Hello all,
Again, things have been CRAZY busy the past few weeks. I will try and update things in a clear and concise way...I apologize if I do ramble but then again...you know me...I keep going and going and...
April 1
Well, like all April Fool's day...it couldn't go by without a prank. So, as a math department we had it all figured out. I distracted Martin while Dee took his car keys from his coat pocket and drove his car onto the field, replacing the keys before he noticed. It wasn't until after lunch and a presentation about the new school that we finally began to bring the prank to Martin. We asked him to show us where the school was supposed to be (as the field we parked his car was where the new school would be built). Slightly suspicious of our enthusiasm (as half of us wouldn't be there for the next school year), he showed us the model first. Then, we made our way outside to the sight. It wasn't until we were half-way across the paved area leading to the field (beyond the fence) that he realized that there was a car on the field...and the car was his. His expression was priceless! It went from shocked, to confused, to panic...wondering how the car was moved as he had the keys to his vehicle in in jeans pocket (not realizing how early in the day the prank began).
Anyhoo, the rest of the day flew by. After sharing a pizza with my house mates, I made my way into London to meet my mom and sister at the airport to begin my Easter break.
April 2
After letting them sleep in and having a slow start to the day, we finally made our way into London (with the light shower that seemed to follow us). We made our way Big Ben first and went into Westminster Abbey for Good Friday service. Our next stop, while on the hop on-hop off tour bus, brought us to St. Paul's Cathedral. We found out that service would begin at 3, giving us an hour or so to have a coffee and a couple snacks before heading back in for another service. Next we went to Yo! Sushi for lunch/dinner before we hopped onto the tour bus again (complete with evening snacks). We saw the likes of Buckingham Palace and the tomb of the unknown soldier. We eventually made our way back to the hotel for the evening after a full, but slightly wet, day.
April 3
We had the breakfast buffet that we missed the previous day at the hotel. After checking out, we dropped off our bags at St. Pancras station, then made our way to visit more of London. One of the stops included Harrods - where we spent most of our time in the gift shop (the only place we could afford items). We then hopped on the tour bus again and saw Kensington Palace and the Marble Arch (among other things). We had to get off the bus by a statue of Sherlock Holmes, ending our 24 hour time limit on the bus...but allowing us to enjoy a nice lunch at an Italian restaurant (preparing for our trip to Rome?). We made our way back to St. Pancras to get our luggage then made our way to Gatwick and our hotel.
April 4
Beginning bright and early, as we had to be at the airport for 5am, we began our day with a quick start and had an enjoyable flight into Rome. Once there, we hired a car to bring us to our hotel (in the light shower that followed us from London), and after checking in, had lunch then a bit of a nap. [BTW, when a menu says that they offer an Easter cheese pizza...don't be fooled like I was - it is NOT a pizza. It is 4 pieces of panetone that tastes like cheese. Instead, go for the lasagna...it's MUCH better]. After our nap, we went for a quick walk in the area (as it threatened to rain) finding the Piazza de Vinezia and the memorial to Victor Emmanuel (including the tomb of the unknown soldier). It was awe inspiring! Mom and I were able to walk up the steps inside the building while Seb checked out the gift shop, and got some nice pictures from the top - noting the proximity of our location to the Coliseum. When we had enough, we walked back to the hotel, real pizza in hand, for dinner. Later that same evening, mom and I went for a walk in the local vicinity and found what would be one of our favourite souvenir shops.
April 5
We had a great buffet breakfast at the hotel before we made our way back to the square to catch a hop on-hop off bus to St. Peter's Square and the Vatican. The square was full of people all in line to get in, snaking around the whole square - waiting for about an hour to get in. However long that may seem, it seemed to fly by - especially as there was so much to see and the weather was finally good...at least for now. After going through the metal detectors/security, we had a toilet break (where there was a grumpy woman directing us to the stalls, and trying to rush us out as soon as possible), then got our audio guides for the Vatican. We first went to see the tombs of the past popes, then made our way to the Basilica itself. It was gorgeous! There are no words to describe what was seen, but you can look at some of my pictures when I get back home (only a few are posted on Facebook). We even had the chance to go to the treasury museum.
Finally, having our fill, we made our way within the nearby area for a quick pizza and gelato (sorry...I couldn't find any blue gelato, Alex). As the sky began to cloud over, we made our way back to the bus stop and had to wait over an hour for our bus - in a DOWN POUR!!!!
We finally returned to the hotel, got ourselves dry and warmed up, had a cup of AMAZING cappuccino, and played cards for the night. It was nice! We turned in early as we had a day trip for the next day.
April 6
Ah! Florence...it was beautiful. The day began early, as our bus departed at 7:30, but we had to be picked up by 7 at the hotel. It took us 3 hours to drive into Florence, with a stop-off in between. The drive allowed for us to take a nap. When I was conscious, I could see that the area of Tuscany reminded me a lot of the land I saw with dad when we took a road trip in Sicily a few years back.
When we first arrived to Florence, we went to the highest spot to take the panoramic pictures of the town - you know those images you always assimilate with Florence...including the red dome of one of the MANY churches found within. Our next stop was to a leather/gold factory...then lunch. We enjoyed a meal with another family from our bus who, like so many with us that day, were American. They were interesting to talk to and helped to make our meal enjoyable, although the food was amazing.
After lunch, we met up with our local guide who took us on a leisurely tour, beginning with the church we saw as we entered the main square leading to the leather factory. In front of the church was a statue of Dante Alighieri - who is known as the father of the Italian language as he was the first to write in the Italian language in his famous work, "Dante's Inferno". Also, Florence is the birthplace of Pinocchio...something I didn't realize until then. Michelangelo was another important Florencian, known for his David statue that we got to see in the museum made specifically for his works. It was absolutely amazing to see his works that had yet to be completed. He was truly an artistic genius!
We also go to go to the famous dome church (Maria del Fiori?) and got to see these beautiful brass doors known as the doors to heaven as they have images carved in them from the bible. They were definitely a sight to see!
I took the opportunity on the trip home from our day excursion to rest...though more sleep was to be had when we arrived back to the hotel.
April 7
We were up relatively early, but didn't really force getting up after our long day the previous day. After again enjoying our buffet breakfast, we started to wandering around the area of our hotel - finding ruins close by, a church that we didn't realize existed, and eventually made it to the Coliseum. We joined a tour and got to go inside, amazed at the architecture of the building. [BTW, did you know they called the arch entrances to the structure a Vomitorium as it spewed its contents (people) and emptying within about 20 minutes...not bad with about 50-60,000 spectators].
Next, we walked past the ark of Constantine to make our way back onto our hop on, hop off bus to Vatican city once again. This time, we followed along the Vatican city walls to the entrance to the museum which would end with the Sistine chapel (which was closed when we were first there on the Monday due to the holiday). It was gorgeous inside, but I have to admit I thought there'd be more to the chapel - at least I thought it would be bigger. Still, it is amazing to think of all the work that went into the murals.
After that walk, which took a lot out of all of us, we made our way back to the bus stand to head back to the hotel...going out to dinner for the evening.
April 8
We again enjoyed a great breakfast then checked out of our room, but leaving our bags there to explore the last part of our trip. We headed to the Trevi fountain and a nearby church; next to the Spanish steps (I walked up them...and when I finished and returned to the bottom, treated myself to a bag of chestnuts from a street vendor); on to the Piazza del Popolo; then back towards our hotel, stopping off at the Pantheon and resting for lunch. Seb and Mom returned to the hotel lobby, and I made a quick walk around other areas close by that I wished to visit, then returned to the hotel and enjoyed a cup of cappuccino, before our shuttle bus took us back to the airport.
Our wait at the airport for the plane itself was crazy, and it didn't help my mood that I was searched before getting on the bus that would take us to the plane (which I don't understand considering I had ALREADY passed through security to get to the gate). I was VERY happy to land in London, make our way through customs (which took a bit as there was only one person available for non-EU passports), then to the hotel.
April 9
We took our time getting up and out of the room that morning, watching TV and just overall relaxing. (NOTE TO SELF: Make sure to put the "do not disturb" sign outside the door to the room so as not to hear a knock at 8:30 by the cleaning staff...and again at 10:30). We eventually made our way to St. Pancras to catch the 3:00pm train to Kettering, and took a taxi home. After showing them a quick tour of the house and throwing on a load of laundry, we were joined by my house mates. After a conversation, mom and I went to the local grocery store to pick up some food for dinner and for breakfast the next day. Seb and mom shared my bed while I slept on a blow up mattress on the floor in my room - that would change the next day...but that will be continued in my next entry.
For now, I am heading to bed. I apologize if what I wrote doesn't make sense. I will try to edit corrections tomorrow when I'm more awake.
G'night!
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