11.09.11 Second Day in Rome

My opinion: this day immersed us in the most art, history , and culture than any other during this trip. I wish i could

share with you the excitement and marvel in our eyes as we turned what seemed like every corner and explored every long corridor in the Vatican, St. Peter's cathedral, and finally ended at the Trevi Fountain but it is truly something to see with your own eyes.

One cool thing we learned before we even went in the museum is that Vatican is it's own country and Vatican Museum also serves as their embassy. So it is fitting that the building is surrounded by these beautiful gardens and plazas.

St. Peter's is the biggest cathedral in the world but cathedrals in general are architecturally designed to at least seem to be the biggest structure you've ever seen to impress this feeling of truly being a child and/or servant of God and humble anyone who enters. if i had to describe it in just a few words - "larger than life."

Before we left St. Peter's, Mumfy called us together and gave us tips for Trevi Fountain. Legend has it that if you throw one coin you'll return to rome, two coins and you'll return married, three and you'll return "single again"...? None of us could really figure out what that meant so needless to say no one threw three. In fact, i'm pretty sure everyone threw two ;)

Murano and St. Mark's Cathedral

The second day we went to explore an island named Murano that is known globally for its glass. Every piece of glass was amazing and so carefully done. Almost everybody bought something from there because the glass was so unbelievably gorgeous that everybody felt the need to possess at least one piece. Glass was not the only thing that we saw on Murano, we also so a church that was so silent on the inside that you felt that you could hear the church inhale the salty air. After our visit to Murano we went to St. Mark’s cathedral, it was beautiful and there was a lot to explore inside. We loved the sculptures and the architecture inside of St. Mark’s. The mosaics were especially stirring and the paintings on the dome were unforgettable.

-India and Raghd.

The Last Travel Day: Naples to Venice

The morning began in a hurry as we all attempted to get all of our belongings together in order to move on to the next location. We began our nine-hour drive back to Venice early in the morning. Everyone was asleep within twenty minutes. We made our first stop at a rest station after two hours of driving. Assorted goods ranging from chocolate to muffins were purchased and the restroom breaks were made. We all returned to the bus and continued on to our next stop, Deruta. We went to a restaurant for lunch called Taverna del Gusto. Sarah Parry’s mother had called ahead of time and made reservations for us. The restaurant was amazing! A special THANK YOU! To Mrs. Parry for paying for our lunch as well as setting it up. Also a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! To Sarah Parry whose birthday we were celebrating. After lunch we returned back to our vehicles to drive on four a couple more hours. We stopped at another rest station before finishing our journey to the Venice airport. Once we arrived Mr. Mumford and Mrs. Miller went to retrieve our vans that we would be using for the next week in Buja. They returned with vans as well as Mrs. Stewart. We loaded the vans up with all of our luggage and then set off for the Stewart’s villa in Buja. It took much longer than anticipated for there was a construction blocking the path that we were intending on using. We decided that it was time to eat dinner and at 11:45 we finally stopped at Al Fungo for pizza. WE stayed there until almost one, and then finally made our way to the villa. It was amazing! We much time and much struggling attempting to put the covers and mattresses on the bunk beds. After everyone was finally settled down we were finally able to sleep around two in the morning.

11/16/2011

As usual today started out in chaos, which derived from the fact that there are twenty-one people staying at the villa and there are only two bathrooms. After showers were taken and breakfast eaten Franco arrived at the villa ready to take us on an adventure around Buja, Italy and the surrounding area. Dr. Stewart’s cousin Franco is a stout man with grayed hair and a sweet face. He has a charming and kind personality, going above and beyond what was expected of him. The whole day was organized by him to show us his favorite places in Buja.

The first stop was his small farm which was divided by a small gravel road. On the left was the house, two stories high with white walls and clay tiled roofs. We pulled into the small gravel lot in front of the house and jumped out to follow Franco. Around a small garage against the wall were wood pens with metal cages each filled with different bunnies. Franco opened up one door and pulled out a small bunny he said was only two months old. They were smaller than the rest but did not compete in cuteness to the fifteen day old bunnies. Everyone took turns holding the precious furry balls of warmth. When asked why he had so many bunnies, Franco replied with a motion of eating. Everyone looked at him with a gasp while he shrugged his shoulders. After all the bunnies were put back we crossed the gravel road to a large barn parallel to the house. The stench leaking from the barn told us that cows were on the other side of the large door. The cows mooed and kicked at the sight of their strange new visitors and sniffed with great interest and curiosity.

Again we loaded up into the vans and drove out to a field of green and on the side was a small but long building with large windows on either side and in the middle a cement basin constantly flowing with water. Franco explained to us that when he was a boy the girls would come here and wash the laundry and the boys would follow in an attempt to woo their young ladies.

Packing back up into the vans the shirt drive stopped at a cheese factory. The cheese of this region is called formaggio, each sub-region has its own twist on the flavor. Large metal machines that looked like large bowls, took up a vast amount of space in the small room. On the side of the wall were compressors in which, the cheese was left for 24 hours. Around the other side of the wall was the storage room containing shelves of delicious looking cheese.

After, we drove off to the bocce ball court where we met four of Franco’s friends that he plays with. The rules of bocce ball are simple, there are two teams of two and each team gets four balls. One team throws a small ball across the court but must not hit the other side of the court wall. Then that team throws their first ball and tries to get it as close to the small ball as possible without hitting it. Then the other team goes and tries to get closer if they do not than they keep going until they do or run out of balls and then the other team goes. The team with the closest ball wins the point. Seems easy enough yet it is much harder to control the balls. After we played for a while we watched the pros played. Lets just say they rocked it!

After bocce ball it was time for lunch at The Horse. Everything that you eat there is home grown, vegetables, meat, and wine (don’t worry we didn’t have any wine). We had salad, amazing pesto, and tiramisu that was a religious experience. After we walked around the farm, petted the horses and cows, we drove to Gemona up a small mountain to the fort which most of was in ruins. If you were patient or adventurous enough, you could find hidden passage ways under the fort. Climbing through them took some courage but it was worth it to find that the tunnel led to the end of a cliff or the middle of the cliff or to complete other set of tunnels!

We then headed into town and went to the Earthquake museum. The earthquake was in the 70’s but the devastation still remains. Hundreds of people died and many more were destroyed. The pictures displayed were breathtaking and heart wrenching.

Franco then took us on a hunt for gelato, after visiting three different places we finally discovered one that was open and was extremely delicious.

Finally, Franco insisted that we return to his home for some little treats, and with a face like his you cannot refuse. We climbed the stairs up to his modest apartment and was greeted by his wife Erica. When asked about his wife and how they met, Franco replied that they met on their way to get milk and when he looked into her eyes he never looked away. They brought out fresh squeezed grape juice and cookies and Franco showed us all of his Bocce ball awards. The first metal he won Erica melted into her wedding ring. Although he begged us to stay longer we knew we had to leave. With tears in their eys Franco and Erica hugged and kissed each one of us. Franco said right before we left “This is not good bye, just see you later!”

November 13th, Our first day in Buja!

Today was our first day in Buja. After arriving late last night and having pizza at Al Fungo, we all settled right into our rooms and quickly fell asleep. All the girls are rooming together, dorm style with bunk beds, and same for the guys. We're all extremely grateful that Dr. Victoria Stewart and her husband John are letting us stay in their villa in Buja.

This morning we all woke up at different times since we had the opportunity to sleep in. We all sat in the living room/breakfast room area downstairs in the villa. Franco, Victoria's cousin who lives in Buja, came to meet us all before he took us out to a festi

val in Gemano. Franco is the sweetest person and it seems as though he runs the world, he knows everybody. Franco doesn't speak any English so Victoria had to translate everything he was saying for us. Franco took us to an agricultural festival in Gemano, a small town near Buja. The festival was amazing! Because it was an agricultural festival there were lots of farmers who were selling things like mozzarella c

heese, parmesan cheese, prosciutto, jam, bread, honey, wool slippers and scarves, and fresh fruit.

We wandered around Gemona for awhile stopping at different stands and trying different foods before we headed to the basillica of Gemona. The church had been damaged by an earthquake on May 6, 1976. The basillica has been reconstructed as close to its past form as possible. The church is beautiful. When we ended our tour around the church and Gemona we walked all the back down to where we had parked the vans. That night we were going to a horse farm, also a stop on the agricultural tour, to have dinner.

After getting a little dressed up, all 21 of us headed to the horse farm. It was a chilly night and we were all ready for food. The first course we had was a meat and cheese plate, just cheese for the vegetarians. The second course, probably the best meal I had in Italy, was pumpkin gnocchi with smoked mozzarella cheese. Everyone devoured their's. The next course, the main course, was pork ribs and beans with a bunch of sides and sauces that included ratatouille, cabbage, mushrooms, potatoes, and zucchini. It was delicious. Then for dessert we had a pear and chocolate strudel and some Italian style coffee. The meal was amazing, and we were all ridiculously full after. So we headed back to the villa, climbed into our inviting beds, and went to bed.

Last Day of Italia

After 15 straight days of roaming Venice, Florence, Rome, and Naples, we finally come to an end in Buja. We started the day by visiting an Italian school, however, this school is not the ordinary school you'd think of. Forget the history and english classes, this school is a trade school, a school that provides vocational education. Here, students are taught the skills needed to perform the occupations and careers they desire. Students, aging from 10 to 17, here are taught things from rewiring electrical circuits to assembling cars and motorbikes. It was truly a unique experience to visit a school without the usual the classes, but with factory-like rooms full of machinery.

Next, we followed Franco who was leading us towards a castle. We got to the area of the castle, but could not find any parking spaces, and the ones we did find could not fit the two bulky, white vans we had. After about twenty minutes of stressful strugglin', we decided to cancel the trip to the castle and go straight to the Carrefour (supermarket).

John, Franco, Zayd, Madeline, Mackenzie, and Emily arrived twenty minutes earlier than the vans did. During this time, some of us used the desperately needed wireless internet and played on the flat-surfaced escalators :3. Once everybody arrived we were all instructed to pick out out foods for lunch and breakfast for tomorrow. While most people got wimpy little sandwiches, Zayd and I ordered a humongous 14inch 8 euro margherita pizza, along with two sprites. And for breakfast, Baked Ritz Crackers. While waiting for the others checking out, I, with the assistance of Zayd, clawed out a red Nike soccer ball from the claw machine on the first try. Then we head home to the villa.

After devouring our delicious lunches, John thoughtfully created a random drawing that assigned each of us two house chores ranging from brooming the balcony to cleaning the toilets. Luckily, I was assigned to clean windows for both my chores, (sooo easy). So yeah, the rest of the afternoon consisted of us cleaning, eating, and sleeping.

Then for dinner we ate at the same restaurant we ate at on the night of arriving in Buja. Unfortunately, on the way to the place, we lost Mama Mumf and the students in her van. Luckily, Dr. Stewart and John found them in one piece back at the villa. After finishing out last Italian meals, we headed out to eat out last gelato. Then Franco invited all of us to his place. He graciously offered all of us snacks and drinks, including some grappa. It was getting late, none of us wanted to leave, but eventually we all said our goodbyes. What better way than to end our trip with Franco.

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Ciao Italia - November 18, 2011

The past sixteen days had flown by, and it was finally time to say ciao to Italy. Although it had been an outstanding trip, we were all anxious and excited to go home to our families. We started the day with an early wake-up call in attempt to make it to the airport on time for our flight. We were out the door and in the vans by six am as we said bye to Buja. After about a two hour car ride we finally reached the airport in Venice and said our "goodbyes" and "thank yous" to Dr. Stewart and Mr. Stewart.With only a little over an hour left till our flight began boarding, we rushed to get our boarding passes and check in our luggage. We ran into a couple complications with some boarding passes but we made it just in time for our flight. The view was spectacular as we took off over the mountains and said ciao to Italy.

We landed in Paris on time, leaving us with about a two hour layover. After going through a customs check we began the long walk to our gate, which happened to be on the other side of the airport. In the process we lost Emily for a short five minutes, but she found her way back to the group with little delay. By the time we reached our gate we had just enough to time to buy ourselves some lunch and stop at the restrooms. Finally we boarded the plane and began the long flight that would bring us home. Throughout the course of the eight hour flight, many of us watched movies, listened to music, snacked, and slept in hopes of making the flight go by faster.

After what seemed like forever we finally landed in Detroit. Although the line for customs seemed endless it actually moved pretty quickly, and we had no trouble claiming our luggage either. The fact that we had been on a farm in Italy as well as handled live stock didn't play in our favor. We were sent to another line where we had to have the shoes that we wore on the farm sprayed. While waiting for our shoes to be returned we went through another baggage examination. As soon as our shoes were returned we were allowed to leave and meet our families who were all waiting outside. Italy had been the trip of a lifetime, but everyone seemed happy to be home, knowing that they would be sleeping in their own beds.