Just a note to let everyone know that I am back home! The flight home took an hour less because the pilot's wife was in labour...we got here in 6 hours!
Anyway, I know that I missed writing about a lot of my trip. Some family members have expressed interest in me filling in the days that I missed, so I will try my best to do so over the next couple of weeks. I'll upload them all at once when I'm finished and anyone can take a look.
Now it's time to nurse my jetlag for a day before springing into action :D
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
In Scotland!
Well, it's been a looong time since I've last posted, and I'm really, really behind. I've been driving through Ireland for the past week and a half with my Mom, who came to meet me in Dublin. The search for our Irish heritage took us from Dublin to the Clare area and just about everywhere in between. After Dublin, internet access became extremely scarce, so there was no updating my blog...sorry about that...but we had an amazing time and I learned a lot about where my Grandma Vera and her family came from. I'll update more on that when I can get a chance...for now, I'm off to catch my bus to Jolly old England :D
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Prettige verjaardag Dad
Yes, March is a big month for birthdays in my family. Today is my Dad's birthday and I'm not allowed to say how old he is ;) Let's just say that he's right at the age where he still rides a motorcycle but he also keeps a mean garden... ;)
Anyway, Dad always wanted to do a trip like this to Europe, so I'm his eyes because he never got the chance (there's still time yet though!)
Happy Birthday Dad!
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Happy Birthday Tara!
Today is my sister Tara's birthday.
Tara is one of my best friends...and not many people can say that about their siblings. I can count on one hand (well, maybe one and a half) the number of times we've fought in our entire lives.
She's busy right now being a mom, starting a business, working a full-time job, and...what else? Well, she's got enough ambition for both of us ;)
Happy birthday big sis!
Friday, March 23, 2007
Hello from Bled, Slovenia
Hi all, I'm in Slovenia!
I seriously want to catch up on posts, there's lots to write about, I promise. But internet is so expensive in Austria and Slovenia...2 euro per half hour :( But, I broke down and bought an hour of time tonight because I've been anxious to catch everyone up. I think the last time I posted was as I was just getting into Roma, and I've been all over the place since then!
Check back and hopefully there will be lots to read soon!
Love to all,
Tori
ps. Only one month left!
I seriously want to catch up on posts, there's lots to write about, I promise. But internet is so expensive in Austria and Slovenia...2 euro per half hour :( But, I broke down and bought an hour of time tonight because I've been anxious to catch everyone up. I think the last time I posted was as I was just getting into Roma, and I've been all over the place since then!
Check back and hopefully there will be lots to read soon!
Love to all,
Tori
ps. Only one month left!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Alles Gute zum Geburtstag Debbie!
Today is my step-mom Debbie's birthday.
I bootlegged a bit of the Opera from Vienna for her gift (not much of a gift, but hey, I'm a poor traveller now) and am going to upload it when I get access to a USB port...
Happy Birthday Debbie!
Monday, March 12, 2007
The bus back from Assisi
I was still full of that peaceful and serene feeling as I sat waiting for my bus back to Perugia...that is, until the bus arrived and 40 rowdy highschoolers showed up out of nowhere and started pushing their way on to the bus. There were more of them than there were seats so I fought my way through for a seat for myself and an 80 year old lady. A couple of poor Chinese tourists got to brave the aisle with all the leftover students for the hour-long trip home.
I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but bus drivers in Umbria don't seem to realize that they aren't driving sports cars...so they drive down these tiny, one-lane, curvy roads at nearly death-defying speeds...They take ess-curves at break-neck speeds and I swear sometimes it feels like we're going to tip right over the side of the mountain (of course, we never do). Anyway, as the bus careened down the winding road to the bottom of the moutain, the kids fought and teased and wrestled in the aisles and over my head. I was determined not to let it ruin my buzz (I mean, I know I was annoying as a teenager, but was I really this annoying?), so I put on my earphones and stared out the window.
Then two girls started arguing in the seats in front of me, one pretty blonde girl and one tough looking brunette. The blonde looked very sorry and the brunette looked very angry. I was amusing myself with trying to decipher what the girls were fighting about (I could only imagine it was about some guy) when the brunette swung back and slapped the blonde in the face! After that is a little unclear, the blonde stood up to fight back, but got pulled by her hair into the aisle and then slammed against the bus door. The bus driver, who obviousely wasn't paying attention to the back of the bus, was still careening down the mountain at breakneck speeds. He took another high speed turn at a sharp s-curve and the girls were thrown, scratching and slapping back into the seats.
The other kids were shouting and laughing, the local adults weren't about to do anything about it, and the tourists really couldn't do anything about it. I was only thankful that I had a window seat...the poor Chinese tourists were bearing the brunt of it for me.
Finally, the little old Italian lady stood up from her seat and started shouting at them, which seemed to calm things down a bit. The girls sat back down in their seats, and with the exception of shouting at each other from across the bus, it was all over. It lasted only about 5 minutes, but it was a crazy 5 minutes.
I missed the sunset over the mountains, and the feeling of peace was replaced with heart-thumping anxiety, but I guess this was more exciting anyway, and really something good to write home about too ;)
I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but bus drivers in Umbria don't seem to realize that they aren't driving sports cars...so they drive down these tiny, one-lane, curvy roads at nearly death-defying speeds...They take ess-curves at break-neck speeds and I swear sometimes it feels like we're going to tip right over the side of the mountain (of course, we never do). Anyway, as the bus careened down the winding road to the bottom of the moutain, the kids fought and teased and wrestled in the aisles and over my head. I was determined not to let it ruin my buzz (I mean, I know I was annoying as a teenager, but was I really this annoying?), so I put on my earphones and stared out the window.
Then two girls started arguing in the seats in front of me, one pretty blonde girl and one tough looking brunette. The blonde looked very sorry and the brunette looked very angry. I was amusing myself with trying to decipher what the girls were fighting about (I could only imagine it was about some guy) when the brunette swung back and slapped the blonde in the face! After that is a little unclear, the blonde stood up to fight back, but got pulled by her hair into the aisle and then slammed against the bus door. The bus driver, who obviousely wasn't paying attention to the back of the bus, was still careening down the mountain at breakneck speeds. He took another high speed turn at a sharp s-curve and the girls were thrown, scratching and slapping back into the seats.
The other kids were shouting and laughing, the local adults weren't about to do anything about it, and the tourists really couldn't do anything about it. I was only thankful that I had a window seat...the poor Chinese tourists were bearing the brunt of it for me.
Finally, the little old Italian lady stood up from her seat and started shouting at them, which seemed to calm things down a bit. The girls sat back down in their seats, and with the exception of shouting at each other from across the bus, it was all over. It lasted only about 5 minutes, but it was a crazy 5 minutes.
I missed the sunset over the mountains, and the feeling of peace was replaced with heart-thumping anxiety, but I guess this was more exciting anyway, and really something good to write home about too ;)
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