Cami and Crew: Our Story and More: 2022...Once in a Lifetime...Trip to Europe...ROME and FLORENCE

So, now back to leaving Florida and heading home for the trip. My flight left early on Friday morning the 15th. I got to the airport in plenty of time and I am glad I did. The security line was super long. I waited and waited and finally got to my plane. I was support to fly from Orlando to Chicago, Chicago to Phoenix and Phoenix to Idaho Falls. Well I get to Chicago and it is rainy and cold. I was freezing in the airport. I actually went and bought a sweatshirt. So my flight in Chicago kept getting delayed and it finally got to the point where I was going to miss my connecting flight in Phoenix. I waited in a long line to talk to someone about what to do. They ended up having me keep my flight to Phoenix but then getting me on a different airline that went to Denver and then Idaho Falls. Well I get to Phoenix and had to go to a different terminal. I had to go outside and then back into a different building, through security again and everything. I did not have that much time so I ran or tried to run the whole way. I got to the gate as they were boarding. Well halfway through boarding they stopped. They said that Denver was having bad weather and the flight was delayed; I had ran for nothing...lol...so an hour later they had us on the place and heading to Denver. I had a slim margin of time getting to Denver and having to get to the gate for Idaho Falls. I ended up reading the gate wrong and going the wrong direction. Once I found that out, I haled booty, I ran as fast as I could to the Idaho Falls gate and made it within a minute to spare. It was such a blessing that I made it. I got home to Idaho Falls 4 hours later than I had planned but it was good.

I had two days at home to prepare for Europe. Sam had told all his travelers that he wanted them to just bring a carry on because he did not want to wait in baggage claims for bags (come to find out that we were traveling with other groups who had checked bags and we had to wait anyway-he will remember that for next time he goes)

So Monday morning we get to the airport in Idaho Falls; we got there at 7:00 for a 10:00 flight...the students arrived in a timely manner. We also had a grandmother of a girl from the school. It ended up not being the best, so in the future Sam will be very selective about the adults that he allows on the trip.

So our layover was in Denver, and guess what...we were delayed; but got in the air. Our flight was 9 hours, I tried to sleep but couldn't. I think I watched a movie...I cant remember what it was though. We got to Frankfurt Germany the next morning...we flew overnight and lost alot of time. We were running late and had to haul booty through customs and to our gate for our flight to Rome. We made it and met our tour director and the other three groups we were with. Two were from Texas and one from North Carolina. Our group was 32 people with the tour director. Our director's name was Antonio and he was awesome. That afternoon, we hit up a few places in Rome. We got to see the Pantheon, which Sam was happy about. It is actually a church and they have a dress code to be able to go in. One of the girls in the group had on spaghetti straps and so they wouldn't let her in. I stayed outside with her, so I only heard how beautiful it was trough Sam.

So with our tour, our breakfast and dinners are included in the price. But we are on our own for lunch. The first day we got there after lunch time and hit the ground running, so when it was time for dinner, we were ready. We had salad, pizza and chocolate cake. It was interesting; the kids did not like the salad but the pizza was pretty good. The cake had an interesting taste, we found out later that Italy and most if Europe, most of the deserts are less sweet than in America...

I was so tired by the time we got to the hotel that night. We had a 25 minute bus ride from our last place to the hotel and it took everything in me to keep awake. I knew that if I slept on the bus, then it would be hard to sleep in the hotel room. We made it and I slept okay. I am so glad that I remembered my ear plugs, they helped keep the edge of Sam's snoring.

The next morning we woke up early in time for breakfast at the hotel. It was great. Today was the day to see more of Rom. We visited the Roman Forum (ruins) and the Colosseum, so neat. I had some Italian risotto for lunch and Sam had some lasagna. My meal was very good but it was more of a side dish. Sam follows this Italian guy on social media and make a authentic lasagna at home. It takes over three hours to make and has many different steps, he has made it for us at home a few times, so he wanted to try it here in Italy. He said they he definitely liked his better. Haha...After lunch we headed on an excursion to a kitchen to make our own Tiramisu. When Sam had signed up for the kitchen excursion, he thought we were going to make pasta, so when he found out it was a dessert he was a little disappointed, but there was not much we could do about it. Tiramisu has custard and lady fingers dipped in coffee. We got to make the custard from scratch, but it I was to make it again, I would definitely put more sugar in it, lol. Also, I would probably do hot chocolate or something else to dip the lady fingers in because I am not the biggest coffee fan. We had dinner at a Pizzeria and then ended our night going to the Trevi Fountain. Lots of walking, learning about history and good food, this place is pretty cool.

There are so many people that try and sell you things on the streets of Rome. One of my favorite pictures from today we actually had to pay for. One moment we’re standing minding our own business and the next we’re getting our picture taken…with the guy then waiting for payment…let’s just say I am not a good negotiator and we are now a little wiser. But the pictures turned out nice!!!

Our fourth day we got to visit Vatican City. There is a lot that I didn’t know about the Vatican, we’ll besides what I watched in Angles and Demons, lol…all funny aside, I learned it’s the smallest country in the world, it has its own flag and national anthem. The pope vacations in July but stays within the Vatican and he is protected by the Swiss Guard. Lastly some of the buildings are built on tombs, one of which is St. Peter(disciple of Jesus Christ and leader of the Apostles) love learning about it all…We visited the museums (beautiful sculptures, artwork and tapestry’s), the Sistine Chapel (where you can’t take pictures), St. Peter’s Square (which can fit 250,000 people) and St. Peter’s Basilica (which is ginormous and contains some papal tombs), such history and splendor. After some lunch we hopped on a bus and had a beautiful drive up north to the region of Tuscany.

Bus Ride was 4 hours long...

The next morning we set out to explore Florence. We started at a church that oversaw the city, it was a beautiful sight. We did a walking tour of the city, it was 100 degrees but we saw some awesome places and statues. We went to the Duomo and learned about the Gates of Paradise. We then learned about Dante and his influence on the Italian language. We then went to the Piazza della Signoria and saw the fountain of Neptune, the replica Statue of David, and the statue of Persius. After which we went and learned about the Pointe Vecchio and the influence of the Medici family. After the tour we had some time on our own. We ate lunch at a little restaurant called La Buchetta. After walking around for a while trying to find a place to eat, Sam googled best place to eat in Florence and this popped up. He was still looking for a great Italian meal and this place did not disappoint, you normally need a reservation but they had an open spot in the back. I had ravioli pasta filled with ricotta cheese, with a blue cheese sauce finished with caramel ones shallots and fries sage. Sam had homemade tagliatelle pasta with wild boar. It was delightful. We then got some gelato for dessert…today I tried raspberries and lemon.