June 24 and 25

Today we left Ponte Di Legno at around 1:45 in the afternoon and took buses and trains to Milan. We only had a few hours in Milan so we wanted to make the best of it. We walked through the streets of Milan and admired many of modern buildings. I was especially enamored with the Milan bus station which was so massive and impressive with its beautiful sculptures. From Milan we caught a flight to Barcelona, Spain and arrived around midnight. We were picked up at the airport by Anton Da Gama, who took us to his apartment. There we met his wife Maria Dolores and son Eric Da Gama. The next day we took in the sites around Barcelona. Anton and his wife first took us to park designed by Gaudi, a famous Spanish architect. His buildings are just absolutely gorgeous and one has to appreciate his immense creativity. Anton and Maria then showed us a beautiful cathedral called “Sagrada Familia”. The construction of the cathedral started over 100 years ago and is still not complete! It is slated to be finished in 2020. The cathedral is just amazingly intricate with a side that had gothic sculpture and another side with modern sculpture. Beautiful is all I can say! For lunch Anton and Maria Dolores were nice enough to take us to the beach that was constructed for the 1992 Olympics. There we met up with Eric, Sandra, and her friends. The restaurant was wonderful and we ate out on the decks. We were served an assortment of dishes such as cod, fried calamari, eggplant, and engaged in “picka, picka” where you essentially sample the different dishes. For the main course, we ate "Paella", a traditional Spanish dish which has an assortment of mussels, calamari, and shrimp mixed with rice. Think jumbalaya! Delicious! We also drank sangria, a traditional Spanish drink consisting of wine, fanta, and slices of fresh orange. After drinking that, any headache will disappear. Finally for dessert we ate flan, almond cakes dripping with wine, and ice cream with chocolate mousse sauce.

In the afternoon Anton took us to a famous shopping area known as “The Ramblass” where we saw various street entertainers and musical acts. He also showed us the site where Christopher Columbus returned from his voyage to the new world, which is now marked with an amazing monument. Finally Anton showed us all the constructions that were done for the 1992 Olympics.

To top off an amazing day, Eric and I went to a Spanish Bar and watched the first half of the England –Ecuador match and then walked down the street to the FC Barcelona soccer stadium. The soccer stadium is home to one of the world’s best soccer clubs and players such as Ronaldhino and Lionel Messi as well as former players such as Figo, Rivaldo, and other greats. They are also the current UEFA Champs. The stadium is the 2^nd largest in the world, and houses over 100,000 spectators, and is just a block away from Anton’s house. I was in heaven! I went with Eric to the stadium and took several photos. Tomorrow we will be leaving for Torreviaja, Spain.

June 23

Today was special day. We planned to spend the day in Venice. We woke up at 2:30 a.m. and caught a taxi to the Edolo, a neighboring town to Ponte Di Legno. From there we then caught a bus to Brescia. From Brescia we then took a train to Venice. We finally arrived in Venice at about 9:00 a.m. Despite the long journey, it was well worth it. We were able to walk through Venice at our leisure and saw the famous waterways and canals that divide the city. It was amazing to see the gondolas and boats traverse the watery streets. The city in its heyday was a major trading post and was inhabited mainly by merchants who loved to show off their wealth. The building were rustic looking, with various shades of red, yellow, and beige. As you walk through the city you encounter numerous bridges, but the largest one traverses the “Grand Canal”. The view from the Grand Canal is just amazing and allows you to see the water line the buildings. We were also able to visit a theater/opera house where Antonio Vivaldi himself walked through and performed his masterpieces (for example the Four Seasons). For lunch we stopped and ate some pizza at a local pizzeria. We sampled some of the local favorites such a Gargonzola and Cotto ham pizza as well as a Proscuitto, artichoke, and muchroom pizza. The pizza was OK but I wasn’t exactly blown away. I actually think Papa Johns make a pretty damn good pizza after eating Italian pizza. The rest of the day was quite nice as we spent it just walking the streets and admiring the buildings and the canals. We also visited many of the local souvenir shops. We decided to leave around 4 p.m. and headed back home to Ponte Di Legno. Tomorrow is going to be a big day since we leave for Barcelona, Spain. Here a few more pictures of Venice to wet your appetite.

June 21

We have spent much of the last several days exploring the town of Ponte Di Legno. The life is so layed back here and the beauty cannot be conveyed in words. The town is simple and quaint with shops blending seamlessly with homes and built around a furious torrent of melted ice water that flows down from the mountrains through the valley. The people are so friendly and nice, but unfortunately for us do not speak English. This is something that we really cannot fathom. The Italians seem to be so nationalistic that they don’t teach English in their school. Whenever we try to communicate with locals we have speak slowly and use hand gestures to get them to understand. They also seem frustrated by this language barrier but do their best to help us. I have to say though, the language barrier doesn’t bother me. The Italian language is so beautiful that it sounds like poetry as it rolls of their tongues. I just love it!

While in Italy we also wanted to try the food, and when we went to the “supermercato” we bought some of the local meats such as “salami nostrano” and “cotte d elle”. The food in Italy is amazing and the people here take great pains to make sure their food is fresh. One day we decided to try “gelato” at a local gelateria and were pleasantly surprised at the numerous flavors of ice cream one could get such as pistachio, hazelnut, tiramisu, walnut, and others. During the past week I was also able to take in a World Cup match at local bar and drank a lovely frothy cappuccino and ate pizza margheretta with a bunch of German fans who cheered on as Germany routed Ecuador. Here is picture from the town of Ponte Di Legno.

June 20

It has been a while since I posted so I will try to bring you up to speed. From Zurich we took a 4 hr Eurorail train ride to Milan, Italy. From Milan we then jumped onto another train for 45 minutes which took us to Bergamo. From Bergamo we then had a 3 hr bus journey to Ponte Di Legno. The train and bus rides were wonderful because it allowed us to see the vast beauty of the Italian countryside. Italy is such a beautiful place with so much of the land untouched by man. We arrived in Ponte Di Legno at 10:30 at night and were dropped off at the “stazione” as they call it. It was dark and there were no taxis present and the bus driver was kind enough to take the whole bus for just the three of us up to our hotel, “La Palace de Ponte Di Legno”. The hotel was another sight to behold, with a beautiful entry way made of fine Italian marble. The room we had was 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom with a small television, dining table, and kitchenette. However, I wasn’t going to complain because we had finally arrived in Italy.

The next morning, I awoke to a magnificent site from our room window. In the distance were Italian villas nestled in the valley with snow capped mountains in the distance. Absolute beauty. We decided to spend the day resting and relaxing in Ponte Di Legno.

Well we are still in Newark, NJ (not by choice I can guarantee you). We spent much of yesterday at the airport arguing with uncooperative Continental airline agents. We were put on stand by the airline and actually had positions 1,2,3 on their list for a flight to Paris, only to see the spots go to another family due to major ineptitude on Continental's part. The state of things in the US airports is pretty pathetic. Customer service no longer exists in the travel industry as I see it. We are constantly given the run around and no one seems to care. We have spent two days in Newark, NJ as a result.
However, on the brighterside I was able to watch the Argentina-Serbia and Montenegro match which was amazing. Argentina won 6-0 with a display of textbook soccer. Their passing and finishing was terrific. Go Argentina!
Today we are confirmed for a flight to Zurich at 6:50 p.m. so with any luck we should be in Europe by early tomorrow morning. Once in Zurich we will spend a little time in Switzerland and then take a Eurorail train to Milan, Italy.
Right now mama, dada, and I are just relaxing in a cafe and taking in a world cup match, Mexico-Angola. Tata.

I am writing this blog to document my summer trip to Europe. Over the next 5 weeks my mom, dad, and myself will explore Europe and detail our adventures in this blog. However, the first obstacle in our trip is actually getting to Europe. We left our home in Advance on the 14th of June with Mike Tilly as our driver to the PTI airport. We arrived at the airport early only to find that our first flight from GSO to Newark, NJ was delayed and as a result we missed our connecting flight from Newark, NJ to Paris, France. Once we actually arrived in Newark, NJ we found the customer service of Continental (our ariline) to be horrible. We all had to sleep in the airport luggage terminal like a bunch of homeless hobos because the airline wouldn't provide us with an accomodation. The next day however, we were able to get a room at a HoJo. I watched a little World Cup soccer (Go Argentina!) and slept.