Viva Italia!!

This summer's trip to Italy was the trip of a lifetime!!  I have broken it down into 4 parts:  Rome, Amalfi Coast, Tuscany, and Venice.

I had to put this picture of the Eiffel Tower (taken from the plane) because Kim had been teasing Heather and me that he saw it the last time we were in Paris.  Now I have at least seen it.  Next time we have a connecting flight through Paris, we plan to stay a few days!!!

Rome:
We arrived in Rome to stay for 4 nights.  We stayed on the Piazza Barberini at the Hotel Barocco.  We could walk to Via Veneto, Spanish Steps, and the Trevi Fountain.  On Friday we walked around Rome looking at the beautiful gardens and architecture.

Spanish Steps

Trevi Fountain

Pantheon

Looking out at the Roman skyline:  St. Peter's Basilica in the distance

Gelato:  Kim's favorite!!

Tiber River

War Memorial:Vittorio Emanuele II Monument 

Saturday we took a tour of the Vatican.  We saw the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Square.

Love this one:  the sun is like a halo behind the cross

On Sunday we had a tour of Ancient Rome.  Kim was in Heaven!!  We saw all the ruins and finished with the Roman Forum, Colosseum, and Circus Maximus.

Circus Maximus

Amalfi Coast:
On Monday we drove to the Amalfi Coast, stopping by to see Pompeii on the way.  Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried under 60 feet of ash and pumice during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD.  It was accidentally re-discovered in 1748 and has since been excavated.  Since it was so well preserved, we were able to learn a lot about the Romans and how they lived.  We had a guided tour of the Forum, the Thermal Baths, Vetti's House, and the Lupanare brothel.  Our guide was hilarious and very informative.

Mt. Vesuvius in the distance

Sitting in front of one of the longest streets from ancient times

We then continued our drive to Positano to stay for the next 3 nights at Villa Rosa.  We had a beautiful terrace overlooking the Mediterranean.  We enjoyed our breakfast each morning watching the sun rise over the water!

Night view from the sidewalk overlooking the bay

One day there we rented a boat and Cory captained us around the sea, boating over to Capri.  We saw many of the small towns along the Amalfi Coast:  Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello.  We sailed into several tiny caves or grottos and swam.  We also just stopped out in the middle of the water and jumped in--it was amazingly blue!

Ready to enjoy the day!

Captains of the boat

The beautiful blue waters of the grotto

We definitely got our exercise walking up and down stairs.  This was the path to the beach from one of the resorts. The ones we had to walk were not this dramatic!!

The Arch we rode through

We also had some amazing meals with gorgous views.  It was difficult to decide where to eat each meal!

Tuscany:
On Thursday we took a high-speed train to Florence.  There we stayed at the Santa Maria Novella, another amazing hotel in the downtown area.  The rooms are all decorated with different Florentine decor.  We did a walking tour of Florence and saw the Duomo, Santa Croce, Piazza Signoria, Ponte Vecchio, The Uffizi Corridor, Palazzo Medici, and many other sights!  We enjoyed lots of pasta and gelato!

Train ride:  NICE!!

One of our favorite places to eat was on the River Arno, looking out at the Ponte Vecchio.

Ponte Vecchio

Duomo

Random street market:  It was all so delicious looking!

One nice thing about Italy was that you could drink from all the fountains, which brought fresh water from the mountains.

Kim found his namesake....and notice the date:  1861  ~  LOL!!

We also did a driving tour of Montalcino (wine tasting) and Siena.  In Montalcino we visited the castle where the Senesi were besieged for 4 years before surrendering to the Medici.  This is where the Brunello wine first started.  We went for a wine tasting of the "Brunello de Montalcino" considered the best Italian wine.  We toured the winery and saw how they made the wine.

In Siena we saw the Duomo and visited the Piazzo del Campo, where the race track for the Palio is located.  They bring in dirt so that the horses can run the race once each year, but it is hard to imagine how difficult it must be and how many horses end up injured.

Beauty in the midst of decay....

Venice:
On Sunday we took another train to our final spot--Venice.  We traveled by water taxi to the Hotel Flora, on Calle XXII Marzo.  It is a 17th century palazzo.  The rooms are decorated in 16th-century Venetian style.  On Monday we took a private gondola ride through the canals of Venice.

Water Taxi to our hotel

View along the way....

A whole new meaning to "toes in the water"

Ha-ha:  In St. Mark's Square, we went to get a gelato, and the sign said we couldn't sit......So.....guess what we did???!!!

Dinner

Our hotel garden

Venetian Masks:  a huge industry here!

Dinner the first night

Cory found a deal.....Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!!

Boat Garage

One of our favorite spots with a view of the canals

Gondola Ride

Still riding the gondola....

Canals...canals....canals..... Gorgeous!!

We stopped to eat dinner one night and looking up above where we sat, I saw this....

Feeding the pigeons

Kim's head made for a great landing spot....

Cory tempted one into Heather's hair with some bread...

Everybody's favorite pigeon roost....LOL!!

Then we took a final water taxi to the airport....to head back to the UAE!

We had such an amazing time in Italy!  It was over way too soon....and time to head back to work!

Kindergarten fun--Who knew??!!!

I've had two days in kindergarten, so I'm ready to start posting pictures and sharing my experiences.  :)
What a difference from last year!!!  I co-teach with an Arabic teacher who is wonderful!  She is so prepared and has been very welcoming.  In fact, the entire school has been great, from the principal on down!!!!  The school is beautiful and very well supplied.

Library

This is the view of the mountain outside my classroom.  This little picket fence encloses my private outdoor play area for students.

This is the view looking into the room from the outside doors.  There are big areas for water and sand play.

We have 24 students, but so far only 17 have come to school.  The 2 days have been exhausting for the kiddos, because they arrive around 7:30 and leave at 12:30. For me, the 2 days have been much easier to take than teaching the older students.  There has not been nearly as much stress as last year's first 2 days.

We are not really teaching for the first 2 weeks, but are giving them an opportunity to get used to the classroom, school, teachers, new friends, and rules and procedures.  I'm sharing a few pics from the first 2 days.  Stay tuned for updates! 

Reading Area

"Reading"

Role-Play Area

Playing dress up

They love to put on hats!!

Art Area

Play dough fun!

Water Play

Writing Time:  Many of them know their alphabet....but some don't know how to hold a marker!     Check out the little boy!

Lunch time!  We also have a snack time when the school provides fresh fruit or vegetable to snack on.  Day 1 was apples; day 2 was cucumbers.....Kids loved them!  :)

Our school is built like a big doughnut.  The "hole" in the middle is a covered play area.

It's a huge area with sand piles built in curving shapes.

It also has soft riding areas for wheeled play.

A bridge with room to climb

Houses and other play areas

Family and Friends

We have thoroughly enjoyed our trip home this summer to visit with family and friends!  Just a few pics to share with you of our loved ones in chronological order:

Jolaine (BFF) picked us up at the airport and brought us safely home!  THANKS!!! 
(Can you tell I've been traveling over 16 hours by this point??)  She's also crazy enough to be taking us BACK to the airport after her first day of school with kids.  LOVE HER!!!!

Kim adjusts Hokey's headdress to be sure he looks just right!

Hokey with Eric and June

Hokey and Doranne

Heather with Hokey and Doranne

Cathy and my mom with me at Mom's house ~  Do we look anything alike?!!

Aunt Sandy and Mom in the pool

My daughter Stephanie in a hat ~
(She's wearing it under protest because I was worried she'd get too much sun!)

Heather and Stephanie down by the lake

Mom with Heather and Stephanie

Me with the girls in the pool

At the lake

Heather and Mom

Finally getting some DELICIOUS seafood!!

Amazing Rocky Branch Team:  Laura, Marsha, Lee, Gina, and Jennifer
(Miss you all SO MUCH!!)

Special Team:  Tyler, Teresa, and Janie-Poo
Anything could happen with these 3!!

AWESOME Administrators:  Evelyn and Laura

World's Best Mentor and Friend:  Sherry

Becky and Kim

I apologize to those friends I saw when I didn't have my camera!!!  I also wish I had been able to see everybody during this short visit home.  As I told one friend, imagine putting off all your errands and appointments for one entire year and not seeing any family or friends during that year.  Then, you are given 2 weeks to run all errands, make appointments, and still have time to visit with everyone:  can't be done!  We've gone crazy trying to fit everyone in, and it's so sad that we have to head back before we succeeded!  Thanks to all of you who made our trip home so special.  Love you all!