Heading back to Denton today! We had to get up early to go to the airport. We were heading backwards in time, so the day we left Barcelona is also the day we arrive in Dallas. While on the plane I was sitting right next to Dr. Litton. This turned out to be a problem while I was watching a movie called The Family, which is about a family on the run from the Italian Mafia. It was a action comedy film. Unbeknownst to me it had a sex scene, and there I was sitting next to Dr. Litton. The whole time the scene was playing I was thinking, "Don't look over at my screen, please don't look over at my screen." Then the whole rest of the movie I was worried it was going to happen again. To make sure that didn't happen again I made sure to watch PG movies. I watched Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monster, and then an animated movie. We had a short layover in New Jersey, with just enough time to get some food. I ate Chinese and some ice cream. While there I found out that Carely's parents were going to pick up Priscilla and give her a ride to Denton, even though they would have to backtrack to get home. I offered to take her to her apartment since I was going there anyways. I forgot to mention that Simone and I were splitting the parking cost for my car. Then we got on another plane to Dallas. When we had our bags I called the hotel shuttle and we had to wait about 20 minutes for them to come pick us up. We got in my car and drove back to Denton. Priscilla kept us talking and kept me awake, which was good because we got there around 11pm. It was then that Simone mentioned the parking costs and I realized I had not mentioned it to Priscilla. I told her she could just pay me later, (but I wasn't going to collect since I forgot to mention it) but she had the money on her so she paid me. It was only $18 a person. I then dropped Simone off at the University and then drove to my apartment. My trip is over, until the next one...
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Ann came back to the hotel really drunk at 12:05 this morning. She kept going on and on about how she didn't deserve Chris (her boyfriend). Stephanie, Kelly, Lauren, and one other girl kept trying to calm her down. She felt sick, so they took her in the bathroom. She kept saying over and over that she had to text Chris to tell hims she wasn't worthy of his love. She also was upset because she wasn't being a role model to her menthe. Heather and I were both wide awake by this point. Lauren and Stephanie kept apologizing to us. Eventually, Stephanie thought to let Heather and me go to her and Kelly's room so we could sleep. Instead, they decided to take Ann to their room. they bundled her down the hall. Lauren told us what happened: They got 1 free drink in the ice bar. Then the bartender started flirting with Lauren and gave everyone in the group 3 free drinks a piece. He made them really strong. After 4 drinks, Ann was under the table laying down, so they got a cab back to the hotel. We started going through Ann's stuff so she could charge her camera. When going through her stuff I found some pills, so I gave them to Stephanie to help Ann in the morning. I also gave her what was left of my Pringles. Lauren came back to the room and we went back to sleep. We woke up around 8 and started getting ready to go to breakfast. Ann came back to the room and apologized to us.
We went downstairs, ate breakfast. We got on the bus and went to Las Ramblas. There we met a local tour guide and started playing The Game. In The Game, we traveled down side streets of Las Ramblas, where we met other tour guides and completed challenges. Each of the challenges were based on the 5 senses: touch, hearing, smell, taste, and sight. There were an additional 5 photo challenges to complete. They asked who wanted to be in the first group and no one moves, then Mrs. Gregory said she would be in that group and a ton of people wanted to be in the group (myself included). There were too many people in the group, so I decided to switch groups. I ended up in the Black Group. The first group back with all of the challenges and all of the photos would win. Even if we were not done, we had to meet back up at noon. Then all of the groups left. Our group first headed to Las Ramblas, were we took a picture of the giant thermometer (photo challenge). We then headed towards the next place on the map, but no one in my group was good at reading a map so I took over. Along the way, we decided to complete another of the photo challenges, take a picture with a local. The first guy we approached didn't speak English and waved us off, but one of the girls approached another man and explained what we wanted in broken Spanish, so we took a group photo. Then we headed towards the oldest knife shop in Barcelona (photo challenge). We got a little lost because the square where the next challenge was only had one entrance, but the map didn't show where the entrance was. So we had to walk completely around the walled courtyard to find it. The girl that could speak a little spanish asked a shopkeeper and he told us how to get there. We finally got there, and a lot of the groups were already there. This was the Sight Challenge. There was a list of things that we had to find and take a picture of, and then show the tour guide. We split up the list and went looking for our items. One of the items that I had to find was the word "Aqua." The other groups were looking of it as well and couldn't find it. Finally I looked down and there was a water hole with a cover on it that said "Aqua de Barcelona." I tried to take the picture discreetly but I failed. Heather saw me taking the picture and alerted her group, which alerted the other groups. Finally we left that challenge and went to the next one. This was the Smell Challenge. We were blindfolded and the tour guide put a container of some common household seasonings up to our noses. We had to sniff it and decide what it was. Heather's group got there before us, so we had to wait. While we waited, we discussed strategy. We would each try to remember what we could. I didn't know any of them. Luckily, the tour guide would ask very leading questions and we were able to guess what the items were. We then headed towards the Tasting Challenge. Again, Heather's group was there first and they could only accommodate one at a time. The tour guide said one of the photo challenge locations was close by, so headed there. It was light posts made by Gaudi, which he only made a couple of. We headed back to the tasting challenge, and Heather's group was just leaving. It was approaching the time when we should have been heading back to the meeting place, but the tour guide went ahead and took us. For this challenge, we tasted a tapas (appetizer) and we had to guess what was in it. Afterwards we headed back to the meeting place and we were only a couple of minutes late. We waited for the other groups to come and only 2 groups finished all of the challenges. The first group that arrived with all of the challenges completed got to complete the final challenge. For this challenge there was a lot of random pictures about the history of Barcelona, from Picasso paintings to Roman architecture. The group had to match them up with different time periods of Barcelona history in the time limit. The group finished and won. Afterwards we went and had lunch. After lunch everyone headed in different directions. Heather and Simone wanted to go down to the beach, and I didn't so I was going to head off on my own but I saw Christine and her Mom heading the same direction I was so I joined their group. We wondered around Las Ramblas looking a clothing shops. There was a shop that I had seen when we were playing The Game that I wanted to shop at, but I couldn't remember where it was. I kept looking for it but could not find it. I finally gave up. Dr. Burns and Dr. Litton were planning on attending Mass at the Barcelona Cathedral at 5pm, and we wanted to go. We met up with them there and found out that Mass didn't start until 6pm, so we just hung out on the cathedral steps. Simone joined me there. Apparently they tried to find the beach and got lost, so they had to take a taxi back to Las Ramblas. We attended Mass, which was a lot of fun, but that was probably because I couldn't understand a word that the priest was saying. Occasionally I would recognize a word and I was like, "I know that word!" but that was it. I don't think they were speaking in Spanish, I think we were in the Catalan service. We had to meet up with the rest of the tour group at 7pm for dinner, so we left Mass early, right before they sent the offering bowl around. We met the rest of the tour group at the Christopher Columbus statue and went to dinner. Then we went back to the hotel. We got to sleep relatively late this morning, 8 o'clock. Then we went to breakfast and got on a different tour bus. Diego left yesterday. We then went on a tour of Barcelona with a local tour guide. He explained all the major sites. We stopped at Guadi Park (Guell Park) and took pictures.
Then we went to La Sagrada Familia. It was massive! It had taken them 130 years to complete 60% of it. They are hoping to complete the next 40% in 12 years. The tour guide was not hopeful. We took pictures around it, then got back on the bus. The tour guide dropped us off at the Hard Rock Cafe at Las Ramblas. Las Ramblas is a long street filled with shops, all having a sale. Thousands of people crowded the street and the shops. My coat was long enough that I could button it over my baggalini. Chris took us on a quick walking tour to orient us and even stopped at his house to get his 2 dogs. The dogs were really playful! We then got to explore the shops by ourselves. Simone, Heather, and I stock together. We walked quickly through the market, then went to eat lunch. After lunch Heather went and bought herb seeds for her Mom. They had a Penis Pepper and a Pussy Flower seeds. Heather bought some herb seeds, then we started looking for men's wallets for my Dad. We went to at least 5 different department stores looking for a leather wallet and we couldn't find any. Finally we started thinking up different options for souvenirs for Dad. Simone mentioned food as a choice, so I decided to get Dad some chocolate. We went to El Corto Ingles and I bought some chocolate. We then found a bench and sat down for awhile. I filmed Heather doing her presentation, then we walked down La Rambla, then met the group and went to dinner. After dinner our group took the subway back to the hotel. When we got to the platform a train had just arrived, so we jumped on and after it left we realized we were on the wrong train, so we had to get off and go back. We got back to the hotel, then Ann, Lauren, and some other girls decided to go to the ice bar. I went to sleep. This morning the 1st and 2nd shift for breakfast switched, so our room had first shift. Everyone in our room took down their luggage except me. After breakfast I went back up to the room to finish packing. I also tried to email Mrs. Gregory Simone' and my video of your poem, but it was too big for an email. When I got down stairs I told Mrs. Gregory and she said she would probably open a link to submit them on BlackBoard. We got on the bus and started driving to Barcelona. He stopped every 2 hours for a bathroom break and for lunch.
While on the bus, we watched Gone With the Wind. It was a very sad movie, ann creed when Bonnie died. When we got back on the bus after lunch, Ann realized that the 20 euros in her pocket had fallen out. She ran off the bus to find it. Chris followed her while she searched. She couldn't find it and came back to the bus. Chris followed her a few minutes later and acted like he had found it. An thinks he took it out of his wallet because it wasn't crumpled like her was. I think she lied to him later and pretended to find it. We also had a talent show on the bus. Ann and Lauren did a parody of the song by One Direction. One group did a song by Lizzie McGuire. Christina Rohmer did a song from Wicked. The grad students danced. It was very funny. After the talent show, they announced the winers (all participants won a prize). They also gave prizes to other people for things they did on the trip. Heather, Simone, and I won the Prize for the Greatest Creativity in a Challenge for cutting the stinky cheese with Simone's driver's license. We were offered a choice of flags: Spain, Italy, or France. I got the Italian flag. We arrived at the hotel around dinner time and put our suitcases in our room. We met in the lobby and got on the bus. Then we waited and waited for Chris. He didn't show up. Apparently our bus was parked illegally in front of a bus stop. A cranky old man called the police on us and gave the police the license plate number. Dr. Litton wanted to leave and circle the block, but decided not to. The police showed up on motorcycles and started talking to Diego in Spanish. Right after that Chris showed up and we left. Apparently he was at the metro station buying tickets for us when he noticed a tourist getting her pocket picked. He stepped in and the pickpocket ran off with the woman's purse. The woman didn't know where her hotel was, so Chris escorted her back, causing him to be late. He explained this to the police and they told him "good job" and let us leave. We went to the restaurant, which gave us many options to choose from. We got a ticket for an appetizer, meal, and dessert. Two people at my table didn't want their dessert ticket so they gave them to me. I didn't like the last dessert, so I passed it around. I only got 2 desserts. We then returned to the hotel. Simone and I left the candy shop and were wondering down the street parallel to the beach. We decided to walk to the market, hit some souvenir shops, eat lunch on the beach, then return to the hotel for some rest. As we were walking we found Heather, Ann, Stephanie, Kelly, and some other people sitting at a restaurant table outside. Everyone but Heather was stopping to buy a drink (alcoholic). Heather didn't want anything so she joined Simone and me. We then walked to the market and explored it. I bought everyone some handmade soap. We then walked to Monoprix that we had seen the previous night. Monoprix was a grocery store and I wanted to check it out. Along the way we stopped at souvenir shops. Heather found a hat shop and bought a cute red hat. She wanted that to be her exotic building and Simone and I took a picture of it. I found several souvenir shops selling shot glasses, but they wanted 5 euros for them, but I found some for 2.5 euros.
We then walked to Monoprix, we didn't realize how far it was. Inside Monoprix, the first floor was all food and the second floor was clothing. I was looking for a cheap leather wallet for Dad and Bobby but I couldn't find any. I told Heather and she said the cheapest I would find would be for 20 euros ($30), so I decided they weren't getting wallets. I'll probably get Bobby a knife, and i don't know what I'll get Dad yet. We then walked back to the market for lunch. I was looking for a small food place that I could get take out from. Heather and Simone were going to get something from the market. While we were walking there I saw a souvenir shop we had stopped at before. I saw a souvenir I wanted, so I bought myself a cutting board. I walked toward the marketplace and I saw Heather and Simone walking in the opposite direction. They had gone ahead to get food, but the marketplace had closed already. We walked along some random streets until we found a little shop selling sandwiches. We stopped there and Heather tried to order an orange, but they made her orange juice. The cagier was very rude. Simone and I were trying to order separately and he was very rude to us. We ate crepes filled with mozzarella, ham, and tomatoes. I also ordered some chocolate ice cream (glaciers). We paid and left the restaurant. Across the street was a little grocery store, so we went in and bought some stinky cheese. We then walked down to the beach and saw Mrs. Gregory laying on the rocks. We sat down close to her and offered her some cheese. She accepted. We didn't have a knife to cut the cheese with, so we used Simone's driver's license. We each tried some cheese. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either, so I just ate a bite. Two big dogs came and ran around the beach and us. They were very playful. The dogs' owners came to the beach right next to us. They looked homeless, and one had dreadlocks. The one with dreadlocks took off his shirt and went in the water. He was either taking a bath or peeing. We were uncomfortable, so we grabbed our stuff and moved farther down the beach. Mrs. Gregory had already left to check out Heather's hat shop. We stayed on the beach for about an hour. I read a book while Heather and Simone talked. There was a museum that Heather wanted to see that was on the beach and was supposed to be free. We looked for it but couldn't find it. We later found out that her travel guide had the address wrong. We then walked to the wall surrounding the town and took some pictures. Then we walked back to the hotel. On the way I saw a dress shop having a sale, so we stopped to check it out. I found a cute dress for 25 euros for Kendall (if she doesn't want it I am going to keep it) and a nice knee length wool jacket for 30 euros. I bought both items and we returned to the hotel for about an hour and a half, then we walked to the dinner meeting place. We walked to a restaurant, had dinner, and walked to the beach. Chris had bout 3 bottles of wine (2 red and 1 white) and some clear plastic cups. Everyone got some wine and we had some toasts. I got the white wine and it was gross! I ended up giving mine to Kelly. While we were huddled up listening to the toasts, a pickpocket was circling our group until Beth ram him off. We returned to the hotel and packed our bags. Ann and Lauren made up travel lyrics to the song Story of My Life by One Direction for the talent show tomorrow. Then we went to bed. I had posted pics on Facebook, including Simone's Driver's License (which had personal info on it). Her Mom responded saying it should be censored, so I took it off. They had to split us into 2 groups because the breakfast room wasn't big enough. They did it based on room assignments. Quad rooms (me) had the 2nd shift. We then had a quick walking tour of Nice. We saw the market, walked by monuments to the Resistance. The Resistance resisted Adolf Hitler in World War II. Some of them overtook the trains transporting the Jews to concentration camps. They then hid the Jews. These people had nothing to gain and everything to lose, but they still stood up to the Germans knowing they would die if caught. Also, for every German killed, 10 random French people were taken from the street, lined up and shot. The choices were random: everyone from the assistant mayer to the 14 year-old milk boy was executed. We stopped at a beautiful monument dedicated to these people. After that we walked to a candy shop that puts flowers in their candy, jelly, etc. A representative explained the process and we got to try some samples. I forgot to write the Challenges of the Day:
1. Buy and try some candy with flowers in it. 2. Buy and try some stinky cheese. 3. Take a picture in front of an exotic building. Simone and I bought a chocolate bar with roses in it. We decided to wait to open it until we get back to the U.S. We are going to give them as souvenirs to our family members. I also tried some flower jelly samples. They were really good, my favorite was the Violet one. I almost bought some, but decided I already had a souvenir to give my family from there. We then had free time to explore the city. We drove to Eze (near Grosse) to Fragonard, a perfume factory. We got a tour of the factory and I bout 2 15mL bottles of perfume for 38 euros. After that we drove to Nice and checked into the hotel. Then we walked to dinner. After dinner, a group of us walked down to the beach. Some of the group had a competition on who could throw a rock the farthest into the ocean. Chris was able to make some of his rocks skip on the water. He also handed out pretty rocks to some of the girls. We then walked back to the hotel. I didn't complete any of the Challenges of the Day, except taking a picture of an exotic car.
Challenges of the Day:
1. Picture with a guard 2. Picture of someone looking European fierce, or car 3. Talk to a local So we got up and left the hotel early to drive to Monaco. We got on the bus and drove 5 hours to Monaco. We stopped for a bathroom break at a little convenience store, and everyone attacked the pesto, especially Dr. Litton (he bought 4 jars). Heather had bought an orange soda to drink and she spilled it on the seat. She had it open in her hand while she was moving stuff and it spilled all over the seat. Dr. Litton told the bus driver (Diego) about it and he got paper towels out. When Chris cam back, Dr. Litton told him about it, and he squatted water on it and patted it dry with a paper towel. Apparently Diego is responsible for any stains or damage to the bus, he gets the bill. Heather sat with Gretchen for the rest of the way to Monaco. We actually overshot the turning lane for Monaco, so the bus driver backed up back to the turning point and made the turn. He must have forgotten that Dr. Litton changed the schedule. Originally, we were supposed to go to Nice, then back to Monaco, and then back to Nice. Dr. Litton changed it so we went to Monaco first, and then to Nice. Monaco has no more land to expand so they have been building out to sea, they have already reclaimed 26 acres. Monaco is super clean, they have a 1,000 euro fine on the spot for littering. That is about $1,500 American. When we drove in, Chris and Diego had to pay some officials since we were a tour bus. No one is supposed to leave the bus, but if Chris and Diego don't notice it they can't do anything about it. Hint. Hint. There was a good view from the spot we were at. I was the only one to get off the bus. I took a quick self and got back on the bus. Chris and Diego came back and we drove into Monte Carlo. Diego went and parked the bus, which cost 145 euros, almost $200. We then walked to the Prince's Palace, but we didn't get to go in. We then had free time to explore the shops surrounding the palace. Heather tried to get a picture with a policeman for the challenge, but it is not allowed. Simone and I explored the shops around the palace. I bought more souvenirs. We went back to the meeting place, got on the bus and went to the Monte Carlo Casino. I decided not to go into the main casino because just to get in cost 10 euros, about $15. Instead I went into a little one on the side. Simone and I went in, and were met with blinking machines. We were trying to find the penny slots, but we couldn't find them. I finally sat at a slot machine that cost .20 euros a bid. It would only take a 5 euro note or higher so I put in 5 euros. I didn't know how to play so I just started hitting random buttons until I was down to 2,50 euros. Then I switched to a different machine (that I also didn't know how to play) and hit some more random buttons until I was down to .25 euros and the machine wouldn't go anymore. Then Simone and I left to go to the meeting place. We walked to the bus and left Monaco. Challenge of the Day
1. Go to top of the Mountain and get a picture with the statue and get the name 2. Get funny picture on the beach 3. Buy and try the most exotic gelato Today we explored the Cinque Terre. We got up at 7 a.m. and were on the bus by 8 a.m. We took the bus to the train station, and took a train to Riomaggiore, one of the 5 towns. I took a lot of pictures, and then in Manarola my camera died. Luckily I have an iPhone so I just switched cameras and stared using my phone. A really interesting story there is about the missing 4's on the clocks. When the plague came to the town, the teachers were among those that died, so students missed a lotos valuable information. One of the things they didn't know was that roman numerals went from III to IV. They skipped IV, so the numbers went from III to V. It was here that Simone and I decided to recite our poems. The problem was that we couldn't be heard over the sound of the water on my iPhone. We talked to Mrs. Gregory and she said it would be okay to do a panoramic shot while we spoke our poems. That way we could hear ourselves. I really liked this because when I recited my poem I could look at the words when I forgot them. After Manarola we went to Monterosso. It was here that we were able to complete the Challenge of the Day. These challenges will count as participation points on our grade. Chris took us around the city and then turned us loose. I went to a souvenir shop and both 3 shot glasses (Mom, Dad, and Kendall), a key chain (Nina) and a pasta server (me). When I was about to pay I noticed a big wooden spoon and fork for 8 euros, but I couldn't figure out when to use them for (I later figured out it was for serving salad). We decide to try to find the statue from the Challenge of the Day first. ON the way to the statue, we found a gelateria, so we stopped to try an exotic flavor from the Challenge. I tried pistachio and chocolate gelato, it was actually pretty good. We ate while we waled to find the statue. The statue was supposed to be on top of a mountain, so we hiked to find it. I thought I was going to die, my thighs were killing me. Mrs. Gregory was with a group in front of us, so we just followed them. Our group eventually caught up to Mrs. Gregory because she had decided to stop. They couldn't find the statue. The rest of my group went farther up to look for the statue while Simone and I waited but they never came back to tell us they had found it. It was getting close to time to head back, so Mrs. Gregory went up to search for them. She came back with Gretchen and another woman. The rest of the group had traveled on to look for the statue but Gretchen and the other woman had turned around. Apparently since the last time Mrs. Gregory was here they built a hotel, which has a gated fence. The statue was behind the fence! It was supposed to be a statue of Francis of Assissi. We headed back down to the meeting place, but since we had extra time we stopped for the last challenge: a funny picture on the beach. Mrs. Gregory took a picture of Simone, Heather, and I acting like we died from the long hike up the mountain. Even Dr. Burns joined in (even though he wasn't in the group that went up. We headed back to the meeting place to find out that they had canceled our train, so we had an extra 30 minutes. Simone and I walked back to the gift shop we were at before and I both 2 salad tossers for 8 euros a piece. We then went back to the meeting place, got on a train, and went to Vernazza. We had 40 minutes to explore Vernazza. So we took pictures at a pretty cove as the sun was setting. Then Simone and I went to a souvenir shop and I bought a postcard with the towns on it and another keychain for Nina (this one was prettier than the last one). In this shop, there was only 1 shot glass in the entire place. I don't think Italy is a big seller of shot glasses. I didn't see any in Milan, I found some in Manarola but they all had the same design. We took the train to the end of the line and got back on the bus to drive to the hotel. On the way, someone decided to throw a cat in front of the tour bus, causing the bus driver to slam on the breaks. Luckily the cat was able to escape and run away. We got to the hotel, ate dinner, and went up to our rooms. Everyone is tired from the long day. I plugged in my camera to the wall to charge it before I went down to dinner. When I came up it wasn't charging so I replugged it in. I tried to look at how far it was charged later on, but it just said Battery Exhausted. The other girls think I need a new battery. Because it wasn't being used at Nina's, the battery went bad. Now I have to find a camera store in Nice or Monaco and buy a new battery. We have a hotel in Ameglia, which is close to the Cinque Terre. We got to the hotel, took our bags up to the room and then came back down for dinner. I am rooming with Ann, Heather, and Lauren. Dinner was a 3 course meal and very good. However, we keep having problems with the hotel. First, there is only 1 key, which also controls the light, so if someone wants to leave they don't have a key to get back in. Second, the wifi keeps getting overloaded and won't work. Third, the lights went out for a minute or so. Fourth, there are only 2 plugs in the room and everyone has devices to charge. Fifth, now the bathroom light won't turn on. Ann went and got the front desk guy, but he didn't speak English. Ann was able to speak to him in Spanglish, which he understood. He will fix it tomorrow. It was funny: Heather somehow manage to lock the bathroom door from the outside, but Ann was able to slide a euro in the slot to turn and unlock it.
We are now driving to the Cinque Terre in Italy. We landed in Milan on time and went through the airport quickly. We had to wait a little while for our tour guide, Chris, but he brought us small oranges (clementines?) from the country. We then went out to the bus. I love having a big suitcase because I was at the back of the line but I got to move to the front because they wanted the big suitcases on the bottom. I got a window seat up in the front. Heather has the seat next to me. We had a small bus tour of the city. Then the bus dropped us off at the Castello, which was once the financial and political center of Italy. The palace is huge! We didn't get to see any rooms because we had 10 minutes to explore. We mostly just explored the courtyards and the outside of the palace. There were African men inside and outside the cathedral selling knock-offs. Chris told us that the Italian government is in the process of making a law against buying knock-offs. After the palace, we walked down a couple of blocks to the Cathedral. We had an hour to explore the Cathedral and surrounding area. There was a beautiful shopping center by the Cathedral and we went there first. This was a shopping center of the designers: Prada, Gucci, Mercedes-Benz, etc. There was also a bull on the ground and you are supposed to put your right heel on the hole and turn around. A lot of people were doing it, so I did it. Heather was also going to try to do it, but she wouldn't muscle her way in and it was taking too long so she gave up. Next we went to a little hole-in-the-wall place that sold gelato. It was awesome! I had a cone of Vanilla, Apple, and Nutella. My favorite was the Apple. We walked around the souvenir shops beside the Cathedral while we ate the gelato, since we couldn't take it into the Cathedral. The whole time we were battling crowds from all sides. After we finished the gelato we stood in line for the Cathedral. I was in front so I went into the Cathedral, but they wouldn't let Heather and Simone in because they had their gelato cup in their hands. I stood by the door waiting for them while they went to throw away their trash. I waited a long time and finally left. As I was leaving, they were going through security so I got back in line. When I went into the Cathedral I couldn't find them. I searched for them while I took pictures. I finally found them and we left. We went back to the souvenir shops because I wanted a wind chime I had seen earlier. I found it but it was 22 euros, which was over $30. I decided to wait and look for one somewhere else. We met up with our group, and while we waited for the stragglers I bought 2 key chains, one for Nina and one for me. We walked back to the palace and the bus picked us up. Now we are driving 3 hours to the Cinque Terre.
This is the poem I have chosen to recite:
What tomorrow will bring, joyful or somber, no one knows. Our road may take us to clearings untrodden by human foot, to whispering streams of eternal youth; or perhaps a last descent into that final valley, all darkness, memory of light quite lost. Foreign lands perhaps will welcome us once more: we will lose the memory of our sun, our lilting rhyme will be forgotten. And the fable that expresses our lives will suddenly become that grim tale no man will ever tell. Still, O father, one legacy you leave us: some small part of your genius lives on in these syllables we bear with us, humming bees. However far our journey, we will always keep an echo of your voice, like the brown grass in dark courtyards between the houses, which never forgets the light. And a day will come when these unvoiced words, seeded in us by you, nourished on silence and fatigue, will, to some brotherly soul, seem seasoned with salt-sea brine. We arrived in Frankfort 2 hours ago. The flight was about 10 hours long. There was a lot of turbulence, usually when it was time to eat and pick up the trays. I was in the middle of the plane, so I couldn't see out the window. I watched 2.5 movies. I finished the Sea of Monsters and Elysium, both of which were on my list of Movies to See. I also started We're the Millers, but I wasn't able to finish it, but I have already seen it. I was able to sleep for about 4 hours on the plane, so I'm rested now. I slept throughout breakfast so I bought a pretzel at the Frankfort Airport. When we were on the plane, all of the instructions were in German, and they sometimes gave an English translation. After the plane landed, we were loaded on buses to transport us to the airport. That bus was rocky! I almost hit the window with my face, but the guy next to me caught me. We had to go through the airport security again, but I didn't have any problems. We also went through Customs and I got my passport stamped. I kept trying to get on wifi, but it wouldn't work. I couldn't get on FaceBook or Voxer to let everyone know I landed. Luckily Heather rented a phone and an international data plans I was able to text Mom. I tried using an Internet kiosk but it was confusing. Since I had never used one before with Facebook I had to prove my identity. They had a box with random letters I was supposed to type in but I couldn't find some of the letters, like the backwards lowercase r. I was finally able to get passed that, but then I had to name some of my friends on Facebook. They showed me a picture, but where I was supposed to hit submit was cut off like it didn't fit on the screen. It was nearing time to meet the group again so I just gave up. I wasted 2 euros. Also during the break I was able to find an ATM. I took out 300 euros but I never had a chance to transfer my travel money from Savings to Checking. I'll have to sort it out later. I realized that I had forgotten to look up a passage to recite for my class. I started looking up quotes from Hemingway's A Moveable Feast but those were mostly about Paris, which we are not going to. I was telling this to Priscilla and Carely while we were waiting to board the plane. Carely is letting me borrow her Cuttlefish Bones packet. This is our packet of poems. Now I just have to memorize the poem and recite it when we are at the beach.
Today is the day we start our journey to the Mediterranean Coast. We will be visiting 4 countries: Italy, Monaco, France, and Spain. I'm really excited to get started. Right now I am in the airport waiting on our plane. I'm tired because I tried to stay up all night so I could sleep on the plane. I gave up at 3 a.m. this morning when I fell asleep for 3 hours. The good news is that I finished my Celtic cross stitch and packing. My suitcase only weighed 13.2 pounds. I wonder how much it will weigh on the way back. Since I wasn't going to park at the DFW airport, (and pay the high fees) I had to park at the Hampton Inn and catch a shuttle to the airport. I'm glad I didn't have to figure it out because I was completely lost when the shuttle driver was driving around. I would have never made it. Luckily I was able to find Dr. Litton and Beth relatively quickly. The guy that was checking my bag (Ravi) didn't look like he knew what he was doing. He was Indian and had an accent, which made it difficult to understand him. He kept saying 1994 but I couldn't understand what he was saying. I finally figured out that he was talking about my birthday, but I don't know why. Finally he was able to check my bag, but it took a long time. I hope my bag make it to Frankfort and Milan. We have a 2 hour layover in Frankfort, Germany. After I checked my bag I went to security. Luckily there was no line. I accidentally left my neck pouch on under my shirt, which made the TSA agent upset, even though there was nothing in it. She patted down the front and back of my shirt. Now I am waiting at the gate fro the airplane. We will (hopefully) depart at 4:20 p.m. We had to get to the airport at 12:40, so we have to wait 4 hours for the plane, and then we have a 10 hour flight. I hope I can sleep. I also have to find and memorize a passage from one of the books we have to recite on location. Luckily I have one of the books on my Kindle, so I can find a passage. I also have to start thinking about what I am going to do for my portfolio. So far I have no ideas.
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June 2022
AuthorThese are details from my adventures around the world. |