Gelato

Yep. We love our gelato! At least once...if not twice a day... It's not ice cream...it's just yummy goodness...in a cone or cup...in a restaurant or on the corner...all flavors from Pistachio to Stracciatella to Chocolate to Mango to Snickers...we tried it all...and loved every bit of it!
If only we could have brought it home with us...sigh...

Day 17: Home we go!

Well, it was quite the journey to get home.  Our original flights were on Delta, Rome-Amsterdam-Detroit-Moline. But, 13 hrs before we were to depart, I got a notification from EF that we were being re-routed.  Apparently, a month+ ago there was a fire in Terminal 3 in Rome, disrupting many flights...and it still is.  So, Delta was proactive and re-routed us on United, straight shot from Rome to Chicago, then Chicago to Moline.  Woo hoo!!  Sadly, we had 3 flights home from Chicago as no plane was going to have 20 available seats.  So, off to the airport Thursday we go. I park the kids and go deal with seat assignments with Delta for a few hours.  After dealing with them, we go to get in line for our United flight only to find out it's delayed...go figure!  So, back to our home base go the kids and I head to the United desk...flight delayed 2+ hrs.  So, we move people from 1 flight to the later flight, so now we'll be on 2 flights from Chicago to Moline...better!
We finally get the green light to check in...but stand in line just to check our passports and ask security questions.  Then, we stand in line to check-in, then security, a bus to the terminal, but as we were delayed, the airlines comped us free lunch. :)  Needless to say, it was a looooooong morning at the Rome airport.
Bonus came on the plane as we were all seated in Economy Plus seats!!!  Wooo Hoo!!
Arrive in Chicago - go through all the passport/customs fun, and off to the terminals we go.  I sent the first flight departers off to their G Gate as the rest of us headed to the C concourse.  Long security lines...gotta love O'Hare...and we pop out on the B concourse, ready to head to C, when I look at the board and our 9:07 flight is delayed until 11:43.  Grrr....  In my brain, I'm thinking it's not going to go - the pilots will time out...great!  So, I grab all the tickets, park the kids, and head for customer service.  Wait...wait in more lines (story of my life)...and just as I get to the front of the line, my United App buzzes and our flight's been canceled.  Luckily the other flight took off - about 10 min late, but better results than ours.  The next agent tells me they can get us on a flight Friday...but not til 9pm...and some have to go Sat a.m.  No thanks.  Quick phone call to EF and off to Enterprise we go!  A van and 2 cars later, we're off to Iowa.  Course we hit bumper-to-bumper traffic, 30 miles of one-lane construction traffic, and then an overturned semi caused dead-stop traffic on 88.  Just missing the deer in the backseat and we're Tommy Boy.  Kids all delivered and home we go!
Luggage supposed to arrive on Friday on the first flight, arriving at 10...course it arrives 1.5 hrs late... you're killing me, O'Hare! But, luckily all the luggage arrived and we delivered it to the HS, safe & sound.  Phew...

Thanks Rome airport, Delta, United, and O'Hare for a last few priceless memories on Trip #20!

Chillin' in Rome...might as well play some cards!

Arrivederci Europe!  Thanks for the memories!

The fun car, loaded and heading West!

Day 16: Capri

Our last day of touring...can hardly believe it's been over 2 weeks!
Today we got up early, packed the bus, and headed to the ferry port to catch our ferry from Sorrento to the Island of Capri. It was a quick ride (30 min) and then we literally walked off of our ferry and got on a private boat that took us around the islands, saw some caves/grottos, amazing rock formations...just enjoyed an hour on our boat.
Once back to the mainland, we hopped on the funicular and went to the village at the top. We wandered the streets, enjoying some window shopping, seeing the beautiful flowers along the way, and ending at the other edge of the island for an amazing over-look.  Wow...pretty close to paradise! We grabbed some paninis for lunch and had about 2+ hrs of free time, so we headed to the beach.  Finally!  Some 'leisure' on our 'Europe at Leisure' tour!!
After some more gelato, we boarded our Ferry to Naples (1hr).  Once in Naples, our driver Salvatore picked us up and back on the road to Rome we went.  We had dinner upon our arrival in Rome and then off to the hotel.  Had a nice farewell meeting with Mario, sharing our favorite moments, places, etc...
Then, we got the fun news of our changed flights.  Due to a fire in Terminal 3 in Rome over a month ago, we were rebooked and now fly direct into Chicago!  Quite excited for a direct flight!!

Until the next post...which will be from the USA!!
~Señorita :)

Boat ride

Capri

What a great last day in Capri!

Chillin' on the rocks!

Nicole enjoying some reflective time

Day 15: Vesuvius & Pompeii

We said good-bye to the Arkansas & Florida groups, boarded the bus with our Utah friends, and off we went!  Today we are heading south to Mount Vesuvius & Pompeii.  The kids got some great napping in on the drive, and with the entire bus to ourselves, we could spread out!
Our first stop was Vesuvius and the drive up the mountain was the most entertaining part as the roads are quite narrow and there are buses going up & down.  Once we got parked, off the kids went for the last 200 meters hike up the top of the volcano to put their mouth in the mouth of the volcano. lol
After the hike, we grabbed lunch on the slopes of the volcano & then headed to Pompeii.  We met our local guide who took us through the ruins. It's so amazing to see buildings, hear the stories, see the molds of the people who died...wow...
We headed to our hotel in Sorrento, had dinner, and then wandered looking for some Wi-Fi and gelato!  We found some gelato...as we always do!  :)

Off to the island of Capri tomorrow!!

Until the next post...
~Señorita :)

Nick on the top of Vesuvius

Kyle on Vesuvius

My little mountain goats

Pompeii...with Vesuvius in the background

Nick & Hannah hugging the pillars

Whipping around Europe

Abbey Road wanna be's

Lauren made a new friend

Day 14: Rome...round 2

Today was our last day in Rome and we spent it well!! Our morning consisted of a tour of the Vatican Museum, Sistene Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica.  I think the most comments I heard were that they were surprised at how small the Sistene Chapel was.  Guess they expected it to be bigger. We grabbed some lunch, hopped on the bus, and headed to Trevi Fountain.  Sadly, it’s all under construction and the glass walkway that was there in February is gone, so we had to throw our coins in the lame mini-pond.  After that, the kids went off shopping, hit the flower market, and did some great people watching in the Piazzas.  We met back up and headed off to a great pasta dinner, and then back home to our hotel a bit early.  Tomorrow we head to Pompeii, but 2 of our travel buddy groups are not.  The Florida & Arkansas groups are heading home so we had some good-byes.  The kids have just been chillaxin’ in the hotel on the Wi-Fi, and getting packed up for our last hurrah!  Can’t believe we left 2 weeks ago…London feels like it was months ago.

Until the next post…

~Señorita :)

St. Peter's Basilica

Throwing in the coins in hopes of returning

Day 13: Rome, round 1

Sorry for missing the last post – I was just plain tuckered out last night.  We had an amazing first day in Roma.  We had a free morning, so our group headed to Castel San Angelo & climbed up to the top of the turret for some amazing views of Rome. We then headed to the Pantheon area and grabbed some lunch.  We then met up with the entire group for a tour of the Colosseum and Forum.  Soooo amazing and awe-inspiring! The architecture is just impressive! 
It was a hot one today – umbrellas were super helpful blocking the sun.  We then had some free time to check out the Pantheon & Piazza Navona…and eat gelato.  We should definitely put ‘gelato eating’ on our itinerary as we’re becoming experts!

We had some amazing pizza for dinner and then set off on our Rome By Night tour, partially walking and enjoying the atmosphere in Trestevere.  We then jumped on the bus and got to see some amazing sites at night.  The bonus for me was a pit stop at the Colosseum.  As the Trevi Fountain is under construction, we didn’t stop there but the Colosseum and the Vatican.  Gotta love how different a city looks and feels at night.

Until the next post…
~Señorita :)

P.S. getting pics loaded from the past few days...enjoy!

Castel San Angelo

My Roamin' Spartans conquering the Roman Colosseum

Day 12: San Gimignano & Assisi

Today we left Montecatini/Florence and headed to Rome.  We made 2 pit stops on the way in 2 amazing Italian town:  San Gimignano and Assisi.  First stop was San Gimignano, a quaint little towered town nestled in the Tuscan hills. It’s surrounded by rolling greens, olive trees and sunflower fields…seriously looks like a painting.  We spent a few hours wandering, eating gelato, grabbing lunch, and were entertained by a medieval parade & festivities.

Next up was Assisi and a visit to the Basilica.  What an amazing final resting place of St. Francis!  The Basilica has two floors which are quite distinct from each other. Part of the upper chapel was damaged in an earthquake in 1997.  There are a few cracks still in the walls that you can see.

Back on the road for our last long bus ride as a group of 50…2 of the groups are not joining us on the extension to Pompeii, Sorrento, and Capri.  We arrived into Rome in time for a late dinner…but with bruschetta, salad, lasagna & tiramisu, who care what time we eat?!?!  It was delicious!!!

Tomorrow we have a free morning so we’re going wandering, Señorita style, and then off to see the Colosseum & the Forum as well as Piazza Navona, the Pantheon before doing a Rome by Night tour.

Until the next post…
~Señorita :)

 p.s. internet is pretty good, but slow for pics.  will try to load some tomorrow

Assisi

Day 11: Florence & Pisa

Today we toured 2 amazing cities…Florence & Pisa.  We headed into Florence, met our local guide and off we went. Saw the Duomo, the Tower & Baptistery, walked to D’ante’s house, the Piazza with the fake David statue, and the Arno River where we stood on the Ponte Vecchio Bridge and got some amazing shots.  At the end of our tour, we stopped at a leather store where they talked to us about good leather & bad leather and then the kids got to shop.  We headed for lunch & then afterwards had some free time.  Most got some gelato..the first of many. We wandered, shopped, enjoyed life in the hustle & bustle of Florence.  Boy, were there a lot of cruise ships in town and on tours.

We boarded the bus and headed an hour to Pisa. It’s kind of obnoxious to get in to the Piazza as there are oodles & oodles of street vendors annoying you to death to buy stupid stuff. And, just when you’ve had enough, you enter the arch way and KABAM!  There’s the Leaning Tower of Pisa!  We met our local guide and first toured the Baptistery where we heard them chant and listened to it echo & reverberate off the walls.  Next up was the Cathedral before finally checking out the Leaning Tower…and it actually leans pretty good.  The kids took some hilarious pics, so wait until you see them!!

Dinner was some good ol’ Italian pizza with some more gelato afterwords!!

Tomorrow we pack up & head to Rome, but we’re making 2 pit stops on the way: San Gimignano & Assisi!

Until the next post…

~Señorita :)

**pics will be posted later - horridly slow internet

Laylon and his new friend

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Cedric stole all the phones at dinner

Day 10: Cinque Terre

We sadly said good bye to Switzerland, but they sent us out in a grand way with some amazing views on the drive.  Most of us saw very little as we crashed pretty quickly.

We also celebrated Laylon’s bday today with bday cake and singing on the bus – what a great way to send your 14^th bday but in 2 countries: Switzerland & Italy!!

Our main stop today was Cinque Terre, 5 unique villages nestled in the hillside.  We hit 3 of the villages, got some swimming in, and, more importantly, some gelato. The weather was amazing – think we all got some sun today.  Did some great hiking, exploring, and just enjoying some Leisure during our Europe at Leisure trip.

Our hotel is in Montecatini, a spa village outside of Florence. So, we grabbed some dinner and are now enjoying our sloooooow internet, so doubt I’ll be able to post pics tonight.

Tomorrow we head in to Florence for a city tour as well as out to Pisa!

All is awesome and we are loving it!  Weird to think we’ll be home in a week…weird & sad & a bit happy too.

Until the next post…
~Señorita :)

P.S. I'll add more pics at the next hotel - the Wi-Fi is terrible here and the only reason I'm on is that I got up early - the kids are all still asleep!!  :)

Day 9: The Hills are Alive....

Switzerland is amazing!!! We all fell in love with this gorgeous country and the town of Lucerne. It has such a different vibe than the hustle & bustle of London & Paris. It’s much more chill…and a little bit chillier! J

We headed into Lucerne and did a walking tour of the city, the Lion Monument, the bridges, etc… Then, after some shopping and lunching, we boarded a boat and sailed around the lake to Stanserhorn. We then took a train up to an open-air cable car, the Cabrio, to the top of Stanserhorn.  What a view!  Once the clouds moved, we could see for miles and miles.  We hiked up to the summit and were rewarded with an amazing view!!

We took a scenic drive along the lake back to our hotel, but most of the kids were asleep and didn’t see a thing.  After dinner, we had some down tiame, wander time, chill time.  It was a long day, but an absolutely amazing day!  I know the kids loved it…and have even commented that they liked Switzerland better than Paris and/or London.

Hard to believe we’re at our half-way point.  Most can agree – it feels like we’ve been here forever and that London was sooooo long ago, when in actuality, it’s flown by so completely fast!

Weather has been amazing – I guess Lucern has had rain the last few days and tomorrow as well – sooo grateful it held off for us!

Tomorrow we’re off to Cinque Terre and Florence.

Italy, here we come!!
~Señorita :)

Lion Monument in Lucerne

Nick enjoying the boat cruise

Had to put the boys in front of a sign that says "Extrafarhten:

All Aboard!!!

We made it to the top!

Some of my 'mountain goats:

Who doesn't love teertor tower!