the end of our journey

Well, I know it is now Thursday, and a lot has happened since Monday. The Sistine Chapel was a 3 hour tour, which ended in St. Peter's Square. The Vatican museum is the largest in the world...it was really neat to see all those old paintings and artifacts. Did you know, that if you looked at every display in the museum for 60 seconds each, you would be there for 12 years?!? Crazy. Anyway, we we glad to have booked tickets in advance to "skip the line" (thanks mom!) because it was really hot out and the lines were super long. After our tour, we went to get some pizza at little corner restaurant. The man that seated us looked at Kelsi and said something to the effect of "milk woman", talking about her skin...then he asked if we wanted to sit in the sun or shade, when we said shade he pointed to the sun and told Kelsi to sit there...then proceeded to say he would marry her if she sat in the sun for awhile! He was laughing the whole time...as were we! After our delicious pizza dinner, we HAD to go get some gelato. Gelato is all over this country and is absolutely, amazingly DELICIOUS. It's similar to ice cream, but much more light and refreshing and tasty. Words just cannot explain it. :)

The next day was our last day in Italy. I (Asha) ventured out early in search for some real cappuccino! It was sooo good. We all went on a Hop on-Hop off tour of Rome, where we saw the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Colosseum, etc. We got a bit sidetracked in the shopping districts, and bought many things...olive oils, wines, pastas, paintings, jewelery...it was great! We had yummy pizza again for lunch and finished off our tour in the late afternoon. Lots of pasta and gelato later...we had finished our adventures in Rome. Packing up is never fun...but we had such a great trip and so many memories! We have all arrived to Chicago safely (but very exhausted and tired of flying!), and are already planning our next trip.... ;)

You may wonder what happened with the relationship with my Hot Irishman that was mentioned earlier in the post. Well, I had to say...he has shriveled away to nothing, so I just cannot continue with him. I mean, when you are delicious fudge, you don't stay around too long!
Thanks for reading our blog!

when in rome....

Oh wait...we are here! Yes, we are in Rome. We have not had good internet connection at the farm, which is why we haven't been blogging the last few days. We have been busy doing lots of fun activities at the farm...we watched how the shepherd up the road makes cheese, the old-fashioned way...it is so much work! They said this way of making cheese will most likely die out with this generation, as factories have taken over. We also got a cooking lesson from Maria, we made pasta and sauce from scratch..it was so delicious, and surprisingly easy. Much of our time has been spent relaxing and just enjoying the GORGEOUS weather...it is so perfect. Giuseppe, Antonello's father, loves to show us all around his farm. We eat about everything he grows...asparagus, wild strawberries, cherries, peas, lettuce, etc. All of it is organic. He takes pride in telling us how there are no chemicals added to the food. It is refreshing to see someone so passionate about what he does...he is so proud of his farm!

As I stated earlier, we have just arrived in Rome. Originally, we had planned to stay all 6 nights in Sora and just travel in to Rome as we pleased. But 1 horrific 2 hour bus ride with a driver that was driving like a bat-outta-you-know-where, on roads that just MIGHT have worse potholes than Topeka, convinced us to stay the last part of our trip in the city. SO with our limited internet and time, I managed to locate a 2 bedroom apartment within walking distance of the Vatican, for a very reasonable price! The renter, who speaks very fast and in half Italian/half English, was able to direct me to the apartment...so here we are. :) We are taking a short siesta, then headed to the Sistine Chapel.

Ciao for now,
Asha, for the group.

ciao from italia~!

well, needless to say, it has been quite an experience just to get here to the Italy Farm. We took a bus for 2 hours from the Rome bus station. The ride here was unforgettable!!!! It was like a never-ending roller coaster ride that went sideways!!! We wanted to cry, but instead we laughed hysterically because it was so insane!! Kels and Asha were sick, Joan had a major headache, and Sue loved the ride. Go figure!!! This driver was in a hurry to get somewhere and did not concern himself with giving us a quality ride--not that we deserve that, but it would have been a nice gesture!!! The issue now is, we HAVE to take that ride again to get back to Rome!!! We are not quite ready for that yet, so I think we will stay another day or so! This farm is definitely an experience we won't forget...the Italian people here are so friendly and hospitable. Guiseppe is the father of the owner, as well as the wine-maker, the olive oil maker, the caretaker of the animals and the land. He is quite the conversationalist and loves to talk to the guests. He loves it when the guests show interest in his farm. We have learned lots of history about the area from him. We are cold since the heat is only on from April to October and when the sun sets it immmediately gets chilly. But it is so beautiful and Kels and Asha went on a horse back ride. Sue and I (Joan) spent some quality time with Guiseppe....what a treat!! Kels and I walked the land and Guiseppe met us in the barn to show us his wine and olive preses. Rather ancient equipment, but he is proud to tell us "no chemicala"...no chemicals are used in the process. Here are some pictures from today and yesterday. Today has been very educational and exciting and we are looking forward to tomorrow!! Ciao!

greetings from the girls on Lower Baggott Street!!

Yes, Baggott Street is the name of our street we live on here in Dublin!!! We have fallen in love with this place!!! We went to the Wicklow Mountains and Valleys and saw the huge waterfall there. It was amazing!!! We took lots of pictures. Then we hiked up the mountain trail laden with abundant wild flowers, grazing sheep--typical Ireland!!!

Yesterday, one of Asha's friends from Belfast accomodated us on a day trip to Belfast....about a 2.5 hour bus trip from here. It was even prettier than we had it pictured...miles and miles of winding roads with beautiful rock hills, sheep grazing (Sue was so intriqued with the sheep, that at one point, Asha threatened to retrieve her newly purchased Irish chocolate bars, if she didn't quit commenting on the awesomeness of the sights, especially the sheep) on lush grass sprinkled with beautiful wild flowers and the tranquil sea on the other side. This is the Northern most point of Ireland, and we could even see Scotland across the sea.

Later in the day, we toured the Bushmill Distillery--the oldest distillery in Ireland. It was a fun experience, as we got to see the brewing process of Irish whiskey from beginning to end, culminating with a sampling session!

We ended the day yesterday with a wonderful evening dining & visiting with Asha's friend's parents in their home. We had a fabulous home cooked meal!

Cheers from the 4 girls in Ireland!

day 3 and still having a blast...

Yesterday, we planned on going on a Hop on-Hop off bus tour of Dublin. However, we stepped outside our door and BEHOLD! there was an open air food and craft market right across the street from us. Needless to say, we didn't get very far! We spent a few hours there just perusing the stalls and tasting many different foods. Incredible. I (Asha) even met a Hot Irishman! He is perfect... nicely tanned, sweet and delicious!

....he was fudge, from Man of Aran (http://www.manofaranfudge.ie/) ;)

We then walked down to Grafton Street, one of the main shopping streets in Dublin. It's nice to just walk around and take in the spirit and atmosphere of Dublin . We visited Trinity College, then went to an AMAZING Indian restaurant called Mantraa (http://www.mantraa.ie/). It was a quaint little undergrounnd place...we all loved it and spent about 3 hours there. I (Asha) had the Dal Tadka Masala - cumin, fresh garlic, and red onion tempered lentil curry. I was in heaven :) Everything here in Ireland is much more laid back and slower paced than the States...it's actually very nice, we are enjoying relaxing and doing things whenever we please. We spend lots of time laughing about inside jokes and random things...getting all 4 of us together = lots of hilarious moments!

Today is a dreary day, but still fun :) We went to a pub, where Joan and Kelsi had fish and chips, Sue had bangers and mash (both very traditional Irish grub), and I had potato and leek soup. We went to Tescoe and bought some chocolates, now getting ready to go exploring :)

Cheers until next time,
Asha for the group

a full day of fun!

Our first full day in Ireland was absolutlely amazing! Asha's friend, Marta served as our 'tour guide' and taxi driver. We took a hike at Killiney Hill park, which overlooks the Dublin Bay and the Irish Sea. It was an awesome 2 hour climb...lots of steps and inclines...but very nice! We collected some very pretty stones on the beach. After our hike, we went to Johnnie Fox's Pub, the "highest pub in Ireland", where we enjoyed lots of good food, drink, and conversations! They feature live Irish music every night, so we stayed and enjoyed the entertainment, and even requested our favorite song, "Galway Girl". After leaving the pub, Marta took us to the grocery store, where we bought some snacks to last us the duration of the week. We are all pretty exhausted right now from traveling and not sleeping much... :) OK...off to bed...cheers from the Emerald Isle!

Ok, so the JAKS have made it to Ireland!!! All connections went well....the biggest threat was trying to get out of Chicago due to bad thunderstorms that delayed us...but we made the connection and all is well!!! Only 1 weapon of mass destruction had to be confiscated at the check-in.....the HAIRSPRAY!!!! (NOT the hairspray, Bad Airport Security Man! Take the food, take the shoes, take the perfume, NOT the hairspray!) How can we ever live without it!!!

We are now off to find food and something to drink....It appears the drink of choice here is milk so we will be just fine!!!!