Hi everyone!

Sorry it has been almost two weeks since I last wrote, but I have been so busy (and happy) having my parents and the Sortino's here! They are on the plane at this very moment heading back to the US. We had such a good time together and it is hard to believe that it is over already! While they were here we spent time in Rome, Florence and Modica, Sicily.

Rome was a great experience! We spent three full days there and saw many of the sights...(Vatican City, The Colloseum, The tomb of the unknown soldier, the Mouth of Truth, St. Valentine Relics, The Forum, The Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, and perhaps the most impressive- Alfredo's Restaurant!)

The day we visited the Vatican was rainy, so we spent a majority of our time in the cathedral and the catacombs where all the past popes are buried. We even had the chance to see the burial place of our most recent pope, Pope John Paul II. I was pretty surprised with how many things about the Vatican I remembered from my previous twelve years of catholic education! It was interesting to see all of the things I had read about for so long. As the weather cleared slightly, we ventured all the way up 300 steps to the top of the Cupola to see the amazing views of Rome. Our pictures turned out great. After leaving Vatican City, we visited a restaurant around the corner from our hotel to have lunch. It may have possibly been the biggest feast I have ever had! We ate everything from lentil beans to ricotta pasta to roasted beef and everything was fabulous! After we basically rolled ourselves back to the hotel we rested up and spent the evening visiting the Spanish steps and the Trevi Fountain. The Trevi Fountain was beautiful, although very crowded. We all threw a coin over our shoulder into the fountain as we made a wish. There was no dinner for us that night wince we were all still very full from lunch. Instead we had a drink up at the rooftop terrace of our hotel where we had amazing views of the Vatican and other Roman sights.

The following day we visitied the Colloseum and most of the ruins. The Colloseum was very fun to see. I think Mom used an entire memory card taking pictures of it. Haha. This day we also saw the Forum, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Mouth of Truth. The Mouth of truth is a stone sculpture that used to be used to cut off the hand of people who lie. Dad and I both put our hands in the sculptures mouth and managed not to get our hands cut off, of course, because we never lie! :) Afterward we had lunch at a cute restaurant in the Jewish Ghetto. The restaurant specialized in Artichokes and they also served rice balls, which I ordered, but didn't find to be nearly as satisfying as Aunt Rosaria's. That night we visited the most famous Roman sight, Alfredo's Restaurant! It is the restaurant that created the Alfredo sauce. Famous people from all over the world have come to visit the restaurant and their picture's are covering the walls to prove it! The evening was very fun and filled with great food, great family, great friends, music and even some dancing. I took video of the whole experience which you can find in the video section of the website. The night was a great way to end our experience in Rome, the following morning we woke up early and headed back towards Florence.

The next day, on the way back to Florence we stopped in a little town called San Gimengiama. It is a city that is enclosed by a wall and a number of large towers. After taking what seemed to be miles upon miles of winding roads through the hills of Tuscany we finally made it. We visited some shops, a pizzeria and a great place to take pictures of the beautiful views. After getting some gelato on the way out we headed back to Florence.

Once in Florence, my parents and Jimmy and Rosaria settled into their hotel. That evening we visited my school, had dinner in the main square and visited my apartment. The following two days I had to spend the majority of my time at school to catch up on things that I would be missing due to visiting Sicily. My parents and the Sortino's entertained themselves by shopping, visiting some of the sights, and eating at some great little restaurants. I felt bad not being able to spend a lot of time with them, but I knew that having Uncle Jimmy there, they would be kept busy with all kinds of interesting things! Ha ha.

Monday night in Florence we visited the Ponte Vecchio (which is the bridge that extends over the Arno). The Ponte Vecchio is filled with jewelry shop after jewelry shop. The items are beautiful but very expensive and over priced. On the other side of the Arno we stumbled upon a beautiful little restaurant that over looks the river. Here we had a great dinner and listened to a little bit of piano music that began as we were about to leave. On the way back from the restaurant, we passed a church that had its doors wide open with a free concert going on. An American choir put on the concert and their voices were beautiful. We sat and enjoyed the concert until intermission and then went on our way back to get settled for the night.

The following night everyone came over to my apartment while Mom practiced her beauty school skills and gave myself and two other girls hair cuts! It was nice visiting and having them meet some of my friends here. Later on, we had dinner in the little square that is close to my apartment. They finally had the chance to eat somewhere that I normally eat at. Once again, we didn't make it a late night because we were leaving for Sicily very early the following morning.

We took a quick flight to Sicily and upon arrival we loaded up the rental car and made our way first to Siragusa. In this city we visited the church that holds the sculpture/painting of marry that they found to have cried real human tears several decades ago. It was documented as a true miracle because the tears from the statue of Mary cured many people's illnesses. Following this we visited an area filled with many ruins. One of the caves in this area was in the shape of an ear and was carved out by prisoners centuries ago. After visiting this we headed towards Modica and prepared for dinner at Aunt Rosaria's uncle's house. The dinner that night was wonderful! We met so many of Rosaria's family! The table we all sat at must have sat 25 people. Although there was a language barrier between us, Aunt Rosaria did a great job translating back and forth and everyone was so friendly and welcoming. They truly made us feel like we were part of their family.

The following day we met more of Aunt Rosaria's family including her grandmother. She is so tiny and so cute! The height difference between her and Jill was unbelievable! Haha! This day we visited many of the churches in town, ate scocchia (Similar to a folded up pizza) and viewed the city from some of its great panoramic locations from up in the hills. That night we went out to dinner with a newlywed couple from the area that have spent time in Sandusky with Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Rosaria. The next few days were filled with plenty of more eating, more visiting with family members, and seeing some of the great area's of Sicily including the BEACH! We visited the best chocolate shops and did some sampling at each one. One of our last days in Sicily we visited the catacombs where people many centuries ago had their own civilization and were buried. Our timing to do this wasn't the best because it started raining shortly after we arrived. Fortunately, not even rain (or sliding down mud hills with Aunt Rosaria!) stopped us from experiencing it! :)

Our trip to Sicily ended with a cookout back at Aunt Rosaria's uncle's house. Not only did we have great steak but we also had antipasti, pasta, salad, bread, wine, a honey rice desert that was much like doughnut holes, gelato and limencello. We were all very full and very happy by the time we had to leave, although it was sad leaving everyone because they felt like part of our family. --Without having Aunt Rosaria and Uncle Jimmy with us on our trips we wouldn't have had nearly the great experiences that we had. Especially in Modica, the city wouldn't mean near as much as it does to us now. They also showed us so many great places while in Rome and even in Florence that we would have not found otherwise!--

That afternoon we headed to the airport where Mom, Dad, Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Rosaria took a plane to Rome (to head back home) and Jill and I took a plane back to Florence. It was sad to leave them because I was getting so used to having them around! Although being with my family made me miss home a little bit, it also made me excited for the rest of my experience here. It is hard to believe that I only have a month and a half left and the next few weekends are packed with activities and travels. By the time December roles around I will be ready for the holiday and to see all of you!

Sorry this blog is so long today! I guess that is what happens when I don't write for two weeks and I have my favorite visitors. This week is a week of rest and catching up on homework for me! We will be celebrating Halloween here in Florence with all of our friends. The following weekend is a special weekend trip that only Jill and I are going on.. I'll fill everyone in on the details as it gets closer!

I hope everyone is staying warm in Ohio! We still have pretty warm weather here so I'm still wearing short sleeves during the day! Keep an eye out for pictures and videos that will be added in the coming days! Miss you all!

Ciao for Now!
Carrie :)