Italy

DAY 1 – ROME: Friday, June 11th
We arrived in Rome airport at 9:15am. We collected our bags and Erin put some of her bags in storage. Finally we were ready to get on the train to our hostel. As we were heading towards the train area a man stopped us and tried to convince us to go in the mini van to our hotel. It would only cost us 15 euro but we would have to share the van with another group so there would be 1 stop before our hotel. We asked the other people where they were going and we found out they were going to the Vatican which is the opposite direction of our hotel. So we bought our train ticket 14Euro and had to wait 30 minutes for the train to come. At 11:05 we got on the train and it took 35 minutes to get to Termini Station. We knew The Yellow Hostel was close but with all our bags and not knowing exactly where it was we decided to get a taxi. The taxi man knowing we were tourists said it was 50 euro. Pffff lucky for us Lindsay texted and told us that she only paid 18 euro. So we told him that is all we would pay and he took us.

We checked into The Yellow Hostel but couldn’t get into our room until 1:30. So we decided to go for lunch and plan our days in Rome. We ate at a restaurant diagonal to our hostel. Patrick and I shared a Funghi Pizza and both of us had a Medium Peroni Beer. The pizza was thin crust, it wasn’t bad but didn’t have a lot of flavor.

We went back to the hostel to get our bags out of storage and put them into our room. We wanted to go on the walking tour of Rome at 2:00. However, they told us the metro was on strike but we could walk to the meeting spot. It would take us 30 minutes to walk to so if we left right away we could make it. So as fast as we could we dropped our bags off and headed off to the meeting spot. The people at our hostel called the guide and told them we would be a bit late. We thought we were going to miss the tour but surprisingly we didn’t. At 2:20 we got there. We didn’t actually leave the hostel until 1:45 and we were speed walking the entire way. Good thing we put on our runners!!

Our guide’s name was Justin. Very good looking I might add! On the tour we saw the following sties. Circus Maximus, Mouth of Truth, Jewish Ghetto, The house where Julius Ceasar was killed, Roman Forum, Trajan’s column, and the colosseum.
Jewish Ghetto – The Pope Paul IB ordered Jews be confined in the Jewish Ghetto and was reinforced during the WWII.

Pantheon – Is ancient Rome’s best-preserved building. It has been standing for some 2000 years. The dome is the largest masonry vault ever built. It is a perfect semisphere. The ceiling is beautiful and has a hole in the middle.
Palatine – This is where Romulus killed his brother Remus. It has lots of ruins and is also was the center of the world for 1000 years.

Colosseum – Here the gladiators met in mortal combat and condemned prisoners fought off hungry lions. It can hold up to 200,000 people!!! There are 80 entrance arches which allowed spectators to enter and be seated in a matter of minutes.



It was 5:30 when we finished the walking tour. Justin was a fantastic guide. We got on the metro 3 stops and we went back to the Hostel where we met Erin. We decided to go for supper at Florina’s near the Termini Station. Patrick and I both got a different type of pasta and shared them. Pat’s was a pesto spaghetti and mine was a tomato spaghetti. We ordered a bottle or Rose Wine to share. The wine was DELCIOUS!!
We then went to the train station and got our ticket validated and upgraded to the fast train to Venice for 10 euro each. The train would leave Rome at 8:45 and arrive in Venice at 12:30. Perfect. We went back to the hostel and us girls went to bed. Patrick went down to the hostel bar and had a few drinks with Justin our tour guide. It was a very busy first day in Rome and we saw a lot!

Day 2 – ROME: Saturday, June 12
Woke up and had the egg sandwich and coffee for 2.50 euros at our hostel. Delcious! We walked to Trevi Fountain and bought our day metro pass.

Trevi Fountain – Is a fountain depicting Neptune’s chariot being led by Tritons with sea horses – one wild, one docile – representing the various moods of the sea. Water comes from one of the city’s earliest aqueducts and the name “Trevi” means to the tre vie (three roads) which converge at the fountain. It says if you toss a coin over your shoulder into the Trevi Fountain it is to ensure that one day you’ll return. By the same token , a second coin will have you falling in love with an Italian and the third coin will have you marrying him or her.

We took bus #40 to The Vatican City. We got off and walked towards a building that was in the movie Angels and Demons. We then walked to a place for lunch that served the best sandwiches in Rome. We got Justin’s favorite sandwich. It would have been better without the olive paste. I then went for Gelato (best in Rome lol) and had Carmelo, and coffee flavor. It was very good!

The Vatican city is the world’s smallest sovereign state. The Vatican has its own postal service, currency, newspaper, radtio station and train station. The Vatican Museums are enormous! We started at the Quattro Cancelli and finished at the Sistine chapel. The cost of the ticket is 8 euros for students and 15 for adults. I gave my Kuwait residency card and said that it was my student card in Arabic. That I went to school in Kuwait. He wanted to the word Kuwait so I showed him my driver’s license. It worked. Student I was!! We walked through the entire museum listening to Justin explain each room. The map gallery is very interesting as most maps are fairly accurate. In one room the ceilings are painted so that they look 3D which shadows. In the Sistine Chapel Michelangelo’s frescoes paintings on the ceiling were beautiful. He painted for 4 years upside down. He also did the Last Judgment on the altar wall.



St. Peter’s Basillica is the second largest in the world. It is very big and the bronze altar / statues are beautiful.

After the St. Peter’s Basilica we wondered the street down towards the busses and decided to try find the Gelato store that we first stopped at because the Coconut and Black Cherry are the best there. However, we did not find it and decided to stop for supper. Down a back street I ordered Fettichini with cream sauce. Patrick had the same but with peas and ham…and 2 bottles of Rose wine. Mmm delicious. We walked back to bus #40 which took us to the Termini Station. Then decided to go to Spagna to see the Spanish Steps so we jumped on the Metro. We climbed the Spanish steps to the top and took some pictures of the view. A man tried to sell us roses but instead we took pictures of them and left them on the cement wall. We took the metro back to Termini Station and walked to the Yellow. Erin still wasn’t back yet so we figured she missed her train to or from Naples. So we walked next door to the Pizza place. The pizza crust here is thicker and a margarita pizza came fresh out of the kitchen so we decided to eat a slice. Then Pat saw some guys that he spoke to the previous night at the bar and they were buying beer at the pizza place because it was cheaper. So we bought 4 large beer for 10 euros! They were huge. Erin found us here at the pizza place. She had missed her train from Naples by 2 minutes! I was getting tired so I went to bed but the others stayed out drinking more. It was a big night at the Yellow because England was playing America in the World Cup in South Africa so it was playing on the flat screen at our hostel.

DAY 3 – VENICE: Sunday, June 13
Woke up and went down to the Yellow for the egg sandwich breakfast and coffee. It was not as good as the previous day. We walked to the train station with our bags. Thank god for having a strong brother who carried my bags for me! The fast train left at 9:30 for Venezia (Venice). We arrived at 11:30 in Venice. We then went and booked our train out of Venice to Florence for the next day. Turns out there is no slow train leaving the station we wanted…it was only leaving from Mestre one Station. So we had to book another fast train ticket for 10 euros each. The train to Florence from Venice is 2 hours on the fast train!

We asked at the information booth where our hotel was and it was within walking distance. About 20 minutes when you don’t know where you are going. The streets are narrow and not well marked. The street numbers are a bit confusing. We had a good landmark near our hotel so we didn’t get lost at all! We stayed at Ca’San Polo Hotel. It was a cute hotel with 2 double beds. Clean and the location wasn’t bad either. We paid 170 euros divided by 4 for 1 night. Which isn’t bad considering most prices in Venice.

We dropped off our bags and looked for a place to eat lunch. We saw a nice little café and ordered spaghetti carbonara and pasta filled with cheese which cream sauce with coke. It was pretty tasty!

Next, we walked back to the train station and bought our “ferry” ticket for 12hour pass for 16.50 euros. We wanted to go to San Marco’s Square. The ferry went down the grand canal stopping at each area in Venice. We arrived in San Marco and walked around checking out the Basillica di San Marco We saw a glass making shop but it was closed because it was Sunday but we still looked at all the beautiful glass pieces and I bought a Christmas tree ornament.



There were pigeons all around San Marco’s square. Erin and Patrick tried to catch the birds. A little boy in an English accent asked Erin was she was trying to catch the birds. He also told her he had feathers from the birds in his pocket. We walked down random streets in the square and went into the Ferrari Shop.

Afterwards we took the Ferry to an area called Rialto. We stopped here because of the beautiful bridge, markets and atmosphere of the restaurants. Patrick was hungry so we looked at all the menus along the canal and picked the last one. It had a “tourist” menu for 15 euro. We got a small glass of white wine, then you chose 3 items off the menu. I had Lasagna, Veil in white wine sauce and baked potato. It was pretty good. The price of the meal was good but the drink prices were very high. Patrick had Seafood Pasta, Salad and Calamari. The Calamari was excellent!!!
As we were eating supper the weather cooled down and the sky turned darker. Then we heard thunder! Just as we finished eating it started to rain. After 5-10 minutes it started to hail, pea size hail! It rained for a bit. Luckily we were under a good canopy and the rain didn’t fall on us. But many others had to move because the rain was falling through the cracks. We thought it was over, but then the wind picked up and they almost lost some canopies. The waiters were running and holding them down. They told us that sometimes the canopies end up in the canal. There were men out selling umbrellas to people in the restaurant and on the streets. When the rain was over we walked through the market square, which a sign said is the heart of the city. We went into a pharmacy where Erin had her blister popped and put disinfectant.

We got on the ferry to Sa Toma which was closer to our hotel than the train station. We went up and took a quick rest and decided to check if the gondola’s were back running yet. They were but now it was night time so it cost 100 euro for 40 minutes! Eeks. We went back to the hotel and go Erin. Patrick and Lindsay were not excited to pay 100 euros for a free canoe ride. But to me Venice is all about the riding down the canals. At the hotel Erin said she would come and that would make it 25 euros each. Still expensive but it was something I really wanted to do. We walked back down to the gondola station. Our rower’s name was Fabio. He was actually pretty good looking. He stopped for us to buy 2 bottles of rose wine. As we floated down the canals we passed gondola’s who had music players…that’s an extra 30 euro. So we told our driver to float near them so we could hear the music and singing. It was a relaxing ride down the canal. Very romantic! Lol.

As we walked back to hotel we stopped at the same place we had lunch. Fabio had told us to try toe Spritz drink. It is an alcoholic drink that common in Venice. So we ordered 3 apple Spritz and Patrick decided to try another flavor of the Spritz…there are 3 favors. Apple is the best. Which it was very tasty. We also ate some bacon chips…and realized we could probably eat a pizza. So we ordered the ham and mushroom pizza for 7.00 euros. It was the best pizza we have had thus far on the trip…well in my opinion!

DAY 4 – FLORENCE: Monday, June, 14
Woke up at 7:00 and went up to our roof top terrace at our hotel to see the view and take some pictures before we left. It was very peaceful on the roof. You could only see the tops of the roof but it was still nice to look down at the narrow street below me. Quickly grabbed an apple, croissant filled with apple jam and I filled my 2-go cup with coffee. At 7:50 we left for the train station. Our train left at 8:27 for Florence. Lucky again for me Patrick carried my bag. It was difficult for me to manage my purse, and laptop, and carrying a 10kilo bag on my bag. I struggled and Patrick had no problem carrying my bag and rolling his. I wish I was stronger!!
We arrived in Florence and checked into our Ostell Archi Rossi. It was a nice hostel free breakfast, free Wifi, the only issue we had was our room did not have AC and we could hear the noise from the Patio. I called the Accademia that has the Michelangelo’s David. We reserved tickets for 9:15 on Wednesday because they were all sold out for Monday and Tuesday.

We decided to go for lunch as we walked around we ended up at the San Lorenzo Market and Central Market. We bought some penis and heart shaped pasta. Then we saw a café with sandwiches so we stopped there for a quick bite. We decided to go to Pisa on the train. The train was sooo slow and very hot. It took 1.5 hours!!! Pisa is a tower that is also known as the Leaning Tower. The cathedral, the bapistry and the leaning tower are all in the Piazza dei Miracoli square. It is very pretty with green grass that you are not supposed to step on! They think the reason the tower is leaning is because the soil shifted. After we took the tourist picture “pushing down the tower” we walked down the shopping street. We were hungry so we bought McDonalds to eat on the train ride home. This train only took us 1 hour to get back to Florence.





We were tired when we got back so we went to bed. It was a late night because of the people chatting on the patio so we couldn’t sleep very well. Sometime after 2am the noise stopped.

DAY 5 – FLORENCE: Tuesday, June 15
We woke up and went for breakfast at 9:30. I had the bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on 3 pieces of toast bread. It was very tasty. Then at 10:0 we went on the free walking tour provided by the hostel. It was raining out so we got umbrellas from the hostel and began the walk through Florence.

We saw many places such as the Cappelle Medicee, Basillica di San Lorenzo, Mecato di san Lorenzo, Palazzo Mdici Ricciardi, Chiesa di S. Marco, Chiesa della SS. Annunziata, Accademia di Belle Arti, Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, Chiesa di Orsanmichele, Mercato del pocellino, Palazzo Vecchio, Loggia dell’ORcagna, Galleria degli Uffizi, Bargello, Casa di Dante, casa Buonarroti, Biblioteca Nazionale, Museo di Storia, Singagoa. After the tour Alex Weiler from Ontario walked across the bridge Ponte Vecchio which sold gold and silver jewlery.

Then we walked past Chiesa di S.Spirito and Palazzo Pitii. We had lunch at a local restaurant. I had Italian Vegetable Soup with Bread. It looked like a stew but tasted delicious!!! We walked back to our hostel leaving Alex to go buy museum tickets. We were going on wine tasting. We look for about 30 minutes for the Sita Bus which was behind the bus station just it was not clearly marked. Finally we found the bus and for 6.50 euro return we went to a nearby town 1 hour away called Greve in Chiani.

We went to LE Cantine di Greve in Chianti which sells more than 1200varities of Chianti and other wines. You buy a prepaid wine card for 10euro stuck the card in one of the slot and put the wine glass under the tap of the wine we wanted to try and pressed the button. Out poured wine. Each type of wine was a different amount it ranged from .60 euro to 4 or more euro. It was fun. We had supper at a restaurant down the street in this small town of Greve. The lady spoke little English but we ordered the special Fettuchini with mushroom and Pat had meatballs which looked like meat loaf. We also had a bottle or rose wine. The meal was very tasty!! Then back on the bus back to the hostel.

We had a nap and at 10:00 got up ready to go to a club. Alex and a guy named Wilson who was also from Canada came with us to the club. We walked until we found 2 that looked good. We started at one club and drinks were 5 euro for a corona. At 2:00 we moved to a club called Twice. Prices were 6 euro for a corona but there was no cover to get in. They played good music. Left at 4am to go back to the hostel.

DAY 6 – FLORENCE to CINQUE TERRE: Wednesday, June 16
Definitely did not want to get out of bed! 8:30 had breakfast same as the previous day and checked out. We walked to the Accademia to see Michelangelo’s David. It was unbelievable. It’s hard to believe he carved this statue from a single block of marble when he was only 29 years old. We took some more pictures of the cathedral and then went back to the hostel to see if we could catch and earlier train to cinque terre. Nope we couldn’t so we sat at the bus station for 1 hour waiting for the train at 11:57. At La Speiza Centrale we had to get off and switch trains but they don’t tell you on the train what station you are at so we accidentally got off at the stop before the one we needed so we had to get on the next train..luckily for us it arrived 5 minutes later and we still made the connecting train to Vernazza.
We called Vernazzsa Rooms and a man came and got us to take us to our rooms. We were right next to the train station. Literally 30 steps to the door. Then we climbed 54 stairs to get to our room. It was cute. Off we went exploring and checking out the little shops. It felt a little like Clear Lake.



We wondered around checking out the harbor. As we climbed the hill towards Cornelia I saw a veranda in the distance that looked like it could be a restaurant so we walked towards it. The place was called Pirates Café. Luckily we went at 6:00 because they were full for reservations starting at 7pm. Erin, Pat and I shared the following dishes Gnocchi pesto e gorgonzola, Lasagna alla Bolognese, cannelloni di ricotta e spinaci. We also had the best desert of our lives. Chocolate ice cream and a strawberry with cream and icing sugar. It was unbelievable and tasted delicious!
Afterwards we wondered back to the harbor and walked around eating gelato and then decided to go to bed. I slept quite well and didn’t hear the trains surprisingly.

DAY 7 – CINQUE TERRE: Thursday, June 17
Linsday and Erin got up at 6:00 am to go hike the hill to Monterosso. Erin said the previous night that she felt like getting up and walking to Monterosso. We laughed and Erin said what would I get if I actually did it. Lindsay said she would buy her breakfast and get a therapeutic massage. So they did it. They walked the path even though it was closed to Monterosso for breakfast.




When pat and I opened our eyes it was thundering, lightening and then it rained. Big drops of rain too. We found out later that yes indeed Lindsay and Erin were soaked by the rain and had to buy new dry clothes in Monterosso.

At 9:15 am Patrick and I went to the train station and met a nice couple from USA. They told us that the train ticket we bought would be good for 6 hours 1 way. For 1.40 euro. We originally were going to go to Corniglia first but changed our mind when we found out that the tickets were only good 1 way. The rain stopped just as we got on the train. Hurray!!!

Riomaggiore: It is the main village in the Cinque Terre. We bought our walking pass for 5 euro each the shitty part was the only walking pass open was Lover’s Lane the other paths that connected to the other towns were closed due to possible mud slides. First we walked up the hill and through some narrow streets to the center. We decided for breakfast that we would have a slice of pizza. Patrick’s pizza was onion and mine was mushroom and cheese. The crust was amazing. We wondered around the town checking out the harbor and shore. Then we walked through a tunnel towards the train station. We walked down Lover’s Lane which linked to the town Manarola. Along the way people had bought locks and locked them to the wire fences. Some people had their own locks and wrote on them in permanent markers. There was even a metal statue of the symbol for lovers lane two people kissing. Patrick found a leave in the shape of a heart.

Manarola: Here we also walked up a pathway that led to the Piazzale Pappa Innocenzo IV, which has a bell tower and was used as a defensive lookout in the Middle Ages. We followed a path that leads through the vineyards to the top of the mountain. We even saw lemon trees!! I really liked this town because there were many walking paths to go on. We took the train to Cornigila because the walking path was closed. There were metal spokes with locked doors preventing people from entering.

Corniglia: This town is along a ridge high above the sea. We walked up 363 stairs to get up the hill to the town. Then we ate lunch at a place called Manana’s. We had a penne aribatta pasta and bruchetta and some delicious cinque terre white wine. Mmmm. We ate at this restaurant because the people we met at Vernazza station before leaving in the morning told us that it was really good and that one man only went to Corniglia to eat there because of all the good reviews. We walked around the town taking some more pictures of the tall houses and narrow streets. We took the Train to Vernazza.

Vernazza: We walked up to our hotel which is right outside the train station. Lindsay and Erin were back and were just getting up from their nap. I finished the book The second Short Life of Bree Turner by Stephenie Meyer. We all got up and then decided to head to Monterosso for supper.

Monterosso: This is the most developed of the Cinque Terre Villages. It has the best beach which is the longest with umbrella’s to sit under for shade. The sand was a bit rough but better than nothing. We ate at Ristorante Maxi it was okay. I had the traditional pesto pasta, swordfish and beans. The swordfish was delicious!!! Mmm the White wine and desert wine was excellent as well.

We walked towards the huge statues that are embedded into the rocks overlooking the beach. Pat and Erin wadded in the Mediterranean and we walked back towards the train station. The train station ticket booth was closed so we tried buying tickets from the machine. It broke and ate 6 euro of our money. Grrrr So we got on and had a story to tell the train ticket man if he tried to fine us 10 euro for no ticket. Nobody checked our ticket lucky for us! Pat and Erin wanted to go swimming down at our beach area…if you can call it a beach. It was sorta mucky sand…black looking. Lindsay and I took pictures and bought snacks for our train ride. Then we came back to the room and changed into pants and packed our bags because it was going to be an early morning to catch the train! We walked down and had a few drinks before we said good bye to Erin at the train station. Pat noticed some guys from Winnipeg and Erin went and asked them if they were really from Winnipeg. Yuppers they were! What a coincidence. When Erin’s train left we wondered down to the little bar that we heard had the 1.40 euro wine. Unfortunately, they were closed. Infact everything was closing so we went back up to our room and went to sleep.

DAY 8 – CINQUE TERRE to SORRENTO: Friday, June 18
We woke up at 4:30 and quickly dressed and walked down to the train station to catch the 5:01 train to La Speiza. Then in La Speiza we had to wait about 30 minutes before our train arrived going to Napoli. The Inner City train was very nice to sleep on. Patrick and I stayed in one cabin while Lindsay went next door in her own cabin. As we stopped at small towns along the way we picked up more people. Pat and I had closed the blinds and turned off the lights and turned on the heat in our cabin. It was very cozy. At one stop a lady in neon green opened the cabin and started speaking Italian. We had no idea what she was saying so I said no sorry. English. She mummered something and left. A few stops later a young guy opened our cabin and I finally understood that his seat was in our cabin. Then I realized that is what the old lady in green was trying to tell us. She was in our cabin. When we reached Rome all of the seats were being filled and because we did not have a reserved seat (extra 3 euro) we had to sit in on the seats in the hallway. It was a long 2 hours and I felt a bit weird looking into the cabins from the seats in the hall. I guess that is why you should reserve a seat!!!

We arrived in Napoli and were very hungry so we went looking for a place to eat. The train station looked like it was under renovations. We crossed the street outside only to find pastery/bakery shops. The street was very dirty and full of garbage. Tons of people and traffic on the road. We did not get a good impression of Naples. Lindsay found some pasta but Patrick and I wanted a burger so we settled on McDonalds. I had the McRoyal. I think I like it better than the McTasty. It is smaller and not as messy to eat. Then we went and bought our metro ticket to Sorrento and were lucky to get on the fast train!! Half way there the train stopped and a man told us that this happens every day. There is only 1 track so one train has to wait for the other train to arrive before they can go onto that track. So we waited. After about 30 minutes we were on our way again. We bought a bus ticket and went on the blue Sita Bus that dropped us off at our camping spot. Our cabin was 27. It was a nice spot that we could see the pool from our window. The cabin had 1 bunk bed and extra bed. Wardrobe and shower and toilet. It was perfect for us.

Pat went to the pool while Lindsay and I walked down the street for some beer. Nothing at the camping ground opened until 4:40. Then we put on our bathing suits and went down to the pool for a bit. It was nice and sunny out. We checked out some tours that the camping ground organized but they weren’t that good. Then we went to the restaurant for supper but it didn’t open till 7pm. So we bought some beer at the market next door and drank it until the restaurant opened. For supper we all had pizza which was only 5euro!! The pizza was a good size too. I had the fungi pizza. It was very tasty. Patrick had a sausage pizza.

We headed back to our cabin and chatted a bit before going to bed.

DAY 9 – POMPEII: Saturday, June 19
We woke up at went to the restaurant for coffee. We bought some buns and Sorrento cheese so we could make sandwiches for lunch. Afterwards we walked to a convenience store to buy our bus tickets and get on the orange bus to the train station. At the train station we bought a return ticket and got on the train to Pompeii.
We bought our ticket to the ruins 11euro and then decided to get the audio guide for 5 euro each. The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius wasn’t the first disaster to strike the Roman port of Pompeii. In AD 63 an earthquake hit. They began rebuilding and on August 24, AD79 Vesuvius blew its top burying the city under a layer of lapilli and killing some 2000 of the city’s 20,000 inhabitants. Most of the city has been un earthed. Our favorite part of Pompeii was going into the hot house where prostitutes went.




Afterwards Lindsay bought a massive lemon weighting 1.5 kilos for 4 euros. She even carried it up Mt. Vesuvius with her!!




At 2:15 we saw everything we needed to and were ready to go up Mt. Vesuvius. We bought our bus ticket 10 euro return transfer and waited for the bus to pick us up. After a long climb the driver made 2 stops for us to take pictures as we climbed up the mountain. At the mountain it costs 4.40 for students and 6.50 euro for adults to climb up to the crater. Mt. Vesuvius is still an active volcano. The walk up was cool and I had to wear sunglasses to take the glare off of the sun shinning down. I regret not putting my hood up sooner because my ears got cold! It took about 20 minutes to walk up. Going down was a lot quicker and the wind pushed us down a bit too. Pat and I were a bit surprised that we couldn’t see lava. Don’t always believe what you see in the movies. It was just a pile of ash, but really cool to see.
We bus took us back down the mountain and we arrived at the train station about 5:30






We caught the train back to Sorrento and had to wait for the bus back up to our hotel for over 20 minutes! It was 7:00 by the time we got back and I was starving. We went straight to the restaurant. I had penne zucchini and a bottle of rose wine. The pasta was delicious and it was only 5 euro so was the wine. Super cheap!!! The service wasn’t the best but the food was good and cheap.
We bought some snacks and went back to our cabin and went to sleep. It was a long day and we were tired.

DAY 10 –SORRENTO: Sunday, June 20
We woke up to a huge rain storm! No sun….so much for our relaxing by the pool idea. We stayed in bed until about 10am. Got up and went for coffee. We bought some buns, cheese, and a tomato, chips and beer for the afternoon. It stopped raining but was still pretty cool out. So we played cards in the cabin. I won 8 games of crazy 8. Patrick won 2 and Lindsay 0. I think it was the big lemon that gave me good luck! The sun was shining more so we went for a walk down a trail to the coast. There were some people sun tanning nude so we didn’t stay long. We walked back up the hill and got on our bathing suits and went to the pool. It was sunny for a bit but at 3:30 the sun went away.

We went back to the cabin and relaxed. At 5:00 it started to sprinkle rain again. Aghhh go away rain!!! The rain stopped for a bit so we decided to head out for supper. First we bought our bus ticket to go to the train station the following day. Then we decided to eat at a different hotel café restaurant. I had vegetable soup and bread and Patrick had spaghetti with meat sauce. My soup was very tasty and filled me up. It was raining while we were eating and as soon as there was a break in the clouds we ran for our cabin. We played some more cards and eventually went to bed.

DAY 11 – Monday, June 21 – SORRENTO to ROME
We checked out and got on the 10:10 bus to the train station. We bought our metro train ticket and ran for the metro as it was about to leave. The doors closed less than 1 minute after we sat down. We were very lucky or else we would’ve had to wait for the next train that would be 20 minutes later. We arrived at Naples train station and had to wait 30 minutes for the next train to Rome. So we wondered to our favorite restaurant McDonalds for something to eat because we didn’t eat breakfast in Sorrento. We got on the train and went closer to the front where there were no cabins only seats. We think this area is for the cheap people who don’t reserve seats!

We arrived in Rome and walked to The Yellow Hostel and checked in. We had a roommate and we all made guesses if it would be a boy or a girl. Pat thought whoever it was it would be Asian. I said a boy because there weren’t many bags and girls always have lots of bags. We bought a metro pass and went to the shopping street in Rome. We wondered through shops and Pat bought a few tourist t-shirts. We went for supper at a restaurant that had the word Peroni in the name. We all had Pasta. I had spaghetti carbonara. It was good. They definitely like to put lots of egg in their carbonara. Patrick had a spicy linguini pasta with a chili sauce. He said it was good. We stopped at our room for a bit and met our roommate Brit. He was from US. He was really nice. We then got back on the metro and went to the supermarket to buy some booze to drink in the hostel. (Much cheaper). I found Peach Bacardi Breezers and we also bought a Peach Vodka that we drank on ice. Both were very good. For a midnight snack we went to the Pizza shop around the corner from our hostel. It was soooo good. My favorite is the ham, zuchhini and cheese pizza. We hung out and played cards listening to Brit’s laptop. He was pretty trustworthy as he let us use his macbook pro laptop to listen to music.

DAY 12 – Tuesday, June 22: ROME
We slept in, and boy did it feel great! We ate breakfast at the yellow and then walked to the train station to buy our train ticket from Termini Station to the Airport Station which costs 14 euro.

We had rose wine with Lindsay at a restaurant near our hotel. We walked back to the yellow and picked up Lindsay’s bags and took her to the train station. Patrick and I bought our bus ticket to go to the shopping mall. We got on bus #38 and sat on it for 50 minutes!!! Finally we arrived at the mall. We walked around but didn’t buy anything. Got back on the bus for 50 minutes. Patrick was hungry for supper…surprise surprise he was always hungry on the trip.

We went back up to the room to put on pants because it was getting cold. We met our new roommate who was from Sydney Australia. He came to Italy to party.
Then we decided to eat across the street from our hotel because we got 10% off. Patrick got a pasta again with shrimp and mushrooms. I had vegetable soup …I was tired of pizza and pasta and it was cold out. Soup looked like the best option because it was raining.

I bought some more peach Bacardi coolers to drink in the room. Brit said he would play cards with us.

DAY 13: - FLY TO HOME! June, 23
Couldn’t fall asleep last night…Patrick and I chatted in our bunkbeds until 1am. We got up at 6:45 and got ready to walk to the train station to go to the airport. The airport wasn’t busy so we got our tickets and had something to eat.

Being able to travel with your silbing on a trip and not killing eachother = memories that are priceless. Thanks mom and dad. Patrick owes you BIG time. xoxo

Langkawi, Malaysia

Day 1 - Friday, April 9th
At 8:00 p.m Jenn and I headed to the airport. Our first flight was through Dubai at 10:15p.m on Emirates Airline. It was an awful flight. The seats were hard and looked like they were made of cardboard. It was windy out and there was lots of air turbulence as we left the ground. It was so windy that the plane had a hard time getting off the ground and we were swaying from one side to the other. I held onto Jenn it was that bad. I wasn’t sure if we were going to make it to Dubai. It was the worst flight I have been on (actually it ties with my flight to Dehli, India a few years ago!)

The flight from Dubai to Kuala Lumpur was full so Jenn and I didn’t get our seats together. I sat beside a young couple who are originally from Ireland but living in Australia. They were very nice and whenever they had to go to the bathroom they hopped over me because I was in the isle seat and they didn’t want to bother me! Haha
At the Kuala Lumpur airport Jenn and I sat at a restaurant until our next flight to Langkawi. I had vegetable soup and a coffee. After eating we headed down to the gate. I read Breaking Dawn until I saw Lexi, Ruth (mother), Elaine (Aunt), Dorothy (Grams), and Kim (Lexi’s friend). They were on the same flight Malaysian Airlines to Langkawi with us.

From the Langkawi airport we took a taxi for 48 ringgits for all 7 of us. We had to take 2 cars though because they didn’t have a big van. We stayed at Mutiara Burau Bay Resort. When we got there they didn’t have our reservation! Thankfully it was not peak season and they had rooms for us! Jenn and I stayed in Room 1112, Lexi and Kim were in room 1111 and the other ladies were in room 1113.





We went for supper at our hotel and I had vegetable spring rolls and Malaysian chicken satay with peanut sauce! Yum. It was only 50 ridgit. Before I went to sleep I read Breaking Dawn (the last book in the twighlight series)

Day 2 - Saturday, April 10th
We woke up at 9:30 and had breakfast which was included in our hotel. I had an onion and cheese omlette with fruit. Today was a lay by the pool day. We went swimming, and drank margarhettas. The drink would’ve been good if it had a sugar rim around the glass not salt! I continued reading Breaking Dawn. For lunch I had vegetable spring rolls again (they were delicious), vegetable stir fry which was a bit spicy and a caramel ice coffee.

In the afternoon Ruth, Elain, Dorothy, Kim and I went for a walk and ended up at the oriental village where I bought a sun dress. For supper we went to the Sea Shell Café. There was a live band called the Peals. There Kim and I took a picture with Langkawi’s Largest Guitar.



They also had a special buy 1 beer get 1 free. I had spinach and Ricotta Ravioli with garlic bread. It was delicious! Night came quickly and it was off to bed but not before reading more in my book.

Day 3 - Sunday, April 11th
Up for Breakfast and had the usual cheese omelet with fruit. At 9:00 we were picked up in a van that took us for our first tour. The tour was called Rampant Sailing Day Cruise with Carl and Bea. There were 9 of us on the boat total (a nice small group). One couple was from Singapore living in Australia. It was a wonderful day cruise. There was a Jacuzzi net at the back of the boat that we could relax in.




We sailed by rocks in the shape of a pregnant woman, farting island, and diamond island. We ate little mini banana’s which were delicious. For lunch we anchored in a small cove and went kayaking into a cave, sat in the hammocks under the boat and rank beer. Bea served us a buffet lunch which included potato salad, chicken satay, stir fry, beef, rice, and salads.




After lunch we went on a jungle trek to an Island where there were mangrove trees, and a man made pond. We could swim back or take the little water boat back to the sail boat.

We arrived back at our hotel at 5:00 and showered before going for supper. We went back to the Sea Shell Café and the Pearls were playing again. I splurged and bought the BBQ tenderloin steak, greatin potato, and vegetables. It was delicious and cost me 65 ridgit. Before going to bed, I continued reading Breaking Dawn.

Day 4 - Monday, April 12th
We woke up at 9:30 and you can probably guess that I had the same cheese and onion omelet with fruit and a deep fried banana.

At 10:00 we walked to the oriental village. Lexi, Kim, Elaine and Ruth all went for an elephant ride. It was quite expensive 80 rigit for 2 people for 5 mintues. On my other trips I have been on an elephant ride so I didn’t go here.

Afterwards we walked to the waterfall. It was quite dry so it wasn’t much of a water fall. Kim and I decided to walk up to the seven wells. It started to rain on our walk up and back down again. It actually was nice because it cooled us down. We walked back towards the Oriental Village and ran into Ruth, Dorothy and Elaine. I bought some sour cream and onion chips, A&W rootbeer for a snack and headed back to our hotel pool. We ordered a pizza to share between all of us for a snack. It was okay. We swam until it was time to get ready for supper.

Back to the Sea Shell I couldn’t decided on what I wanted to eat so I had the Raviolli and Spinach and Ricotta Pasta again. I also shared spring rolls and garlic bread with Lexi. It was a delicious meal.

Day 5 - Tuesday, April 13th
We woke up at 7:00am and had breakfast…the usual. At 8am our tour bus picked us up. We knew it was not going to be a small group like our previous tour because we took 2hours picking up others coming on the tour. Jenn didn’t come on the tour because they weren’t feeling well.

We took a 1 hour boat ride to Pulau Prayer Marine Park. From 11:30-12:45 we went snorkeling. At 12:30-1:00 they gave us a lunch box with rice, chicken, lettuce, tomato, and orange slice with a coke and water. Then we went back out snorkeling from 1:00-2:30. Lexi and I saw 2 sharks!!! I really like following the fish that had a long pointy noise. The Coral wasn’t as pretty as I’ve seen, it looked like grey dull rocks.



2:45 we were back on the boat. We fed the fish some bread and muffins that a man handed to us. It was cool to see all the fish come up to the surface of the water to fight for the food.

3:45 we were back on the bus to the hotel. Jenn was feeling a bit better when we got back and was happy that she had stayed in the hotel room and slept. We had a quick dip in the pool and showered before going out for supper.

We walked across the sand to Berjaya Resort. We ate at the Beach Restaurant. I had fettuccini Carbonara, garlic bread and a coke. There was a little girl celebrating her birthday and 2 guys were playing guitar in red shirts singing to her. We had to take a taxi back to our hotel because the tide came in and we couldn’t walk through the water without getting our clothes wet.

Day 6 - Wednesday, April 14th
8am – woke up and had the usual omelet for breakfast. At 9am our Tour van picked us up. Gram and Elaine didn’t come with us because they weren’t feeling well. The 5 of us fit on a boat together with a few other people. We saw the following sites in the Geopark.
1) Fish Feeding.
2) Swimming Monkeys which we fed peanuts to.
3) Coal Burning Huts
4) Eagle Feeding
5) Mangrove Trees – we even saw a snake in the tree.
6) Crocodile Cave
7) Bat Cave – there were lots of baby bats
8) We went swimming near a hotel.
9) For lunch we ate at a floating restaurant. We had fresh orange juice, chop suey, spring rolls, ginger chicken, squid, fish and rice.




Afterwards we went back to our hotel and went for a swim to cool off. We booked a taxi for 4 hours (160 ridgit). First stop was the Night Market in Kuah Town. There was not much there except food. Then we went to Cehenang Beach Town for supper. I had fish and chips and Naan bread which wasn’t very good. Before going to bed I read The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks.

Day 7- Thursday, April 15th
We slept in a bit longer than usual…10am! Had breakfast. We ordered a taxi to Chenang Area so that we could shop. Everyone went except Jenn and Lexi who wanted to lay by the pool.

We went to the Underwater World Aquarium which was 38 ridgit. On our way out Kim and I bought some spring rolls and wongtons to share. We shopped some more and just before heading back to the hotel we bought some fresh orange juice.

Back at the pool I finished the book The Last Song. I walked around the Resort taking pictures and Kim showed us a Flying Monkey that was on a tree with its’ baby.
We ate supper at Berjaya Beach Resort. We took a group picture with our matching teal sunglasses.





For supper I had steak, mashed potatoes and vegetables for 75 ridgit. Drank some baileys in our room. Before going to bed I read a book called Cocktail.

Day 8- Friday, April 16th
9am we woke up and had breakfast. Jenn and I had a couple of hours to lay by the pool before we had to take a taxi to the airport. Overall, it was a nice relaxing, hot vacation!

Lebanon

DAY 1: Wednesday, March 3rd
Lindsay and I arrived in Beirut at 8:15pm…which is 9:15 pm Kuwait time. The visa into Lebanon was FREE!! I love free anything. We bought some bottles of booze at duty free and picked up our luggage. We rented a car from Avis with all of the accident and collision insurance possible. We had heard that people in Lebanon drive crazy. They do not follow the rules.

We walked around our Avis car checking out all of the dints and scratches…there were lots. They had no map of Lebanon and we couldn’t buy one in the airport. Therefore we had them Avis man draw us a picture of how to get down town which was follow the road straight. You will go under 3 tunnels. Then look for a place to ask for more directions when you reach the down town area. So we drove all the way down town and saw Hard Rock Café Kuwait. We pulled into the VIP parking and the security guard tried to help us. Finally he found a man who spoke English and he told us to follow him. I mumbled to Lindsay who was driving…”How much will that cost us…because nothing is free”. She laughed saying “not very trusting are you!” I replied “Well everyone is out to make a quick buck these days” But this man was not. HE took us all the way to Jeita Grotto. We followed the road straight through the fog. The roads were curvy as we climbed the mountain. We saw all the signs to Faraya (the ski resort that we were trying to find) so we knew that we were on the right road!

We stopped at Chateau d’eau for directions. The man told us to go down the mountain. Later we found out he was wrong and we should’ve continued up the mountain. The first time we made it up the mountain We thought we had arrived at the ski resort because we saw SNOW!!! However, the security checkstop said he was 99% sure that the Merab Hotel was not up there and to go back down the mountain. Sigh so we did. We stopped at 2 restaurants asking for directions. At one restaurant I met 2 french men who used their cell phone to call a friend to help us. He told us Merab was definitely up the mountain. Sigh …1.5 hours going up and down the mountain would we ever arrive. They need more signs!!! As we drove we ended up at the dam. Definitely not the ski resort. A white van noticed that we were hesitating as to which direction to take next. I asked him if he knew how to get to the Inter Continental Hotel because our hotel was very close to it. He said yes and to follow him. So we did….right back to the same security checkpoint that we had been at before. Grrrrr The security guys felt bad that they were wrong. They offered to give us money for gas! Haha

Finally we saw the Merab. It was a very cute place. Our room was 301. Heaters were on making the room nice and warm.

DAY 2: Thursday, March 4th
Lindsay and I woke up at 8:30 am. We went down for our free continental breakfast. I had the cheese, tomatoes, baquette and coffee.
9:00 was the free shuttle to the ski hill but we wanted to shower. So we decided to drive up to the hill in our car which ended up being very easy and close!
We got our skis and poles. Lindsay rented ski pants and goggles. We prepaid for our tickets online. Lindsay had never skied before so I helped her practice a few times making she had her balance and stopping down.
Her rules for skiing were……….
1) Keep skies parallel
2) Put weight on outer leg
3) Don’t ski drunk
4) Make an S curve when going down the hill
5) Poles Back – Keep poles away from teeth.

Lindsay is a natural skier. We took the lift to the baby slopes. Waleed a ski instructor that was watching us said I was an excellent teacher! Lindsay was doing an awesome job!!!




I was getting bored on the little slopes and thought Lindsay was doing good that we could move up one level. So we decided we were going to try a different slope. As I was taking pictures of the new view Lindsay sat down on the snow to wait for me. A lady named Amal Khalil +961-395-8428 who was a ski instructor at the hill (on her day off) saw Lindsay and asked if she needed help up. She offered to help Lindsay for free! Lindsay practiced her S curve down a hill close to the one we were going to take. Amal told me I was trying to kill Lindsay going down that hill but then quickly realized that Lindsay was pretty good for a first timer. We gave Lindsay a hard time about keeping her poles back.





After a few runs with Amal we decided to it was time for a beer and lunch. It was 1pm. I ordered a chicken Taouk. It was delicious!!! Back on the slopes AMal said she would take me off the green and blue runs and we could go to the red. (next level was black after red). On the red level you could see the beautiful view. Lindsay had to stay on the green and blue runs.

On the red run the view from the top was outstanding. I could see Beirut, the Meditterian Sea, Cedar Ski Resort etc. There was also went into a small church. On the seats was sheep wool. On the way down we went off onto a trail that was not groomed. It was icy all of the way down and it was hard on my legs stopping and turning. Finally we made it to the bottom of that hill a few more hills to go but the next ones were groomed. My body was feeling weak. There was a lot more snow on the red run. We were almost at the bottom and I lost my leg control. I was not going fast but my muscles gave way and I fell and twisted and tangled my body. My knees were hurting and it felt like I had pulled some muscles. I rested for a few minutes and then was still able to go down the hill by myself. We did not need the emergency snowmobiles to pick me up. That would’ve been embarrassing. We got to the bottom where Lindsay was at 3:15. She was at the restaurant drinking a beer. We returned our rentals. Then we saw Amal as we were heading to our car. We told her we were going for a beer if she wanted to join. We ended up getting a beer at a shop on the side of the road. It was like a Bakalhla (little store) in Kuwait. We decided to go to the dam. We walked up the paved road to the dam. Then to get down we walked down the rocks. At the bottom we had coffee with the security guards. Then Amal took us to see some ruins and a rock arch carved out by water overtime. We drove into town and ate supper at Café Paradiso. We ordered Pizza, fatoush, Fafta, Toouk. It was all very good. The pizza was cooked on a Saj. It was really cool.

My knee was still hurting a lot. We drove to a pharmacy to find some cold ice gel. They didn’t have any so we went to Pharmacy #2. They had some ice gel for my knee. We said good by to Amal and went back to the ski village. Some how on our way back to the ski resort we got lost again and ended up at the private resort (which is close to the one we were staying at). Finally we got on the right road and saw the check point that we wanted. The same guards were there from the previous night. They loved us and said it was great to see us again. They wanted us to take them to Canada. Haha

Instead of going to our hotel we decided to have a beer at Frost Bar but when we got there, nobody was inside. Friends Inn looked okay but in the end we decided to go back to the hotel and drink our raspberry vodka that we bought at the airport and planned tomorrow’s itinerary.

DAY 3: Friday, March 5th
We ate breakfast and left at 9:00 for Baalbeck. We had to go around the mountain because of the snow so it was going to take us a lot longer to get there than normal. We met a nice man at a car fixing place who offered for us to follow him to Bikfaya. We continued on the road straight and before Zahle we filled up with gas which was 35,000 and another man offered for us to follow him to Zahle. Once in Zahle we saw the Virgin Mary building and made our way through the town by following this man. Thank god we were following him because Zahle was tricky without having a map.

NOTE: The roads in Lebanon are horrible. There are pot holes everywhere. Tires (removed from cars) mark huge pot holes. There are lots of check stops. Finally we made it to Baalbeck. It contains the largest and most noble Roman temples ever built, and they are among the best preserved.

We left the ruins and bough Hezbollah t-shirts. We were hungry and decided to eat a falafel sandwich. It was yummy. Next, we drove to the fertility rock which is the largest rock in the world!

Then we drove back to Beirut. The way back was very easier and faster. It was a different way than when we came.

In Beirut we found Hamra Street. It was very busy. Lots of stores for shopping. We stopped at a few hotels asking for prices. Went to an internet café. Lindsay was tired and I was hungry so we needed to find a place to stay asap. Finally after 2 hours of searching we decided to stay at Bliss Hotel on Bliss Street. The room was nice and large and our window was the view of the sea. 44 US each. Most hotels in Beirut are very pricey. We had a quick rest and then were ready to go eat. We ended up going to the Hard Rock Café Lebanon near the sea. The cheese roll appetizers were delicious and so was the burger and onion rings.

We went back to the hotel and had a rest from 8pm till 10:30pm. Taxi cost 10.00US to Jamayzie Street. We walked all the way down and back up and had a drink at Hypnotic.
Next we went to the English pub and had many drinks and 1 shot. We decided to go check out the clubs. It was 8.00 US to go to Monrow street. Here we went to Element bar. It was cool but very narrow. Lots of people there and no room to dance. The bathrooms were large and nice. The bar closed at 2:30.

Then we took a taxi to club B018. We wanted to go to basement but it was already closed. Everyone paid 25,000 at B018 and you got 1 free drink. The bar was underground. It had an open air ceiling. We danced until 5:30 or 6:30 am. We got a ride back to our hotel from Nader and Monroe of South America who were going to school in Lebanon.

DAY 4: Saturday , March 6th
We woke up at 10am and went for breakfast (continental). We had a shower and checked out of the hotel. We drove along the seaside and got out and went for a walk on the Corniche. Then we drove towards the Pigeon Rock. When we got out of the car we noticed we had a flat tire. Oh dear. We opened the trunk and got out our spare tire, and the tools to take off the tire. Within minutes there were 5 guys asking to help us. So we stood back and let them help us. The tire was almost on when another car drove up and they had a flat tire too. It was quite funny watching all of the people walk past us and staring. After they guys were done we thanked them for helping us. Off the coast of Raouché, there is a natural landmark called the Pigeons' Rock (also known as the Rock of Raouché). Located at Beirut's western-most tip, the two huge rock formations, which stand like gigantic sentinels.





It was time for us to drive back to the airport and go home. I loved Lebanon and would really like to go back again soon!

Goa, India

Tuesday, November 24th
Left on Jet Airways from Kuwait to Mumbai. The bus ride from one terminal to the next in Mumbai was very long.

DAY 1 Wednesday, November 25th
Finally, we arrived in Goa at 7:30 in the morning and was picked up by Sudhir and another driver from our hotel Villa Anjuna. We checked into our hotel but only one out of our two rooms was ready. We piled all our bags into the room. There were 3 beds. We all decided to lay down and take a quick rest until noon. We got up and Lindsay and I checked into our room which was at the other end of Villa Anjuna’s property. We had lunch at Villa Anjuna. I had spring rolls and Chinese noodles.
We decided to go to walk down the beach to the Wednesday Market. It was a nice hot day. There were lots of cows roaming the beach area.





The market was very big. Each hut had clothes, bags, scarves, jewelry, shoes and much more. Bartering is a must at the market. They start with high prices and as you walk away they drop the price by 75% or more! Lexi and Jenn went back to the hotel to rest some more while Erin, Lindsay and I stayed until sunset. We walked back to the hotel and got ready to go for supper. We ate at Zampa Restaurant (do not recommend it). It was located just down from our hotel and along the water. I had sweet and sour chicken and naan bread.

Afterwards Lindsay and I went back to our hotel room and got ready for a night out at Paradisco Club with the other 3 girls went to bed. Paradisco club was only a 5 minute walk from our hotel. We got there and they gave us real flower bracelets to wear on our hands. If you didn’t have bracelet you couldn’t drink for free. All ladies drank for free and the guys had to pay 1000 rupees (about 20 dollars for unlimited drinks). Keep in mind that 1 beer costs less than $1.00 so paying $20.00 is a lot of money in Goa. We were the first people to arrive so we started drinking beer. The club atmosphere was really cool. It is located on the top of a cliff and it decorated like a white cave. They had blue and red lights all over. We danced and met up with Brad, Ryan, Kirby and Patrick who are teachers at ACA with us and also booked to stay at the same hotel as us! We danced until 4am in the morning!! It was lots of fun.




DAY 2 Thursday, November 26th
In the morning I got up and laid by the pool.

Brad, Ryan and Patrick were there too and ordered ice coffee’s so I had one too. It was DELICIOUS!! They were going for breakfast at Sunset Bar and Restaurant which was located along the water just down from where I had ate supper the previous night. I had another ice coffe (not as good as our hotels), tomato cheese and omelet which was very good.

Laid by the pool until the other 4 girls got up. They had lunch and we all laid by the pool and enjoyed the sun. For supper we went to the Sonic Bar and Restaurant by the water. I had shrimp, pai thai, naan bread and banana nutella pancake for desert. The desert was the best part of the meal. We were all exhausted so we went back to the hotel to bed.

DAY 3 Friday, November 27th
Lindsay and I woke up and had breakfast at the Sea Wave Inn/Sea Queen Resto Bar. I had the traditional masala omelet and a cold ice coffee.
We met Lexi, Jenn and Erin and our driver Sudhir took us to our Crocodile tour with Jake the Snake. We were lucky and saw 3 crocodiles.



Lots of Kingfisher birds.
When we got back to Villa Anjuna Lindsay and I walked down the beach looking for a good place to eat lunch. We stopped at Lilliput where I had lasagna and naan bread. It was excellent! After that Lindsay and I booked massages at our hotel. I got a full body oil massage. It was very nice and relaxing.

For supper Sudhir recommended that we eat at the Italian Restauarnt. I had a vegetarian Pizza with Buffalo Mozzarella Cheese. It was delicious!! We drank 3 bottles of rose wine too.

Then we went back to Villa Anjuna and knocked on Max’s door (a guy Jenn played volleyball with that night). We invited Max (whose real name is Stephan) out to Curly’s Sea Bar. He agreed and we walked to Curly’s. After our 3 bottles of wine we were quite inebriated. Lexi and Erin ended up falling into the water on the walk over and got very wet! We had a few beers and decided to go to Paradisco Club (the one Lindsay and I had been to previously). We danced and had a great time and Brad, Ryan, Kirby and Patrick ended up there too. They ran out of King Fisher beer that night. We ended up staying until they started kicking everyone out! It was a good night too!!!

DAY 4 Saturday, November 28th
At 11:00 I woke up and laid by the pool. I had some greasy French fries for lunch. When Lindsay woke up we went to Oasis for supper at 5:00. I had chicken cashew nut and rice. It was very tasty. Lexi, Jenn and Erin then joined us and we walked down the street looking at shops. After that we were still hungry so we went to Zoori’s Restaurant where I had vegetarian lasagna and yummy naan bread!
Then we went to the night market and bought a few souvenirs. The night market was very nice. Better than the Wednesday market. It was larger with more space. It also wasn’t as hot out.





DAY 5 Day Sunday, November 29th
We woke up, packed our bags and laid by the pool until it was time to head off to the airport. The entire trip was very relaxing and lots of fun!