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.
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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. |
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June 2022
AuthorThese are details from my adventures around the world. |