At about 2:45 we went to the restaurant at Holiday Inn. My siblings and I had Cookies and Cream ice cream and chocolate truffles, Dad had cherry pie filling.

We went through airport security then went to the gate. Our flight was supposed to leave at 5:23, it really left at 7:00. We landed at around 7:50. After that we went to our next flight which left at around 10:50. The plane companies name was Alitalia. I slept for a while - quite a while, actually - then was fed a disgusting dinner of chicken in a bad sauce. I slept for about 1/2 an hour then read for about an hour and a half. To drink Sebastian and I had Red Orange juice.

When we got to Italy and went to get our luggage, we found three bags, but the fourth (A.K.A. Mama's) was missing! We waited for about 30 minuets then went to customer service. Tony (our guide) tried to help out a little bit, but failed. We went to our bus and then went to our hotel. When we got there, we went to our room for a while. Then we(our tour companions)had a SUPER BORING meeting with our guide - us kids barely stayed awake.

When we finally went to dinner in the hotel's restaurant, the elevator only held 10 people (there were over 40 of us and I was starving). Mama, Daddy, Sebastian, and Katharine, along with some of the group went up to the restaurant, but Sarah and I stayed behind due to lack of room. While waiting, we met 2 middle-aged women each of which had a relative named either Sarah or Jonathon. Our dining partners were Doris and her granddaughter Sara (Katharine loves both of them). The rest of us also think that they are both fun. For an appetizer (this was pretty good) we had spinach ravioli. As a main course, I had beef (it was okay).

When we went to bed, I couldn't get to sleep until about 1:00 A.M., due to the fact that I was still on Eastern Standard time.

The breakfast was probably the second best buffet we ate at in Italy... it didn't have a large selection, but what they had was good.

On our first day, our tour was in Switzerland. Our transport was a red ''luxury motor coach''(it was called the white bus). The first thing we did there was go to a silk shop. There were ties,sweaters,scarves and many other things. Due to her lost luggage, Mama got 2 cashmere sweaters. Dad also got 5silk ties. We then went to an outdoor shopping mall and got some complimentary spoons from a jewelry store. We walked around and saw an obelisk. A girl toddler was playing with a yellow ball around the obelisk.

In Como, we saw the monument dedicated to Volta. The monument was shaped like a dome with pilers in the front(there was also a bust of Volta). He experimented with electricity and a dead frog - when he completed the circuit, the frog's arm moved. We exchanged currency at a bank in Switzerland as well (the exchange rate is 70%, which means that for every $1 in American currency, you get $.70 Euros, which is the currency in most of Europe). For lunch, we had oily pizza and GELATO!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had chocolate that tasted like Tootsie Rolls, Katharine and Sarah also had chocolate Gelato, but Sebastian had Fruits of the Forest. Mama really liked Sebastian's flavor.

For dinner we went to an okay restaurant. There were 2 appetizers, green pasta (yuck!) and red pasta (spicy but okay). Mary (a woman of about 65) started to choke, thankfully Daddy saved her by lifting her head and removing some pasta form her throat(after he did this Mary threw up). I had steak (it was half a centimeter thick. Compared to some of the other meals I had it was really good) I have had better. One of our travel companions started dancing. This, in turn, made other people want to dance. There were 3 songs that were danced to. For dessert, we had (I think) apple cobbler.

In the morning, we had an O.K. Breakfast, then a 8:30, we left for Venice.

On the way there, we stopped in a city and saw the balcony used for the play 'Romeo and Juliet'. The passage leading to it was covered in love notes...and gum. A little away from the balcony, there was a statue of Juliet. People rub her right breast for good luck in marriage. After that, we went to a bunch of marketplace stalls. In two of these stalls there were crossbows and knives. In about an hour, we were back on the road.

For lunch we went to a rest stop. I had ravioli in a butter sauce, salad, and a chocolate moose ball. It cost 20 cents to go to the bathroom.

We arrived in Venice at about 5:30 that evening. We took a boat to the hotel because the "streets" in Venice are a series of tributaries of the Grand Canal. All I remember about dinner that night is the burnt eggplant Parmesan. I wish Uncle Al had been there to complain.

In the morning, we had a good breakfast, then we went to St. Mark's Square and St. Mark's Cathedral, and the Dogis Palace. In St. Marks square there is a bell tower that collapsed, damaging part of the square. St. Marks Cathedral can hold 40,000 people. It also has a ''chart'' of what constellations one can see at different times of the year. This cathedral also has one of the nails that held Christ to the cross. It is suspended in the center of the ceiling in a huge cross.

After that, we went to lunch. IT WAS GREAT!!!! It was fresh pasta, fresh bread, and tiny baby clams. (We clammified Mommy with these yummies. She couldn't believe how much flavor these dime-sized crustaceans held!) The whole meal was 133 Euros. But it was well spent.

Then we went back to the pigeon-packed St. Mark's Square. There we spent the best 2 Euros we've ever spent on pigeon-feed. The pigeons attacked us to get at the feed. We have a really good picture of Sebastian with a ''hat'' of pigeons. We spent about a half hour at St. Marks Square.

After playing around with the pigeons, we went on a walk. On this walk, Mommy bought linens. The clerk at the shop was really good. He was not pushy and got exactly what we wanted.

When we got back to the hotel, Mama was told at the front desk that she might have a surprise waiting for her in her room. When we opened the door and she saw her tire-tread marked suitcase, she jumped up, squealed multiple times, and embraced Katharine and me in a bone-crushing squeeze.

Then after dinner, we went to bed.

In the morning we had another good breakfast and left for Pauda at about 8:45. We got there at about 10:45. We went to St. Anthony's Church and saw the relics there (one of which was St. Anthony's tongue). It was in the center and in a glass orb. Then we went on a short walk.

After that, we left for Florence at exactly 12:19. For lunch we went to another rest stop. We got to Florance at 4:38. We stayed at, brace yourself, the Best Western hotel in none of its glory.

For dinner, we had HORRIBLE meal in the hotel. (McDonald's style food, except without all the charm and healthiness.) Then we left for the room and got there at 8:42. We went to the oven (A.K.A. bed)at 9:20.

When we woke up, we had a bad breakfast, including last night's dessert. Again, but without all the McDonald's charm and healthy goodness.

Our bus left at 8:15. We went to a museum and saw Michelangelo's prisoners (purposely unfinished statues.). We also saw David (the first big, white, naked giant of the Renaissance era). There were many portraits of other people as well. Then we went to St. Mary of the Flower (a really big church. It was red, white, and green, the colors of the local marbles). The walls are 5 feet thick. It took 17 years to complete the dome and 25 years to complete the door. It was designed by Fast Phillip. The bell tower is shorter than the dome, as it is illegal to build a structure taller than the dome of the church. Then we went to the city hall. All but 3 of the statues are original(there are about 20). The governor liked himself a little too much, most of the statues are of himself.

After that, we went to a gold factory/store where Mommy got 2 bracelets and an antique watch.

Later we went back to the hotel and I got my jacket and we all went to the bathroom. Then we went to Pisa. We couldn't go to the top of the Leaning Tower because of the time period we were given. The tower was buils by three people over about 50 years. The next 45 minute tour started at 3:40 and our bus left at 4. We got Gelato (mine was chocolate), and then we went back to the tschu-tschu, which had driven us to the Tower from the bus. We got back to the hotel at 6:36 P.M.

We left for dinner at 7:01 and got there at 8:44. The person who took our orders had the most heavy accent I have ever heard. His name was Salvadori(Tony calls him the Vulture as he hovers over you until you finish your food), and he is the owner of the restaurant. To drink I had tea. The courses were 1) bread, 2) melon, 3) good soup, 4) really spicy pasta, then, 5) I had really rare steak. There was really funny dancing....then more funny dancing.......then crazy dancing. Both Katharine and I were asked to dance, but we declined. We left the restaurant at 10:33, it was freezing outside!

We got back at 11:04. The next morning, we had an O.K. breakfast, then went to the leather factory. On our way, we saw a big church. In the Pereyzi Leather shop, 3 jackets were shown to us, all of which were overpriced. After that, we took a walk to other leather stores. We found a really good one (Old Florence) with reasonable prices (1,320 Euros for 6 jackets.). The helper there, Aurelil, was good. I got three leather book marks.

He recommended a pasta place (Villa Bordini). It was great! They had marvelous pizza. We took some really cool pictures in the split mirrors around the table. Then we went to the Madecchi Palace. The Madecchis were the ruling family in Florance. We saw some old dresses and suits in the museum. In the gardens there was a huge bath tub. There was also a statue of a woman with her husband's testicles and head in her hands. Mama was hurting pretty bad by this time. After walking around in the gardens for a while, we went back to the hotel, where we stayed for the next hour and 45 minutes.

For dinner, we went to the La Loggia. The first course was bread with O.K. toppings (butter, liver patte, tomato and mozzarella cheese, and roasted pepper and cheese were the different choices). The service was alright. The next course was icky pasta. We had a conversation there about dance class. The next course was O.K. salmon. Katharine had 1/2 of mine, after having all of her own! Then we had more apple cobbler... Italians seem to like apples. We left at 9:07.

In the morning, we had a pathetic breakfast.

We left for Sorrento at 8:00 that morning. Again for lunch we had rest stop food. We got to Sorrento at 4:40. At 6:35, we had relay races in the parking lot.

At 7:00, we had dinner. First, we had good rolls. Next, we had yummy pasta. Last, we had lemon cake. It was cruddy.

We went to bed at 9:15. We were woken up at 7:50. We had an O.K. breakfast, including prune and wheat yogurt.

We left for our private 200 Euro tour of the Amalfi Coast at 9:09. Ironically, our guide's name was Tony. The Amalfi Coast road was made by Roman slaves. We stopped to get a picture but we also got olive oil and spices. Then we saw a mini village and a mini Nativity. After that, Mama got olive oil and balsamic vinegar hand-painted ceramics. We got to the town of Amalfi at 12:30.

For lunch, we went to Compacomsico. It was the best meal we had in Italy. First, we had the best barely burnt bread, then our main course. We had 3 types of pasta on a plate as big as a coffee table. For dessert, we had chocolate balls and clementines. Then the waitress brought us oranges.

On the drive back, us kids felt tired and sick. We got back to the hotel at 3:48.

At 6:50, we left for dinner. We got to the restaurant at 7:15. Tonight, we didn't have bread. The restaurant was called La Favorita. We were fed a salad with olive oil and vinegar, and a horrible fish dinner. We left at 9:20 and got back to the hotel at 9:40.

We had an O.K. breakfast at 7:03.

We got to the wood-works factory at 8:08. At the wood works factory there were hundreds of music boxes, a dozen grandfather clocks, and much more.

The group got to Pompeii at 9:40. Pompeii is a ruined Roman city that was destroyed in 79A.D. when Mt. Vesuvius erupted, completely covering the city. It was freezing! We saw an oven that when opened 30 loaves of bread were uncovered. We also saw the baths. After a tour of the city we left for Rome. We stopped at 3:00 for some good cheese.

Traffic was pretty bad in Rome. The hotel was okay.

Dinner was left for at 7:15. For dinner we had 1st, good bread,2nd,good pizza,3rd, okay pasta. We went to bed at 9:23.

At 6A.M. we went to breakfast.

At 8:34 we entered Vatican City. We walked around the Sisteen Chapel. The walls and ceiling are covered in paintings. In the corner by the entrance there is a painting of one of the cardinals as the guardian of the underworld. After that we went through a few corridors with tapistries covering the walls. One of these has a portrait of Jesus, when one walks by his eyes follow you. Then went to see the Pope. The security was terrible! I couldn't understand the service.

For lunch we had really bad pizza. About 2 hours later we went to the Pantheon. It has a hole in the ceiling to let out heat.

We got back to the hotel at 5:32. For dinner we had bread, artichoke, bad pasta, fish that tasted like dumpster, and a tart. We went to bed at 9:19.

At 6:29 we were forced from sleeping to go to St. Peter's Church. It was huge! It was all gold, silver,bronze,ivory,and marble. Here there is part of ''The Last Supper''table. We arrived at the Colosseum at11:08. There are 80 arches to each layer. It took 8 years to build. The stage was covered with sand to absorb the blood. At 1:30 we had lunch. At 2:15 we left for the Catacombs. Unfortunately all the bones have been taken away. We got back to the hotel at 5:13.

At 7:19 we left for dinner. 1st we had pineapple and smoked ham. Next we had pasta. For the main coarse I had good chicken.

I saw 261 Smart Cars today.

We were woken up at 5:30. When we got to the airport Katharine pucked. Our plane left at 9:53. On the way to the U.S. we watched Casino Royal. We landed at 3:10. Our last flight left at 4:45.





This was the end of our trip.