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!