Pages

Background

Showing posts with label Durretts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Durretts. Show all posts

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Views Of Italy

I loved the Views!




I loved being there...

I am sooo blessed to have been given the chance to go to Italy! I loved every minute of it!
The Motorcycle Festival was even good...
Even if there were less than 20 bikes...

Sam really liked the Vespa!


 I will miss the mountains.


I will miss the valleys.

Thanks Angela & Samantha for letting me stay with you and for showing me around Italy!

I enjoyed every minute of it!


Sunday, August 28, 2011

My Date with Sophia

I am blessed to have such beautiful nieces and nephews. They are all so special and unique.
I consider it a privilege to spend time with them.

Background Story:
Last week, Addison and I had an impromptu "date"! We got taco's, walked around the PX, we went to the library and look at books together, and then we got GELATO!! Yippy!
I loved EVERY MINUTE of it! It is soooo special to spend one on one time with the kids in my life!
So... this made me want to take Sophia on a date as well! Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me when Addison and I went out, but I was sure to bring it along for my date with Sophia!

Planning:
First, we Planned - Sophia talked about our "GIRLY TIME" for several days. We planned what we gonna wear, how our hair would be, Sophia picked her accessories, what we would EAT, where we would go, and of course what we would do!
Second, We came up with a "GIRLY TIME" handshake - Now as most of my nieces know, I already have a girly time handshake, but Sophia wanted an original handshake!
Lastly, We asked her Mom - We really had most of it planned out when we realized that we had not included Angela in on our planning. She was a very important part of making this happen!

Execution:
Sophia decided that she really wanted to go to the mall and get McDonald's french fry's and yogurt. Yes, you read it correctly, she wanted McD's! Here in Italy there are not McD's on every corner or even in every town. They are few and far between and they are mostly IN THE MALL! I was shocked at how different they are. The menu is totally different than what WE are used to AND there was NO Dollar Menu or Euro Menu! Ugh!
So, we had Angela drop us off at the mall and we were off...


 This is McD's Italian Cappuccino! It is REALLY Yummy and Pretty! Do you notice anything strange about this picture??
How about the REAL CUP and the silverware?? Isnt that strange??
They dont serve it in a to-go cup!

This was what I ate!
I am a little adventurous, so I ordered this. I wasn't sure that it was, but it was really good.
It had cheese and veggies in it. Not sure what else!
Ordering at this McDonalds was very difficult, because it is all in Italian and unlike "Easy America" each item doesn't have an accompanying picture...
This is the McCafe' Side! YUMMY

Yes, those are oranges on the case! They were 2 Euro EACH!!


After we ate,
we went "Princess Window Shopping"! Now, for those of you non-royals, this is how it works - You find something that you would like to own or that you would like to get as a gift for someone. Then you just say "BLING, I OWN IT"! And, it is magically yours (for pretend as Sophia kept clarifying!) So we walked around the mall and "blinged" everything!
Sophia had to have her picture next to this bathing suit that she "blinged"!

This woman said Sophia looked like an "American Princess" and had to get a Royal Hug and Kiss!



Acting Silly!
During all of the exhausting shopping we stopped to ride a camel, well Sophia rode I just watched!


The camel riding let to playing, so that brought us back to McDonalds to play in the playplace!

That wore us out and so...
We went to try out the Bocca della Verita' - aka The Mouth Of Truth!
This is scary stuff...



to finish up our day with GELATO!!!
Thank you Sophia for a Wonderful date! I cant wait till our next one. You promised me we would have one when you come to Florida! I will start the planning as soon as I get home!

Venice Part 5 - The final Chapter - Week 5

Venezia is definately a city I will be returning to!
This place is so amazing...


This is the famous Rialto Bridge!

The gondolas in front of the bridge are so pretty. Everyone of them is different!


This is the other side of the Rialto Bridge!

I couldn't believe how busy this bridge is!
This is the foot traffic over the bridge!


I love all of the waterways!





 Isn't this doll pretty?

This was the decoration on the side of the wall protecting a home.
In Italy their homes are their "everything"! They are constantly painting, cleaning, changing, etc their homes!

This is the Bruchetta Pizza that I had for dinner!

 We ate at a little pizza cafe'! It was really YUMMY!

This is a hotel on the Grand Canal. The balconys were so pretty! I would love to stay here someday!

Our train home was delayed for 135 minutes, so we sat on the steps of the train station overlooking the Grand Canal and we got to watch Venice go from day to night!

The train station!


Venice at night is just as pretty as Venice during the day!

 
Venice - I love you! I will definately be back!
Thank you Angela for being such a great tour guide and showing me all over this beautiful "enchanted" city! Venice was my FAVORITE city in Italy!