Home Sweet Home

I have been away from my computer for a while now, first because I finished school and then went on a little holiday with Steph before coming home and then because I have been busy seeing people, washing clothes, unpacking and getting used to being back! Now I am here, hme in Winlaton and can relate to you my adventures getting here!

After school finished I spent some time at the beach and then Steph arrived in Catania, just in time to watch the England match (not the last one, we won't mention that!!!) and to catch some sun before a few cloudy days (me and Stuart both burnt but Steph didn't, typical!)
Then it was time to say goodbye to Catania and to my friends I am sorry to anyone I didn't see, it was all so sudden in the end it seemed! I had a few tears, saying bye to Luisa and Diana and of course Stuart were the worst, but I will see them all again so it was not too bad and not really goodbye!

Steph and I went to Rome first and spend a lovely few days being wowed by the sites, we had some rain but it coudn't spoil our time. Our hotel was lush and the ancient lift gave us a few laughs as well as scares! We took the open top bus to try and see as much as possible in our short time and it was really good fun, with lots of info and it made our legs happier too! Maybe best for me was the Coleseum, I have been before but it is majestic, even when full of tourists there is something of the past which hangs in the air and makes you stop and think of all that went on there, I loved it. Didn't love the theiving Gladiators outside who charged us a fortune for photos with them!!!!!

Then we were off to Florence, we left the rain behind and had glorious sunshine there and it was also the feast of San Giovanni (St John the Baptist) so we were lucky to see a fantastic fireworks display one evening.
We saw David, and the fake David and the bronze David, and we saw a LOT of churches! I loved the atmosphere, the narrow streets, the beautiful buildings, the lamps which rekindled my love of taking photos of lamps (started in Prague last year!)the river and the views of the city from the hill abouve. I loved it all.
A few crazy moments, first our room was on the third floor, up 6 flights of steps, nightmare! A man helped me carry my bag up and I just threw it down, much to Steph's amusement! Nothing broke!
There was the cape incident which I think will make me cry with laughter for years, but probably you had to be there... Steph had to cover her shoulders in a church and though the nice robe they gave her was a cape with a hood, then she found one arm hole, it has one arm she said, where is the other... on your head was my reply! Oh, you had to be there it was so funny, unfortunately no cameras in the church but the recreation in the hotel had us crying again! Oh Steph, thanks for that memory!

We only had a short time in each place and so it was off to our next destination which was Treviso for Venice, Davide (Luisa's brother) was kind enough to offer us a room in his appartment for our visit to Venice as Treviso is not far at all, it was great, he really looked after us and we had nice comfy beds and lovely shower...
We got the train to Venice and spent a lovely day there complete with a gondola ride (don't ask how expesive, it was worth it!!!) Definately a great exprience, greatvies and a cool breeze on a very hot day in Venice. We sampled our last ice-cream, I am going to miss Italian ice-cream (maybe I can find some here..)

Finally it was time to come home, only a little bit delayed and we got back to Winlaton at midnight after a KFC (left overs as they were technically closed when we stopped!!!) and I climbed into my own bed on Sunday night and fell fast asleep, excited for the mrning when I would see my family!

Now it is Tuesday and I have been settling back in nicely, almost feels like I have never been away now.... Not quite sure what the next move is, need a bit of time to decide, but I am sure there will be more adventures coming soon!!!!

some random thoughts!

I have so much to say but I can't say any of it yet, I am full of so many emotions I want to spill them out onto this page and maybe then they will make sense, but not yet!

I have only 2 weeks left in Catania and I am sorry to say (to my Italian friends) that I am glad it is almost time to go home. While I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here, I am ready to go home.
I am starting to miss things now, I want to eat Walkers crisps and Warburtons bread (hope I can advertise on here!!!) and of course, much more importantly I want to see 'me mam'! and Aunty Janet, Tara, Louise and her bump, Kath, Rich and William (not so much Eric - sorry) and Phil! ALL of my family and friends who I have not seen now for so many months.
I know it will not be hot (I can cope with a drop from 40 degrees) and I know I won't be able to do some of the things I love doing here, I know I will miss some people I have met here (but I know I can't get rid of you so that is good!!!), but, although I really love to travel, I love home too!

I am looking forward to the future with a new perspective which I have found here in Sunny Sicily, with the help of Stuart. And hopefully my new future will not be without him. Stuart has made my stay here more than memorable and I want to thank him, though I have thanked him a few times already, for being the wonderful, genuine, kind and caring person that he is, for making me laugh, putting up with me crying and generally being the best friend a girl could have wished to find here! Hope you read this and blush Mr Fassam!!!

Back to work for another afternoon of crazy Italian fun with my classes!
XXX