The Streak

So, many of you know I've had this amazing travel streak going for about 18 months. It started out quite randomly that I was flying somewhere every month for a variety of reasons, until I realized my streak could be broken..that's when I took matters into my own hands and purposely planned trips to continue the streak..and to see friends. I have been quite blessed and actually looked forward to my many adventures...and many is right. While it hasn't always gone smoothly, it's always been an adventure & a story to tell. That's what I love about travel - I always learn something new, see something with new eyes, meet new people - and always come home with a story to tell...and about 300+ pics.
Enjoy my Streak in Review:


June, 2010: Europe: This is where the trip started with a student trip to France & Spain. I had a small group of students this trip, but we were paired up with some amazing travel companions. One of our days took us over to Morocco - hence me & the camel. :)



July 2010: China: I was asked to speak at a Travel convention in Beijing, China. If you look close enough, you can see the sweat dripping off my face - hot & humid would describe this trip.



August 2010: Colorado: Went out to visit a dear friend. We sipped wine & chillaxed by this river...sigh...


September 2010: New York City: My cousin Amy & I went to NYC for a family wedding. While it was a whirlwind weekend, we took in all the sites & sounds this amazing city has to offer. Here I am outside the US Open tennis center.



October 2010: Orlando: Risius Family Vacation to Disney - all 9 of us went...actually 10 if you count that Abby was pregnant with Amelia. We went over Halloween and also got to spend time with the Florida clan.



November 2010: Rome: Was asked to speak at a Travel convention in Rome over Veteran's Day. This was my first time back in Rome since college, so was nice to have an official tour...gorgeous!


December 2010 - January 2011: Dubai: Happy New Year's from DUBAI!! I signed up for a trip to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates over New Years. What an AMAZING place! Behind me is the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. We went to the top one day, and got to watch New Years fireworks from a hotel facing it - unreal...



February 2011: Portland, OR: Flew out to visit a friend & her mom from my Dubai trip. Such a fun city and we did a beautiful scenic drive along the gorge..wow!



March 2011: China: My cousin Amy & I went to visit Eric, Lori & nephews Jack & Will, in China over Spring Break. Eric had been there since August for John Deere and Lori & the boys joined him in January. Was definitely a bit cooler weather and loved seeing the boys!!



April 2011: Madrid, Spain: I was asked to speak at a Travel convention in one of my most favorite Spanish cities. :) It was Holy Week so got to see the sites & sounds of all those festivities.


May 2011: San Diego, CA: Flew out to visit a friend who lives in La Jolla. We even took a side trip up to Hollywood. My first time in CA. Loved the sounds of the waves...



June 2011: Europe: 20 kids & I headed to Europe for 17 days, visiting London, Paris, Switzerland, Florence, Rome, Pompeii and the island of Capri (pictured above). What truly a trip of a life time - Go Big or Go Home!!



July 2011: Colorado: Back out to visit a friend and a side trip to St. Mary's Glacier...snow in July :)


August 2011: Ohio: This trip to the Western & Southern Tennis Tourney started in October as a birthday gift. I got to see the Semi's and the Finals before heading home. Quick weekend, but who can complain with 20+ hrs of tennis watching...and a Roger Federer sighting... sigh..



October 2011: Cedar Falls, IA: So the streak was broken in September & October - a hiatus if you will... and although I didn't fly anywhere, I can include this in my travel streak. Went up to my old stomping grounds with 4 college friends for a weekend of laughs. We should not have waited so long to go back & visit.



November 2011: Denver, CO: I went out to the ACTFL National World Language Conference held downtown Denver. Was an amazing conference and came back with oodles of ideas. Spent some time with my friend Sara - we even went to the Denver Aquarium, saw tigers & pet/fed stingrays. A successful weekend - gotta love that direct flight!



November 2011: Paris, France: I was asked to speak at a Travel convention in Paris over Thanksgiving. I love seeing old cities at different times of the year - you get a better feel for the true essence of the city. Paris was a-lit with Christmas lights & decorations - breathtaking.



And, now, here it is, December 2011 - and tomorrow I'm off to HONG KONG to ring in the New Year! Stay tuned for those posts & to see if the streak stays alive...

Much love & many blessings for a fantastic 2012!!
~steph :)

Day 17: Heading Home

Time to head home... what a bittersweet day it is today! We had a 7:30 flight, so the bus picked us up at 4:00 am...ugh... but all the kids were ready to go in their teal shirts... boy, were these shirts life-savers today! (We had an extremely short lay-over in Paris that I had to snake us in lines to cut and make our flight).
Here are some girls jumpin' for joy... either to go home or about their amazing 2+ wks in Europe, or that Kathryn finally got her ticket figured out so that we didn't have to sprint thru the Paris airport again! lol
Tyler is all excited as well :)

Mario took us thru check-in and up until security and then we had to say our good-byes.
Many hugs were given, laughs exchanged, no good-byes - just see you soon!!!
We made Mario an honorary teal shirter and the kids all signed the back of the shirt. We were all humbled that he wore it to the airport to see us on our way, and to head back to his hometown in Sicily. The kids really bonded with Mario & I love how they took to him but more how he took to us. Not all TD's are like Mario - he really went above & beyond with 'my' kids, and I am quite protective of them on tour but didn't need to this time. He listened to them, played soccer with them, took them to the beach, for gelato almost every night, found fun things for them to do, judged their photo competition (Team Senorita!), played music & movies that they would like, told stories they would enjoy and could relate to...treated them with much respect...he was all they could talk about on their way home. A Tour Director can really enhance a tour and Mario helped shape the minds for travel & tolerance and foster a love for travel so much that many cannot wait to travel again!
Making kids life-long learners is what this whole process is all about. Watching how they mature & grow over the 17 days is the most priceless part of my job. I love watching kids come in who know no one and after only 17 days, have now bonded and made life-long friends, no matter the age-level. Although this was my biggest group ever, it really didn't feel like it... the kids meshed extremely well and got along - no drama! I was reflecting about that on the plane home (when I was conscious - woke up sick on Sunday - ugh). On the flight over, the kids were moving seats so they could sit next to their friends... on the way back, no one switched because they now had 19 other friends they could sit next to. Just watching them mesh together makes my heart sing.
So, I sit here this morning, finishing up my blog, but not wanting to since that means our trip is over... but it's really not. It will live in the hearts of these kids for the rest of their lives. They will always laugh when they hear Single Ladies, when they think of Platform 9 3/4, when they hear the word "Cuckoo", when they 'drive' thru McDonalds, anytime they eat ice cream and compare it to gelato, when they watch Gladiator, etc...
I am so honored to have been able to take these amazing, worldly kids on a trip of a lifetime. Yes, I'm exhausted, yes I'm a bit bruised, but it's all worth it.
As one of the kids wrote in my journal, "There are many moments I'll remember. I can always go back to these places, but our group on this trip is something I could never replace or re-do."
Well said, well said...

So for now, I saw Ciao. Not sure if July travels will happen... my passport still has room for more stamps... I need to get going to catch up with 91+.

Hope you've enjoyed our blog - we started at 5500 hits going into this trip... the last I looked we were over 11,000!!! WOW!!! Thanks for reading and following along! Thanks for the continuous support you've given us over the 17 days and beyond! I'm hopeful the kids thanked their parents for making this trip-of-a-lifetime come true! They will be forever changed for the good! Thanks for all the airport hugs - I missed having breakfast with you all this morning and our "Wakey Wakey".

Abrazos to you all!
~steph :)

Day 16: CAPRI :)

What a gorgeous day for a boat ride! Today we headed out on a ferry to the island of Capri (stress on the A, not on the 'I' like a type of pants). The weather was perfect - as you can see, barely a cloud in the sky! We first took a boat cruise around the islands with our local guide, Luigi. Then we took the funicular up to the town - saw this outlook - and had lunch. What a quaint little town. I can see why many rich & famous come to this town - it would be a great get-away!
After lunch, we headed down to the beach for some sun & sand and some, sadly, found the rocks - yikes!
Of course, it wouldn't be a day in Italy with some gelato! Had to eat it quickly as it melted in the Italian sun!
We caught the ferry back to Naples - I snapped pics of all their smiling, sun-soaked faces before they conked out for a nap!
We made the journey back to Rome to get dinner... our Last Supper together... bittersweet... I was reflecting on the trip as we were walking to the bus after dinner, thinking about how the kids have changed over the past 17 days. On the first few days of dinner, they were so quiet, only hanging out with the friends they already knew. But, on the way back from dinner, boy were they all chatty- chatty...love how they formed themselves into a mini-family. :)

What great chaperones!! Couldn't have asked for better people to come along on this adventure with me!!
After dinner, we had our final pow-wow meeting with Mario - made him an honorary teal shirt member - kids signed the back and had also written him notes. Many hugs were exchanged, many laughs as we reminisced on the amazing 2.5 wks...Mario talked on how much he truly enjoyed our group... I also commented on my little 'family' and how much I will miss them... sigh...what great kids... :)

~steph :)

Day 15: Pompeii & Sorrento

Today we headed south to Pompeii. Boy, if we thought Rome was hot, Pompeii was just as hot. Luckily there was a breeze or we would have died from heat...no shade out there in Pompeii.
Here we are in the main square in Pompeii with Mt. Vesuvius in the background.

Our wonderful local guide, Roberto, showed the place off to us...and showed us where to get some water.
Oh, roomies!! One of the precious moments on tour when they're not stealing each other's stuff, hiding sheets and matresses not clothes :)At the end of our tour, Kimberlyn won a cameo made from shell rock - gorgeous!!
After lunch near Pompeii, we headed to Mount Vesuvius - the drive up was gorgeous, overlooking Pompeii and Bay of Naples. Above is a picture of all the brave souls who did the climb up - WOO HOO!!
We checked into our lovely hotel and immediately headed to the beach!

Sadly we were only down there for about 1/2hour, but it was ll worth it! Cedric even had a great time!
After dinner, we headed into town for our last gelatto stop...sigh... one of the main things we will miss about Italy!
After a round of hugs, Tyler showed me the heart-leaf that he found.
What a lovely city - so quiet & quaint! There were even fireworks going off...sadly couldn't see them.

Tomorrow is our last day.... sob sob...

~steph :)

Day 14: Rome Part 2

Rome, Round 2 today!! Another gorgeous day in Rome - we started off with a tour of the Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica.

Of course, all shoulders and knees were to be covered during our visit. Everyone did well, but Theja & Trisha forgot their shawls when we went to St. Paul Outside the Wall...but no worries, they sported these lovely mesh shawls. :)

A big bathtub in the Vatican Museum - don't we all look fascinated?!?! lol
After our Vatican visit, our wonderful TD Mario pointed out our meeting point and some restaurants for lunch.

After lunch, we went to visit St Paul Outside the Wall, 2nd largest church in Rome with the portraits of all the Popes - as you can see, what a gorgeous place!!

After St. Paul's, we headed to the Catacombs...not as creepy as Palermo's, but what a labyrinth - luckily no one got lost. It was creepy being down in those depths and quite chilly.

All in all, the kids really enjoyed Rome - I think it's a place they'd only dreamed up and it just became a reality for them!!

~steph :)