Saying Goodbye

The past week has been one of the best weeks of my life. Two days ago I had to say goodbye to the group of people that has become my second family. Two days ago was our last day traveling as a family. All forty five of us were sad to leave but we had to.
On the last day, we went out for dinner. The dinner was amazing and the food was delicious. Throughout the entire meal people were joking around, telling stories, and eating. My table was pulling a prank on a bunch of people. We had an extendable fork and we went around reaching over shoulders and stealing food. It was hilarious! Anne threw a piece of bread at Lisa, who threw it at me, and I put it in Anne's hair. So that was the start of our bread fight. Then the musicians came out.
Everyone was singing and clapping along! On the way home, Vincenzo started a disco party on the bus with lights music and candy.
The last ten minutes of the night were the most depressing. In the lobby we were all coming off the bus and all saying our goodbyes. There were tears, hugs, email exchanges, and more hugs.
It was definitely hard realizing that we were never going to be this close to a group people again. They had become some of my greatest friends yet, and I will never forget them.

C.L.K.
~ Posted midst our newest adventure ~

Location:Via del Pie' di Marmo,Rome,Italy

Location:Via del Pie' di Marmo,Rome,Italy

Cleopatra In The Present

Yesterday we got to go to a Cleopatra exhibition! I was so excited because I knew that there would be lots of fun things to draw and write about.
I drew nine pictures of various statues, jewelry, mosaic, and paintings. The first picture I drew was of an ibis. Ibis is a water dwelling bird and is associated with the Egyptian god Thoth. Thoth brought the spirits of the dead to the underworld where they could be judged by Osiris, the deity of the dead.
My two absolute favourite pieces in the whole exhibit, were Cleopatra's ring, and the Eye Of Horus which was broken off a statue.




Cleopatra's ring, was about the size of an egg. The middle is a polished ruby with a carving of Cleopatra on it. The rim is gold with small coloured stones going all around it. This intrigued me because I actually got to look at something that a queen wore. Also I wondered if she bought it herself or if it was given to her, and if given to her who gave it?
The Eye Of Horus was broken off of a statue in a temple to Horus. It is about the about the size of a watch face. The stone that it is made of was a rare blue stone used only for important statues or carvings. The actual pupil is very dark and almost brooding, while the lashes are lighter, like a lake. The eyebrow is black with a little bit of a blue tint, and the rest of the eye is just a light blue.



I have to say, that was one of the best museums that I have been to, and believe that is a lot. The pieces are from all over the world, Paris, Egypt, Rome and lots more places. I found out that Cleopatra was a guest in the house of Julius Caesar just weeks before he was stabbed.
The museum was lots of fun!
C.L.K.
~ Posted midst our newest adventure ~

Location:Our apartment in Italy

Gladiator

Yesterday we went to gladiator training we learned a lot of techniques and exercises.
One of the things we did was our teacher Emanual planned a workout for us. In the workout you had to run to a rope stretched out in a big line and duck under it then come back up and you had to do that to the end of the rope. The rope was no tvery long so it only took about twenty seconds. I never hit the rope once.


Next there were sand bags. For the sand bags, Emanual would push them to get it going and you would run through them and try not to get hit. I only got hit one time and even then it was because mom ran into it then it went all wavy and hit me. When the bags are going really fast you have to think about when to go. So when you went you would have to run the whole way through.

Then you jumped over a normal sized tipped over bench. You did not want to trip on it because the ground was so hard and bumpy. Finally you had to do a perfect somersault or you rolled of the mat.
The last thing was that if our instructor asked us "are you tired " if you answered you had to do five pushups!
I loved gladiator training and that is not all the we did I wish I could share it all but I think this was my favourite thing that we did!
Jocelyn
~ Posted midst our newest adventure ~

Location:Via del Pie' di Marmo,Rome,Italy

Location:Via del Pie' di Marmo,Rome,Italy

Location:Via del Pie' di Marmo,Rome,Italy

Showers In Europe

We are so lucky to have enough hot water and great showers in Canada.
In Europe, the water is warm for one minute then freezing for the rest of your twenty minute shower/bath. Showers are basically bathtubs with a sprayer. Our current shower has a switch that warms up the water. It takes an hour to warm up about a minute of water. Then, there is no curtain or door so you have to sit down, and someone has to spray you. If there is a door, it doesn't close properly so water sprays everywhere. That would be really awkward if you lived by yourself. By the end of my shower/bath the water was freezing and I kept thinking of my shower in Canada.
Other places have normal showers but the water doesn't get very hot. Also, four people cannot all have showers or there is not enough hot water. The showers are very small, so you keep bumping into walls. There are not even a meter wide.
We also had the challenge of finding shampoo and conditioner in France and Italy. We thought that conditioner was revitalisement in French, but it was something else. In Italy, Cassie found conditioner because we use the same kind of Herbal Essense at home. The shampoos seem very harsh on my hair.
One good thing is that there are giant, warm towels waiting for you when you come out of your freezing bath/shower. One place even had a towel warmer. I will enjoy a nice long shower when I get home. I mean a LONG shower.

Jocelyn.
~ Posted midst our newest adventure ~

Location:Via del Pie' di Marmo,Rome,Italy

Location:Via del Pie' di Marmo,Rome,Italy

Going Back In Time

Today Cassie, grandma, mom, and I went to see a movie called Time Elevator. When we got to the theatre we saw an explanation, the seats rotated so you had to hold on to your seatbelt so you did not fall. There was also water that sprinkled down and sound effects of the rats and real wind so you felt like you were back in time! The other cool thing was the voices and the looks of people were almost real. Like Michelangelo, his voice, and looks were just like him.

One of the stories that was told is the birth of Rome. In the story the king of the twins Romulus and Remus were taken from their mother and left to die with a couple wolfs. The reason was because the king didn't want the twins to take over his throne. The wolf actually raised the children and when they were older they found the city of Rome. That story made the wolf the symbol of Rome.

I think that going to the movie was my favourite thing I have done in Rome so far. I hope that I will get to see another one!

Jocelyn

~ on to the next adventure

Location:Via del Pie' di Marmo,Rome,Italy

Being A Travelling Child In Europe

For the past week I have been one of two kids on a mostly adult bus tour.

There were definitely some advantages but to go along with those, there were disadvantages.
The advantages were great! Franco, our travel director, practically spoiled us! Yesterday he bough Jocie and I chocolate penguins, the day before that chocolate bars, and a few days before that glass animals. So I guess you could say we were a tiny bit spoiled.




Another advantage was that we got to goof around more than everyone else and we didn't get in trouble for it. Jocie and I would sit in the back of the bus and laugh, giggle, and talk.

Now here's the thing that I loved the most. Since I had to act a little bit adult, I actually made some adult friends. Mia and Rex, and Susan and James were first. But I sat with them for dinner every night for four days. Then I met Brian and Jen who sat with Mia, Rex, and I one night at a restaurant. Finally, yesterday I met Anne and Lisa. They are sisters and honestly they act a bit like me and Jocie. Lisa is younger but acts like me and Anne acts like Jocelyn.

The disadvantages were that we didn't understand as much as everyone else and also we were treated a bit less like adults.
All of the trip I had a great time, and I would do it all over again.

C.L.K.

~ Posted midst our newest adventure ~

Location:Via Francesco Patrizio da Cherso,Vigna Murata,Italy

Adventures In Assisi

Today we went to a town named Assisi (as-iss-ey).We also went to a church built in 1200s with the coffin of Saint Francis in Assisi. In Assisi there are tons of churches! When I went for a walk I noticed that the streets were hilly because we were in the area called the Tuscan Hills. Soon I found out that all of the stores are parts of huge building. The stores are just on the bottom of the buildings. I think the rest of the buildings are apartments.

In the church there were three floors and we even had a local guide to help us. The local guide knew everything about the basilica and the paintings. On the first floor there was lots of frescos about Jesus Christ's life on the right. On the left was the last moments of his life. The frescos also showed great expressions. I sort of understood how the artists did the frescoes because of the workshop we did yesterday.
On the second floor, it showed saint Francis's life. What I thought was cool was the fact that at first the Saint did not want to be a Saint. We also admired how the pictures were in order from birth to death of Saint Francis. Each important one would get an explanation from the local guide.
Lastly, on the underground floor there was saint Francis's coffin. You were not allowed to make a peep. Lots of people were praying behind the gates of the coffin for good things to come. There were no decorations. In fact, it was sort of creepy. The other thing I felt like was calm.
I liked the visit to Assisi better than Florence because the was more space and it was not as crowded. But when the pope visited on Wednesday, there were 100,000 people who came to that church.
Jocelyn
~ Posted midst our newest adventure ~

Location:Via Francesco Patrizio da Cherso,Vigna Murata,Italy