the hill and has an incredible view. We were lucky enough to eat out on the terrace, which aside from the rain, was great! This house is owned by Nestlé now but before that was the home of the Buitoni family. The house is used as a Research and Development area for Nestlé and also as the basis for their communication.

The next day we went to the Museo Civico or museum of the city, this is where many of Piero Della Francesca's paintings are located. Some of these paintings are fresco, meaning they are painted directly on the walls of the museums. My favorite work that I saw was the Madonna of Mercy or Polyptych Della Misericordia. This is a picture of the Mother Mary giving shelter under her dress to believers. So far I have really been enjoying myself! Tomorrow we had to Florence and I am very excited about this! We have also already made plans for our first travel break. I am going to Rome and wish we had more then just three days there is so much I want to see!