Day 317

Up earlier than I wanted to be...but it was still a lie in. Maybe I should start going to bed earlier...that may help things. But here I sit at 1:10am...You know what? Scratch that. I'm going to sleep now, and will write the rest tomorrow.

So I was up and getting ready to go out with my Mom. Once we left the house, we went straight to the hair dressers. There was a mix up there, and for some reason they'd booked me in so that I had an hour between my eyebrows being waxed, and my hair being cut. Apparently they think I'm growing a caterpillar across my forehead or something. Anyways, as usual, it only took about 5 minutes to do my eyebrows, so when they finished, they weren't really sure what to do with my Mom and I as it was only like 2:45 and our appointments weren't until 3:30. The two of us decided to go do some quick running around, and aimed to be back for 3:15. We ran to the gas station, and then to get a frappuccino, and made it back to the salon in plenty of time. My Mom's hairdresser took her in right away, while I sat and had a conversation with an older gentleman that really wanted to talk. He was in his late 70's I think he said, or early 80's, and you could tell he just wanted someone to talk to. He also sang to me. About 15 minutes later, my hairdresser came over to "save" me. She told the elderly man that she had to steal his friend, he went on his way, and I put on the robe.

Sitting in the chair about an hour later, my Mom had already left for work, and I wasn't too sure about my hair. Danielle was cutting away, and it was getting shorter and shorter. I was trying not to show too much worry in my face...but to this moment, I'm still really not sure I like it :( I loved my hair before...now it's too short, and blah. Anyway, I paid for everything, and left.

I went for a walk along the beach, and took some pictures, then ended up at the pub to speak to Stephen briefly, and walked back up to the house. I was only in long enough to take the dogs out. My Dad arrived, changed, and we left for his soccer game.

It was so nice to be back in the groove of things. We pulled into the parking lot, and as we were walking across the field, all the players that matter, were saying hi and giving me hugs. It was really nice to feel so welcome. The game wasn't so good...they lost 4-2, and it was the semi-final. :( I was a little disappointed to hear that, because it means I won't see them again for another 2 hundred and some days. Anyway, more hugs, and my Dad and I were on our way. We drove to the pub, had some dinner, and then the two of us came home.

I stayed up pretty late again, trying to stay awake until my Mom got home, but at about 2:30, I caved. I took the dogs into my room, and was out like a light. At 3:30ish, I woke up, put the dogs away, and realized my Mom wasn't home yet. Turns out it's a good thing I didn't wait up for her. She didn't get home until 7am. xx

Day 316

Woke up this morning, not wanting to get up at all. My eyes were burning, and I was exhausted. But as I sat there, I thought...I really should be getting ready. So, I got up, got changed, and after breakfast, my Mom and I went for a walk. We did a loop, down to the front, and back up to the house. When we got back, I had a quick shower and got changed to do some running around.

We went to the bank, and then the two of us went for a Starbucks. We sat outside in the sun, and enjoyed a frappuccino. When it was time to go, we ran into the grocery store to get some olives -EWWWWW- for tonight's salad, and then we drove back to the house. I did some stuff I had to do for work, and then put Dapple on a leash, grabbed my camera, and went for a walk.

We got past our street, and down the stairs when I went to take the first picture. I wanted one of Dapple and I. She was already in my arms cuz of the steps, so I held out the camera and...nothing. No click. I tried again. Still nothing. I turned the camera around to look at it...I had the wrong memory card in. This one was full. Dammit! I walked down the hill, put Dapple on the ground and the two of us continued on our walk. She got a number of compliments as usual, and after walking past all the restaurants on the front, I ended up carrying her up hills and steps. At one point, when I had put her down...she actually gave up on me. Just sat down. That was it. She wasn't moving.

I picked her up, and got her home as fast as I could. I brought her in the door, and had to leave her for my Mom to take the leash off, so I could drive Stephen to work. After getting home from there, I lazed around for a bit. My Dad got home, and the two of us went for a walk. Once we hit the end of the East beach path, I walked back past some creepy seagulls towards the pub, and my Dad went to the hair dresser's.

I sat at the pub talking to Stephen and his coworkers, listening to the live band, until my Dad showed up. We sat a bit longer, and after my coffee, the two of us walked back up to the house for dinner. My Mom had it ready for us when we got in the door, so the three of us sat down to watch TV and eat. A couple of hours later, I'm still watching TV, and Callan's passed out on my lap. I'll be asleep in no time. Good Night xx

Day 315

Got up around 11 today, had my breakfast, spoke to a friend, and got ready to go out with my Mom. We had a couple of different things we had to get done. First we stopped at the bank, and then I had to run into the car insurance company to get a driver's abstract for work. Turns out I wasn't able to get it there, and have to go elsewhere another day.

We drove to Costco, did some shopping there, and then came back towards home. We stopped at Starbucks, had a frappuccino together, and then went into another bank and Safeway before coming to the house. When we arrived here, I went online for a bit until my Dad got home from work. Shortly after he arrived, him, my Mom, my brother and I left for the movies. We drove to the first movie theatre that was packed, and decided to go to the other theatre to watch the same movie but half an hour later. We were going to see "Inception".

About 2 and a half hours later, we were coming out of the theatre, and my brother and I couldn't believe what we had just seen. It was quite honestly one of the BEST, most creative, most thought out, most amazing and crazy/make you think movie I've ever seen.

When we got home, Stephen turned on "Dumb and Dumber", I spoke to a couple of friends, and now, falling asleep in the chair...I'm debating whether or not I should force myself to stay awake and start another movie. The longer I sit here though, the heavier my eyes get...so I think I'll go shut them in a few minutes. Night xx

Day 314

I haven't done a lot today. Seems to be the trend most mornings. Laze around in the beginning, then eventually work my way up to being productive and getting myself out of the house. I had a dentist appointment at 2:30, so once my hair was washed, and I had my make up on...I headed out. A complete check up later with a dentist who was disappointed I didn't come back with cavities, and I was across the street meeting up with my Mom.

The two of us went to meet up with my brother at Best Buy, and we hung out there until he finished work. When he was done, we drove over to Starbucks to meet a family friend. We had a frappuccino with her, and then dropped Stephen at his truck so he could drive home, and my Mom and I could run some errands.

First we went to Kin's Market to get some produce, and then the two of us decided to go have a coffee, like old times...just us. It was around 6 o'clock when we headed home. I went online for a little bit, and when my Dad got home, we all had some left over delicious Chinese food. I sat their watching "Wheel of Fortune" cuz it's my favourite!!! And then we watched a couple of sitcoms until it was time to go to the movies.

Carly met us at our house (she's a friend of Stephen's, and then we met Julie at the theatre. The 6 of us were going to see "Salt". It was a good but predictable and unrealistic movie. I still managed to enjoy it, but think I'm looking forward to tomorrow's movie even more.

When we came out of the theatre, my Mom and Dad drove home, and the rest of us hopped in Julie's car. We drove down to the beach, stopped in at the pub to see some people, then to Charlie's, and then to the OB. When we were done talking there, and finished making fun of people...we went to a friend's house. It was 3:30 when we got in this time. I wrote a couple of overdue blogs, and now that I'm completely caught up...I'm going to get some sleep. Good Night xx

Day 313

I did soooo much cleaning today it was unreal. I didn't get ready to go anywhere until about 5...yet I still didn't manage to unpack anything, or get my room organized. How is that?!?! I did have a great conversation with an old friend though. That was nice, and long overdue. We spoke for like 2 hours, and that kept me smiling as I folded and unfolded laundry. - Yes, I'm still doing laundry...only this time...it's mine.

Once realizing the day was almost done, I got myself together, and went for a walk to the beach with my Mom and my Dad. We walked along the front, and ended up getting a gelato on our way back to the house. When we arrived there, not too much went on.

I spent some time talking to an old friend, and Stephen ordered us some Chinese Food. While we ate, we watched a movie called "Mary and Max" I think? It was really well done. When that was over, we had a quick look at some of the Italy pictures, and then I went to sleep. I was exhausted. xx

Day 312

I named my blog 365 days abroad...and technically, I'm still abroad...as I was living in England, and now I've come abroad to Canada...so I'm gonna keep this going.

Instead of a little Zach waking me up with a knock at my door...today was a wimper from a puppy. It was different, but it was nice. I went out to give Dapple a cuddle and to say good morning to my Dad. Then I came back inside, and I wrote one of my blogs.

I lazed around for a good portion of the day, but it was productive all at the same time. When I did get ready, my Mom, Dad and I ran to Walmart and Starbucks. When we finished there, we had just enough time to come home, take a quick break, and then head out again. This time though, it was just my Mom and I, and we were going to a wedding shower. That was interesting. There were a few games played. One in which you had to match celebrities to their couples, and another one that's sort of self explicable...it was called "pin the junk on the hunk". Classy and awesome. There were some good laughs. After the bride to be opened her presents, my Mom and I left. We met up with my Dad at the pub, then went to get a gelato together. My Mom went up to the house, and as I was walking back to the pub, some random guy started talking to me. "Beautiful day isn't it?"...Yup I said. "So you want to come out with us?" Nope, was my answer. And off I went. I sat at the bar and talked to Stephen until my Mom came back to pick my Dad and I up for dinner. We drove a friend of Dad's back to his place, and then came home, ate and watched "Bounty Hunter". When the movie finished, my Mom drove me back down to the pub, and I hung out with my brother until he closed it up, and him, some friends of his, and I went to Charlie Don't Surf - a restaurant. After that, we went to a bar and hung out, and when that closed, we went to a friend's house. We were there until about 3:30, and I don't remember the last time I laughed as hard as that. By the time I got in the door and in bed at 10 past 4, my cheeks were soooo sore from smiling. It was an awesome night xx

Day 311

Day three hundred and eleven. So many movies I can't even count, 7 trips, a best friend, a crush, some bad days - now that I look back, outweighed by the good moments, and a ton of memories. I can't believe it's done.

My Mom and I were picked up by the taxi driver at 4am, and were taken to the airport. I fell asleep on the way. When we arrived, we were SO early. We dragged ourselves sleepily around the airport, and after a coffee, fell asleep waiting for our gate to show up on the screen. When it finally did, a milkshake and chocolate later, we went on our 15 minute hike to the proper gate, and waited to board the plane.

Once we were on, I fell asleep pretty quickly. I woke up in time to watch half of "Blind Side" and watched a little of "Princess and the Frog" before falling asleep again. This continued for much of the flight, with a little bit of Sudoku just before landing. Coming through customs was easy, our luggage was first off, and we were through the doors and in my Dad's arms in no time.

We went upstairs to order a Starbucks Frappuccino - which was good - but the service just wasn't the same. From there, we drove to the house. I gave my brother a huge hug, met his friend Carly - who's awesome - and then, after slumping around for a bit...got changed and went down to the pub Stephen works at, for dinner. I didn't last too long, but longer than expected. It was around 10 o'clock when my Mom and I walked back up the hill. I went straight to sleep, and my Mom drove back down to the pub to pick my Dad up. It was a good night back, and reminded me why I had missed home so much...but there are still parts of England that I will definitely miss. xx

Day 310

I had just woken up and was checking e-mails when a little Zach showed up at my door this morning. It was already open, but he stood there and knocked. The next half hour - when I should have been getting ready - was spent getting cuddles from him. He had asked why I was still in bed, and why I wasn't downstairs doing jobs, getting them ready for school. I later found out Tim wasn't home, so he must have thought I was taking them. Awww. I told him Heloise was though, and that I'd see him after school. He came over, and just sat on my bed, and hugged me while we talked, and then he stood on my stomach, holding my hands and pretending to be Superman haha. It was awesome! When he had to leave for school, I got up and got ready to go out.

When Heloise got back, her, my Mom and I headed out to Stansted area. Bishop Stortford to be exact. We met up with a friend of Heloise's, and the friend's little boy. We walked over to a park, sat near a paddling pool, and while they chatted, my Mom and I went off to find some coffee. Luckily and by fluke...we found a Starbucks. We returned about an hour later, and they were ready to go to the next spot. We gathered all of our things, and walked to a playground. I spent the next hour running around - in heels - while Noah - the little boy - went down slides and up netting ladders. We had a great time, and he became my new little buddy. He had to go to the washroom, so I sat down for a second, and when he returned he took my hand and tugged on it to go play. It was too cute.

I got a phone call from my cousin Tom, and he and my Aunt were in the parking lot waiting for us. The 4 of us walked over to meet up with them, and then went to lunch. Of course it wasn't as easy as I make it sound. If it was...well I wouldn't have been in England, with my family. A number of suggestions, and waiter upsets later...we ended up down the street and at a little bistro type place. We ordered our food, had a nice conversation, and rushed through our meal as we had to be back in time for Heloise to collect the boys. Heloise's friend, and Noah - who was falling asleep in his lunch - left, and the rest of us walked together, back to the parking lot. We said goodbye, and I somehow managed to curb my tears. They almost broke through the barriers a couple of times on the way home, but my Mom always managed to change the subject and keep me smiling.

When we got back to the house, Heloise left to get the boys, I wrote a quick thank you card, and my Mom and I headed to Starbucks. When we arrived, we got our drinks, and I said my goodbyes to people there who have made a difference in my life. The people that no matter how homesick I was, managed to put a smile on my face. We sat outside to drink our drinks, and then as one shift finished, I had to say goodbye all over again.

As we were leaving to go back to Heloise's, I thought I saw Raffi on the pirate ship ride. Thinking I was going crazy, I ignored it. 2 seconds later he ran off, and that's when I knew for sure it was him. I turned the corner, and there was Michelle, Xavier, and Emilio. I said hi, gave Michelle a huge hug...managed to stand there and talk for a bit while keeping composed, and then, as we hugged goodbye...I was a mess. Then, because Michelle was crying, my Mom was crying too! Oh dear! We said goodbye again, and tears strolling down my face, I walked to the bank machine. Raffi ran over to give me a hug, so I tried to hide the tears...but it didn't work haha. They disappeared around the corner, my Mom and I finished at the bank, and then walked back to the car, me still crying.

I drove back to Heloise's and there were a ton of children and Mom's there for dinner. I talked to them for a bit, and played in the backyard with Zach until dinner time. They all ate, and when they left for Judo, my Mom and I went upstairs to pack some more. The rest of the night was much of the same, with popcorn and ice cream for dinner.

When the boys got back from Judo, they all came into my room to sit while we packed. Heloise joined them. Josh sat there saying "Are you gonna cry? Cry! Cry! Cry!" until Tim had joined the room, and told him to stop. Tim and Heloise left to get the boys milk ready for bed, and I said goodbye, and goodnight to Zach and Josh. Zach gave me lots of hugs, until he had to pee. I let him go and said that was fine haha. Josh was being silly, but after leaving the room, he came back again to thank me for taking care of him, and he gave me another hug. That's when it hit me that he really was going to miss me, and was just trying to hide his emotions. I went into Nathaniel's room, and said goodbye to him. By the time I got back to my room...I was a blubbering mess. Again. Only this time 10 times worse than before.

My Mom and I continued to pack, eventually Heloise and Tim came up to say goodbye, and give me a hug. Heloise said she was leaving the room before she started to cry.

I didn't go to sleep, because we had to be ready to leave for the airport at 4am. xx

Day 309

Up around 8 today, with the hopes of sleeping in crushed by texts and screams. A good day to look forward to though, so I got ready, and eventually, Toni came to pick my Mom and I up.

She came in for a bit, as I wasn't completely ready, and we looked at some pictures of my trip. Then, before driving off, the two of us went to suss out Zach's new tree house. My Mom took some pictures for us, and then we drove to Braintree. We parked near the theatre, grabbed a schedule, and walked to Starbucks. While there, we checked out movie times and decided we'd have our coffee's, go for lunch, and then to a movie. We had a good conversation at Starbucks, ended up going to buy Bench socks so we wouldn't freeze in the theatre - we were in dresses cuz it was so hot out, and the A/C would be dreadful. We got a box of 3 pair, and split them up between us. We walked over to Pizza Express, enjoyed our meals, and were full when we left. Of course, that didn't mean we'd go without popcorn at the theatre. We went in to watch Toy Story, and all except for one REALLY disturbing part that I had to shut my eyes for, I absolutely loved it. The 3 of us sat in our socks, mine and Toni's mismatched, and at the end of the film, we had just enough time to snap a quick picture, and run to the washroom after drinking too much Sprite.

Toni drove us home, and thinking her and I were going to another movie later, we didn't say bye. We went into the house, and sat around with everyone for a bit. I later got a text from Toni. She had been to the vet with one of her dogs, and was uneasy about leaving her sick/old cat at home for the night, but told me I was welcome to go over there. After a bit of discussion, the two of us - with help from my Mom - decided it probably wasn't such a good idea for us to meet up again. We decided me driving home in tears wouldn't be safe, and as we'd already broken down once, we probably shouldn't do it again. I stayed in with my Mom and packed most of the night. I fell asleep around 1:30-2 o'clock. xx

Day 308

Today is our last day in Italy. We may be trying to cram too many things into the day...but hey, when it's a once in a lifetime thing...You want to get as many things done as possible right? So, that being said...we woke up, got ready, and went up to breakfast. We asked the lady of the house to call and book horseback riding for us. The ride on the beach, is only a Saturday/Sunday thing, so that sucked a little bit, but instead, she's booked us a ride through the park. That will be nice, I'm excited.

We went downstairs, packed our things up, cleared out the room, and dropped our bags off in the house. The owners of the house said they'd watch them for us until after we went riding. We walked down the hill and to the bus stop. There was one that would come 15 minutes from that time, but with nothing to do until 3:30 anyway, we decided we didn't need to hurry, and we'd sit in the cafe and have a gelato. We bought our tickets, then did that, and my Mom had a cappuccino. When we came out, we decided to check times for when we had to return to get our bags. There weren't any that would have us to Calci and back after horseback riding, in time for the bus we needed to get to the train and airport on time. We decided to drag ourselves back up the hill...miss that bus, and pick up our bags.

Backs breaking from such heavy bags, we were headed out the gates when the owners of the Bed and Breakfast stopped us. "Senora Preddy" they said. We carefully turned around, and they told us where we could find a bus stop CLOSER to the B and B!!! We couldn't believe it. It was a hundred metre walk to the stop! When we arrived, we couldn't believe how close it really was. We sat on a bench, and I wrote some of this blog while we waited for the bus to arrive. When it did, we jumped on, and rode into Pisa. When we arrived, we were very disappointed to find out we couldn't go horseback riding. We had it booked and everything, but it turned out the park wasn't within walking distance, and no trains or buses went there. I was not a happy camper. We got on a train, and headed to Lucca. I was in a mood.

As we pulled up to the Lucca station, our very heavy bags still on our backs, and me with a foul look on my face...we walked to the washrooms. This didn't help my mood at all. We opened the door of the stall, to see what can only be explained as a hole in the ground, with a place to rest each foot on the side. No way was I going in there. We headed out of the station, and my first impression of Lucca was not great. I hadn't thought about the fact that no train station is really nice...so I let it put a damper on things. We walked towards the information booth, and it was closed. I was sure this day was going to be a disaster. We walked across the street, and things started looking much prettier. We walked past a very small ravine, and into a cave. This is where my mood completely changed. Soon enough we were walking through these tunnel like caves and into dungeons etc looking at comics on the walls. At the end, you took a marker and wrote what you wanted into the comic strip. It was pretty awesome. We climbed the stairs out of that tunnel, and at the top, were taken back by the amazing view of this little place called Lucca. I can definitely say the first impression was wrong, and I would love to go back and stay there next time I travel to Italy. Everything was so beautiful! We stopped for lunch at a little pizzeria type place, and got a real gelato as we walked back from checking out the event happening down the street. They had a huge stage set up, and it was Summerfest. Upset that we didn't have more time to explore, we hurried back to the train station, and took it to the airport.

It turned out the airport was only about 3 stops, so we got there crazy early, and weren't' allowed to go through security yet. We sat down and had a couple of drinks (cappuccinos and such), and then we went on our way. We headed back to the line up, and got stuck behind 2 of the most annoying Americans I've ever come across. It was like I was in an episode of Amazing Race. The boyfriend kept speaking so loud so that everyone could hear him, and the girlfriend was going on and on about how she hoped her luggage didn't weigh too much. Well all she had was a backpack, and it was much MUCH smaller than my Mom's and mine. She walked up to the counter and willingly put it on a scale. When it was .2 over, she made a face, took it off, did something with some shoes and weighed it again. When it was under, she turned around and gave my Mom thumbs up...as if she cared. They drove us nuts!!!

When our gate was finally up on the board, we walked to it...but guess who got there first. That's right, the annoying Americans. THEN...we're sitting there, and the 5 girls who delayed our flight out showed up. (One of their friends wasn't on the plane yet, and they were freaking out and asking everyone to cause a scene and get off so she'd have enough time to come on board. It was all ridiculous). Anyway, they show up and stand right in front of the counter, so of course, who gets on first? Ugh. So my Mom and I finally get on the plane that showed up late, and who do we end up sitting behind? The annoying Americans of course! Well...the next few hours of my life were terrible! It was one of the worst flights ever!

I had these two Americans in front of me, making me want to vomit as one bit a chip, and had the other take the other half from their mouth, and then...this man gets on the plane, and asks if he can sit beside my Mom. She says ok, and he sits down. The airline steward has just explained all the safety precautions to us as we're sitting in the Emergency Exit row, so she turns to him to explain, and he doesn't answer. In fact, he's looking at the floor, and not listening to a word she says. She had to bend over, look him in the eye, and ask if he understood before he'd answer. Ridiculous! As if that's not bad enough, he takes his shoes off, puts his feet up on the arm rests of the person in front of him, and has half of his body in my Mom's chair. THEN...he's on his phone sending text messages, and won't stop stamping his feet. I'm not going to lie to you, I was absolutely terrified. I was POSITIVE I was about to blow up. Every now and then, he'd take his foot off the chair in front, and stamp it on the ground. The crew asked him 3 times to turn off his cell phone, and it wasn't until we had actually lifted off the ground that he did it. I was sure he was sending someone a message to detonate the bomb. Then, we're in the air and he's constantly asking how much longer the flight is. Now...as if all this isn't bad enough...Are you ready to be disgusted? This guy, reaches in his mouth...takes his gum between his two fingers, and sticks it on the side of the seat! WHO DOES THAT???? I was soooo disgusted and had to tell my Mom what I had just seen. She couldn't believe it, and when he got up to the washroom, she asked one of the stewardesses if she could just keep an eye out, and if she saw him in my Mom's chair, although it looked like he was with us, he wasn't - so could she ask him to move. She told my Mom to give him a really hard elbow. We laughed, and for the rest of the flight, every time the stewardess' looked at him, she couldn't stop laughing. The 3 of us broke out into laughter. People must have thought we were insane. By the end of the flight, she must have told her co-workers cuz they'd walk by, wink at us and start laughing at him. Luckily we ended up getting back to England without blowing up, and came to the conclusion that perhaps this guy was just a very nervous flyer, and therefore had to make EVERYONE around him uncomfortable.

I breezed through customs as I'm a British Citizen, but it took my Mom a good hour to get through. Crazy! I sat on a bench waiting for her, and once she was through, we met up with my Uncle and he drove us back to Heloise's. By this time, it was 1:30, so we went to sleep almost instantly. xx

Day 307

Well between bugs and bats, i don't think I've ever walked so fast in my life. My Mom and I just came home from dinner, and we booked it up the hill. Obviously though, that's not where my day began, that's where it ended.

I ate far too much for breakfast - but that was kind of a given. Afterward, my Mom and I went to the info center in Calci to see about horse back riding on the beach. Apparently they don't do that Mondays. I was not happy.

We walked over to the corner store, bought some bus tickets, and went to the usual cafe to sit down for a pastry and drink. When it was time, we dragged ourselves over to the bus stop, and waited for it to arrive. - I didn't feel well at all -

We got on the bus, and rode into Pisa. I fell asleep on the way. When we arrived, we went into the travel center there, then walked to the most hated bus station I've ever been to, and caught a bus to the beach.

As we got closer, we passed a beach that was all rock. Not knowing which stop we needed, we asked a young guy in front of us to let us know when we were there. He did. My Mom and I got off the bus, and walked onto the sandy beach. Not knowing what part was private, and what part was free...we took a stroll. Eventually...getting nervous that we shouldn't be walking where we were, we stopped to ask a lifeguard. He didn't speak much England. He told us where we should go to ask though...and so we did. The next guy said we had to speak to his boss. Back to the top of the beach we went, and we spoke to a very good looking older Italian man. He told us we could rent two chairs and an umbrella. So we did.

Well...we stepped onto the sand, and our feet were on FIRE! I laid my lawn chair down after plenty of frustration and swear words, and eventually got comfy. My Mom went into the Ocean. After seeing how many people left their things unattended while she was gone, I didn't see any reason why the two of us couldn't go into the Ocean together. So we did. We had a nice time taking pictures and such, and eventually came back to the piping hot sand and chairs. I laid on my back for a little while, then tried my stomach, and after some more frustration with METAL chairs in 40 degree heat, I pulled mine into the shade, and sat there. By this time, we were about ready to leave. A few minutes passed, and we packed up our things. We stopped to get an ice cream, and then walked up to the first bus stop we could find. The bus got there just minutes later. Score! On we got, and we went back to the Pisa Centrale bus station to catch the next bus to Calci.

When we arrived in Calci, - both of us half asleep, but with an eye open so we didn't go past our stop - we went into a Co-op and bought some grapes, juice, and water. We had some on the walk back to the Bed and Breakfast. Knowing restaurants don't open until 7 for dinner, we walked all the way up the hill to shower before eating. We took our time, but eventually my craving for an excellent dinner at my favourite restaurant got too strong, and we had to leave. As we were walking down to the restaurant, my Mom noticed all the umbrellas were down, and the patio chairs were up. "No, they can't be closed" we thought. But, they were. A little bit of panic set in as we realized we'd have to go to the place where we got pasta last.

We walked in, and ended up having to sit outside. We both chose a pizza - but turns out we should have just split one - and we pigged out. I was sooooo full half way through mine, but you can't take left overs home here...and my Mom and I couldn't understand wasting something so good...so instead, we forced it all down. My Mom cheated and still had a little bit left. My plate was clean, and I was on the verge of going into a food coma. We ordered cappuccino's, but as we waited for them, little flying ants kept landing on us and the table. Freaking out, I drank my cappuccino - still hot - as fast as humanly possible, ran inside to pay, and then danced around at the bank machine outside, until we had done everything that needed to be done.

As we walked back up the hill, I realized that what I had thought were bats a few nights ago, definitely were. It was like pitch black, and every now and then you'd see these things fly by lamp posts etc. Again...I freaked. The noises they made did not make anything any more relaxing, so my Mom and I practically raced up the hill. We made it to the Bed and Breakfast in record timing I'm sure. As we had already showered earlier, we spent a bit of time on the computer, then tried to watch Big Brother but couldn't get it. Now my Mom's asleep, and I will be shortly. Good Night xx

Day 306

Well...staying in the country is lovely, and I honestly rather that than staying in a city..but on a Sunday in July...it's not easy to travel into the city without a car.

My Mom and I woke up, and the internet still wasn't working so we couldn't plan our day that way. We got ready and went up for another delicious breakfast, and shortly after coming back down, it was up and running again. It didn't help us at all though, so we decided to walk into the little town, and thought we'd just buy bus tickets there - as usual - and go into Pisa Centrale to get a train to Lucca. And we would have...if things were easy.

We walked down, and the tourist information office was closed. We walked up to where we get the tickets, and it was closed as well. We went into the cafe we've sat in a few times now, and we got an ice cream. Once we finished that, we went back to the information spot, and it was open. We spoke to a guy there who basically told us we could leave town today but it wouldn't be easy. It was early early afternoon, and the bus didn't come til 10 to 3, and the last one coming back was at 8:40. That didn't leave us enough time for Lucca. After much discussion, my Mom and I took the man's advice, and walked up the street for 10 very hot minutes to a museum. It was closed. We took a number if pictures, and sweltering...walked back. We stopped back in at the same cafe, got two GIANT bottles of water, and drank them as we dragged ourselves back up the hill.

When we got inside, we were so tired and hot that we collapsed on the beds. We've been here for probably a good hour. My Mom's taking a nap, and I'm taking the opportunity to post some pictures. In a few minutes, I'll work up the energy to go out to the garden with my Mom to take some more pictures. I was so close to a hummingbird earlier that it was insane...but was my camera ready? Of course not.

Out we went to the garden, where I instantly started getting bitten. Why do mosquitoes like me so much??? I lasted a little while, taking pictures, and eventually, I came back into the room cuz I was just too itchy. My Mom made some coffee for the two of us, and we went to sit on the patio to look at some pictures and watch some videos. After a little while, we decided we'd walk down the hill to dinner. We went into the same restaurant as the night before last, but this time...we ordered with our heads instead of our stomachs. We had one pizza between the two of us, and a salad. Of course, that came with bread...and well...it wouldn't be right to just leave that. Especially when it had oil and vinegar on the side. When we finished all that, we had a cappuccino each, and ordered some Gelati. - Yes we sound like absolute pigs. But to be fair, we don't eat lunch...and we're not eating much that we shouldn't be eating...as I sit here eating a cookie. ANYWAY...when the waiter took our dessert order, he rambled off the flavours of gelati. I chose white chocolate, and my Mom - thinking coffee - chose coco. This was not coffee! When he returned to the table, he handed me my delicious scoop of chocolatey heaven...and handed my Mom, half a coconut with...that's right, Coconut flavoured gelato! :| I have to hand it to her...I don't know how, but she sat there and ate the entire thing, with little complaint. For some reason, although I know I hate coconut, I had forgotten what it tasted like, so I said I'd try a little bit. Well, I took the TINIEST scoop onto my spoon...and instantly remembered every little thing I hate about it. EW! One of the worst things ever! I really don't know how she ate as much as she did, without throwing it back up. - There's a mental picture for you - Anyway...changing the subject. Our cappuccino's came, and just as we expected, they were delicious. We paid, and walked back up the hill.

When we arrived, we came straight into the room, and went online to check e-mails. We finally had a connection! I spoke to my Dad on Skype a little bit, but we kept getting disconnected. It was reconnecting for me within minutes each time, but when I went to get in the bath, the connection completely went, so my Mom wasn't able to do what she needed. Now, we sit here, unable to watch Big Brother AGAIN! Eating cookies, drinking green tea...and waiting, hoping it'll come back on. Tomorrow's going to be an early start though, so I'm not sure how long I'll wait. That being said...I'm closing this part down. Good Night xx

Day 305

I'm so hot right now, the internet's not working and I am COVERED in mosquito bites...but hey! I'm in Italy!

After breakfast this morning, my Mom and I went to catch a bus to Pisa Centrale. We were an hour early, so we sat in a cafe, had something to drink and a couple of cookies. We finished just in time to go to the bus stop. I wasn't feeling good on the way in, so I went to sleep. My Mom woke me up at the appropriate stop.

I began walking up the street with her, with great difficulty. You'd think I was wearing new feet! First I scratched myself with my sun umbrella (which really hurts by the way, and you'd think after doing it once, you'd learn!), and then, trying to pay attention to the scrape, I tripped off the curb. I didn't fall...but it was just the beginning of many feet mishaps to come.

We found our way to the leaning tower of Pisa, and leading up to it, we came across this stall of jewellery. The next thing I knew, I was walking away with a new bracelet! Wait til you see it! Let me just say, without ruining anything...I'll never be short on silverware at a picnic. Anyway, we walked towards the Tower and began taking numerous pictures. Not just for ourselves, but for others as well. We also saw some steal our ideas for what to do with the tower...but we didn't mind. It was one of those Party of 13 things. *Some of you know what that means*

After spending a couple of hours there, and popping into a store to buy an adapter converter, and a charm for my zoppini bracelet, we had thought up what I wanted engraved on my new bracelet, but needed an internet cafe to make sure I was right about something. The guy who makes the jewellery was on a hunt for us. He was asking people if they had internet on their phones, but nobody did. Eventually someone told us where we could go online, so we walked up to this photocopy place, and paid a euro for about 5 minutes of internet. Once I had what I needed, my Mom and I hoofed it back to the jeweller's table. When we arrived, he asked me to write exactly what I wanted on a piece of paper, and then began the inscription. "Day 305, Mom & Me". On the other side of it, he had already put "Pisa, Italy 17/07/10" for me, as he knew I wanted that as well. We thanked him, bought two cups of fruit, and began walking back to catch a train to Lucca.

When we arrived at the train station, we bought our tickets, but then decided, with train and bus schedules, we wouldn't have as long in Lucca as we'd want. We decided to save the ticket for tomorrow, and we hopped on the bus to come back to the Bed and Breakfast. We had it all planned out. Because we had such a crappy/late night last night, due to no alarm clock and worrying about waking up on time...we'd come back to the area for dinner, watch Big Brother, and get an early night. Well, we were told where we had to go for dinner, so we stopped at the restaurant and were told they didn't open til' 7. Fair enough. We continued up the hill to the Bed and Breakfast, and got washed up for dinner. Ok, so I flopped down on the bed for a few minutes first...but after that walk, in that heat...I think you may have as well.

We walked back down for dinner, enjoyed too much bread and pasta, but I decided to have a Lemon Sorbetto anyway for dessert, and the two of us got a Cappuccino. We walked back up to the house, into our rooms, got ready for bed, checked our e-mails etc, were just about ready to watch Big Brother...and the internet disconnected. Dammit! I'm still sitting here waiting for it to kick back in, but I think that's wishful thinking. :( As for the mosquito bites...I had 11 on my right leg alone, when I left this morning, and before dinner, I had 14 on that one leg...after coming back from dinner, I had a whole new slew, and couldn't stop dancing around because I was so itchy. What a horrible feeling! I haven't been bitten by mosquitoes since I lived in Winnipeg! Anyway, now that I've had my bath and everything, they're not nearly as itchy as they were, but I'm getting super hot, and am afraid they'll start itching all over again real soon...so I'm going to try to sleep now. Good Night xx

Day 304

I'm roasting right now, as I sit on a train to Tuscany...but hey...I'm on a train to Tuscany! Ok that's a bit of a lie. The first stop we'll get off at in a little over an hour, will be to Pisa. After that, we'll be going to our Bed and Breakfast in Tuscany.

We started our day off as usual, with breakfast on the rooftop terrace, and then took our time in the air conditioned room to pack up all of our things. Once we geared ourselves up, we hoisted our bags onto our shoulders, and with a great deal of pain...left the building.

We walked down the street as if the bags on our backs were as light as feathers...but our insides were burning, and the 2 injured women that we are, were suffering...silently. *The swear words weren't so silent...but they were quiet, and in English, so I'm sure they weren't understood*.

We made our way to the train station, and jumped on the metro. Two stops later, we were where we needed to be, and I was in a Foot Locker buying new flip flops. Mine had had it. From there, we checked train times, and were doing great. There was a train at 12:15 and we had a good amount of time to spare. That was of course, until one ticket machine didn't work, another wouldn't show the destination we needed, and we got redirected by people about 5 times - No exaggeration. By the time we finally found a place that would sell us the tickets we needed, the 12:15 bus had left, and the next one was at 2:10. Perfect!

We decided after all that, that we needed a pedicure. Now...I've NEVER had one, and my Mom has only ever had maybe one in her lifetime, because we're just not that type of girl. As you know us, we like to try and look our best, but we are quite capable of doing our own nails, hair, etc. Anyway, by this point, we decided because we'd seen a spa in the station, that we would treat ourselves. We walked in...and looked at prices...eventually, a man began to talk to us. Turns out they don't do pedicures today. We're not sure if that means on a Friday...or if they were fully booked. But we thanked them anyways, and walked out. We decided to go for a coffee instead. Not quite the same, but a treat is a treat.

We lugged our heavy bags - yes we were still struggling with them - up and down several flights of stairs and escalators, and eventually, we got to a cafe. We sat down, decided what we wanted, and I went up to pay. I thought I was getting a cold coffee, so I got a muffin to split with my Mom, she got a latte, and also a bowl of fruit. Turns out my "cold coffee", was actually ice cream. Delicious, but unnecessary. When we finished there, we thought we'd see if there was a FREE washroom to use. So far in Italy, we've yet to find that. It was then however, that I glanced at the receipt from our food order, and noticed it said *in Italian* that if you kept your receipt, you could go to the washroom upstairs for free. You just had to show proof of purchase. Crazy! We went into a small, but not as small as the Bed and Breakfast's elevator, and we took it up to the next floor. When we were done, we still had quite a while until our train. We found out where it was, and got on anyway.

Not too long after finding our seats, a Mom and her twin daughters, probably just a bit younger than me, got on and sat in the seats across the aisle from us. They were from California, and we had a really nice conversation with them for most of the way. In the midst of our conversation though, the air conditioned train...went to non-airconditioned. We were boiling! They got off before us, and I fell asleep for about half an hour. My Mom and I moved into the shade once we were both awake, and the train was pretty empty. We pulled into the Pisa Centrale station, and thought it would be easy enough to find a bus or train to where our bed and breakfast was. It wasn't. We found our way, easy enough, to the bus station - after stopping for a lemonade/orange slushy...but it was there that everything went awry. We spoke to the ladies working there, figured out what bus we wanted, and decided we had an hour to do whatever. We didn't really like the area we were in, and felt a bit unsafe, so we decided to stay in the station. My Mom went up to ask a question, and as she was standing there, she noticed the screen said Platform 5 for the bus we were told we needed, but the paper the lady wrote on said Platform 3. I went up and double checked where we needed to be. The lady told me that for today only, the bus we needed was indeed departing from Platform 3. We waited...
and waited...
and 40 minutes after the hour we had already waited inside...we waited outside.
We saw a bus go by with the name of the destination we thought we wanted, but it didn't stop at Platform 3. It disappeared around the corner, and soon after, we saw it across the street. We were debating running over, but thought, "No...we asked...we should stay put". As that bus pulled away, we saw the sign it was sitting in front of across the street, said Platform 5. DAMMIT!

We went inside to speak to these same 2 ladies. We knew from before that they spoke English, but as we stood there, they pretended like they didn't know what was going on. They clearly did know what was going on though, and you saw it register. They looked at each other, tried to unsuccessfully hide their emotions, almost broke into laughter, and shrugged. They told us to go speak to the drivers in their office. ARGH! We walked outside to find the office, and spoke to a very nice man who did everything he could to communicate with us. He told us they were wrong, and that the bus today stopped stopping at Platform 3, and went back to Platform 5, after 3 o'clock. He then told us which bus we could take as an alternative. We had about 15 minutes to wait for that one, so we thanked him, and went back to the ladies to tell them what he said. We thought they might like to know so they don't send others in the wrong direction, plus we wanted an apology, and also needed to know if we'd have to change our tickets. Well, we didn't have to get a different ticket...but we also didn't get an apology. She just looked at us and went..."Ok". COW! - We used words a little more harsh than that in the conversations to follow.

We waited for this other bus, and luckily there were numerous others that began lining up as well. This time we were sure one was coming. When it arrived, our backpacks being so big, there wasn't much room for me to sit. I stood, until the 2 girls on the back of the bus who had been laughing at us for part of the journey, got up and left. I sat down beside an Italian boy, and asked him if he knew where our stop was. He told us - in Italian - that he'd let us know. For the next several minutes, a man kept looking at us...to the point where he was beginning to freak us out. We came to realize later that he was looking because he'd recognized the stop name, as that's where he was getting off as well. When the bus pulled into the stop, he motioned that we had to get off, and the young guy had words with him. It seemed the young one was a little pissed off - and rightly so - at the fact that this old "creepy" guy, didn't seem to trust him to tell us where to go. We thanked the young one, and smiled at the old one as we got off the bus, and hurried into the first store we saw. We didn't want the creepy man following us. A really nice guy in this shop, told us how to walk to the Bed and Breakfast. Sweating like crazy and oh so lady like...*Pffft*...we lugged our bags on our backs, down the street and up a hill. We stopped at a little Pizzeria and asked how far we had to go, and how late they were open til. When they told us 11, we assured them we'd be back for dinner, and continued on our way until we arrived at a BEAUTIFUL house, complete with an Olive Grove in the backyard. The lady of the house came to greet us, and showed us to our rooms. As I was standing there admiring the view, I saw a hummingbird. She had just finished saying we could go into the garden at any time, so camera in hand, I was out the door faster than I came in. I didn't find the hummingbird - I'm hoping he comes back over the next 3 days - but what I did find, was tons of plants, trees and flowers to take pictures of. I may spend an entire day just in the garden. It is absolutely amazing!

As I walked out, a dog began barking at me. An older Italian gentleman began speaking to him, and came over to introduce the dog to me. The dog's name is Jack. I'm not sure what that man's name is. He doesn't speak any English, but we somehow managed to have a full conversation. It truly inspired me. If only people realized that if you just listen, no matter what the language barrier is, you really can understand each other. It was great. Once he went inside, I took some more pictures, and then my Mom and I walked back to the restaurant. We had a wonderful dinner, and have decided we will most likely return there most nights. I tried to learn some Italian as we sat there, and at the end of the meal I asked if the service fee was included in the total. The man was clearly impressed with my attempt, not to say it was pronounced properly haha, but it made us both smile. We walked back up to the house, and now we're having a cup of tea, and are going to watch Big Brother. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings us! But for now, Good Night xx

Day 303

My Mom and I had an amazing day today. My hair was driving me nuts so I thought it would be "one of those days", but it was so much better than that!

To begin with...the way men look at you here, is a compliment all on it's own. But then, when they open their mouths and actually use words to compliment you...well, that starts your day off just right. And it's most men here.

Anyway, my Mom and I enjoyed our breakfast on the rooftop with a cappuccino, and then, after gathering all of our stuff, we went downstairs in the teeny tiny elevator, and out the door to walk up to the Colosseum bus stop. We waited there for a tour bus, and when it arrived, we jumped into what may have been the 2 last seats up top. We rode it to the Vatican, taking numerous pictures along the way...and once we arrived, the pictures didn't stop. It was absolutely amazing! We walked around for hours admiring every little thing. I was pointing out - and this is where some people will shudder - all the parts of New Moon that took place there. Then, we made sure we got into a shaded area, and we pulled out some candy we had picked up on a previous day's journey. We strategically placed what were vampire teeth gummies, and we took a picture. It can be found in my Profile pictures on Facebook. We had some older women laughing at us...but we didn't really care. Just as long we didn't get yelled at by police, and didn't offend anyone, we were perfectly fine.

Mission accomplished, the two of us walked around a bit more, went into a gift shop, and then walked around even more. Eventually, we went back to catch the hop on, hop off bus. This, was probably the BEST part of my day. When we walked up to the bus stop, there was a bench with 2 guys on it. One very good looking, and a friend. I wasn't sitting down, because it was so hot out, I was afraid of burning my ass. The good looking guy didn't know this, and scooched over so that there was room for me to sit down. He kept looking up, and then said I could sit there. I told him what the issue was, but I sat down anyways. 2 seconds later, ass burnt, I was standing up again. My Mom remained sitting, and I said I was ok to stand. The next thing I knew, he was reaching into his shopping bag, and pulling out what he had bought. I wasn't sure what he was doing, until he said "Here", and put the empty plastic bag, flat down on the bench for me to sit on! What a gentleman! I couldn't believe it! I sat on it, and my ass was still burning, but no way was I getting up now. I was enduring the pain, cuz his act of kindness had me in awe. We sat and talked for a bit. Turns out he's Australian and is traveling for 5 weeks. When the bus arrived, he and his friend - although they were waiting longer - let my Mom and I get on the bus first. We went upstairs, but unfortunately they didn't follow. The good looking one said bye, and unfortunately, that was it. I didn't get his name, contact info, nothing. We had spoken about the Fontana di Verdi, and he asked if I'd made a wish there...and I didn't even ask his name. STUPID!

So there we were, without any contact information, sitting on this bus, admiring the sites. Every now and then, I'd see his friend's reflection in the window, and they were sitting right under us. At one point, my Mom and I , not thinking, decided to change seats for a better view of the sites. Between then, and moving to the back of the bus on the same side we started on, the guys had gotten off. Damn.

We got off near the Colosseum, and as my battery had died close to the end of the tour - I was not happy - we walked back to the Bed and Breakfast to charge it. When we got there, we had our afternoon planned out. We were going to watch Big Brother and check all of our e-mails. Well...those plans soon changed when we were on my laptop, and it died. We only have one plug adapter, so it was either charge the camera battery, or charge the computer. Well...when in Rome, the last thing you're going to do, is sit in a hotel room for no reason. So, we plugged the laptop in just long enough to get a little bit of juice, then switched to charge the camera. We finished what had to be done on the laptop, and then we wrote some postcards until we decided the camera had enough battery for us to document the rest of our night.

We left the room, and began to walk to the bus/train station. For some reason, we decided to walk a different way, and I'm glad we did because this, was where our personalities really came out. We walked up some stairs and into a park, where we started taking crazy/stupid/fun pictures. - Looking at them later, we were laughing so hard we were crying.

Anyways, once we finished at the park, we walked up to the Colosseum to catch a a bus, and then found our way - on various buses and trams, to the river. When we got there, we took some pictures, walked down some steps, and were under a bridge, walking along an amazing riverbank. There were restaurants and stalls set up all along it that were just opening as we passed. Eventually we picked one where we could sit right by the water, and we ordered our food. It was a little difficult ordering as the waiter didn't speak any English, but we got it done...and we got exactly what we ordered. The only thing was...mine wasn't what we expected. The pizza wasn't very good, and the sauce, instead of being pizza sauce, was...let me see...the best way to describe it?...You know what Zoodles sauce from the can? THAT is exactly what it tasted like. And there was no cheese on it, and the seafood was not baked onto the pizza. It definitely was not one of the best meals...in fact, it was one of the worst. Mom's was good though, and being as nice as she is, she gave some. We walked back along the riverbank, and up the stairs to catch a bus back to the Colosseum. We stood at one stop for quite a while, watching buses go in the opposite direction, until finally someone came by to tell the family beside us, that the buses weren't stopping there. We walked up over the bridge, and to the next stop with the lady who informed us all, and we found the right bus back to where we wanted to be, to hop on a bus to go back to the area we knew best. From there, we walked to the B + B, looked at the pictures, and eventually, went to sleep...or into a candy coma. Either way, I passed out. xx

Day 302

So, my Mom and I got to sleep in today. Even longer than we thought we'd be able to actually. You see, breakfast is served from 8 to 9:30...so we were up at quarter to 8 to be ready by 9. But what you have to remember, is that Breakfast is served during those times in the Italian time zone...not England's. As I was finishing getting ready, and heard dishes clanking around, I thought OOPS! Sure enough, when my Mom went out to see what time it was, breakfast was finished. My Mom apologized to the lady. She explained what happened with our alarm clock (as we're using my cell phone), and the lady, completely understanding asked if we'd want a cappuccino. My Mom said yes, and we went out to the rooftop patio. As we sat down, she came out with croissants, yogurts and more. It was very nice of her, and of course it was all delicious.

When we finished, we got ready, and we went for a walk. We ended up past the Colosseum, and were taking pictures in an amazing building - the Foro Traiano - chronologically the last of the Imperial fora of Rome, that had army men guarding the top of the stairs. I of course, had my picture taken with them. Once we had completely scoped that building out, and gone up and down stairs, the battery in my camera was dying. We jumped on a bus and came back to the Bed and Breakfast to let it charge for about 2 hours. While it did that, we checked e-mails, and watch the Premiere to Big Brother 12. I was SO excited!!! - Yes, I know how odd that sounds when I'm sitting here in Italy.

So, Big Brother was practically finished, and the camera was pretty much charged, when we decided to leave again. This time, we walked out past the colosseum to the train station. For some reason, I was in a mood, and because I didn't know why I felt like crying, I was getting even angrier - with myself - which made me want to cry even more...what an evil cycle! Anyway, good thing I was with my Mom because after a short while, I was back to normal. She had done what she knows how to do best, made me smile, and took my mind off of how stupid I was being. During this time, we had caught a bus and taken a very short ride up the road. When we got off we began walking to what we were hoping was the river. After seeing signs for other places we knew we wanted to see, we diverted, and went to the Fontana di Trevi. After that, we found our way to the Spanish Steps, and once we finished there, we walked all the way back to the Foro Traiano. We did quite a bit of walking, and were very proud of our navigation skills. We jumped on a bus to the Colosseum, and then got amazing pizza right across the street. The view was amazing, and the people watching was great! Man there are some weird people around. For instance...the guy in SHORT red shorts, that bent over right in my Mom's view to take a drink of water at a fountain, and the 2 gay guys that had a fight in their car, to the point of one of them getting out and storming away. Yes, we had a wonderful time today, and after polishing off most of our food, we came back to the Bed and Breakfast where we'll now watch another episode of Big Brother, and go to sleep. Good Night xx

Day 301

So hot right now...but HEY! I'M IN ITALY!!!!!!! And what a day it's been! Right now I'm watching a show on TV that has Corbin Bleu in it...but everyone's speaking Italian. Haha. Awesome. Before this, I had Jungle Run with the Rock and Seann William Scott speaking Italian.

We were up uber early this morning. For me it was 3:20, for my Mom it was even earlier. We were ready and in the lobby by 4 to hop on the shuttle to the airport. When we arrived, we waited in line for my Mom to get a stamp on her boarding card, and then we went through security. Some rude man pushed his way in front of us, but we eventually got through, and were on our way. We had plenty of time, so we sat to have a Starbucks while waiting for our gate number to come up. Once it did, it was a bit of a mad race up and down stairs to get there. When we did, we had to stand our ground in line. Eventually they let us board the plane. No assigned seats had my Mom getting on the back of the plane, and me getting on the front, in an attempt to get the emergency exit row. SUCCESS! Although some jerk got in front of me, my Mom had them saved. We sat down, and a nice looking guy sat beside me. He was nice. He'd been living in London for the past 2 years and was very happy to be coming home to Italy. I slept most of the way, but we talked a bit as the plane landed.

I got through right away as I have a European passport, but the man wouldn't let my Mom come through with me. He checked a Canadian passport after me, but apparently Mom's wasn't good enough. Eventually she came through, and we made our way to the platforms for the trains. A few questions to a few different people, and we were soon sorted and on our way. We had to take a 4 hour train from Pisa to Rome, and I tried my hardest to stay awake to see all the scenery, but after MAYBE 30 minutes, I was done. I couldn't do it. I slept as much as I could. When we arrived at our stop, we went to catch the subway. From there we came out to the street to catch the bus. I was admiring a really nice old building to my right, when my Mom asked if I'd seen what was to my left. I turned around to see I was right in front of the Colosseum. It is absolutely amazing. Beautiful. Too pretty to describe. Needless to say, I took a number of pictures.

We crossed the street, hopped on the appropriate bus, asked someone where we needed to hop off, and then asked someone else for some directions. Shortly after all that, we were in the Bed and Breakfast speaking to Jordano - who is quite good looking, and we'll be speaking to his brother Riccardo tomorrow. We checked out our room, the view, and then back to our room to send some e-mails.

When we finished everything we needed to do, we headed out for the evening. First, we got a gelato right outside our B and B. You should have seen the amount the lady gave us! It was like 5 scoops! We ate that as we picked out some postcards and then walked towards the Colosseum. We spent the next little while walking around there, taking in all the different views and architecture, and then we attempted to walk towards the river to have dinner at a pub down there. We didn't know how far away it was though, and didn't want to be two ladies walking back to the B and B on our own late at night, and in the dark. Instead, we decided to walk a roundabout way back to where we're staying. As we walked, we noticed a huge display of screens and things. There were shops, restaurants, etc. It was like an Italian Night Market. We bought some candy - You should see the size of my marshmallow!! And then I bought a dress that I won't wear :( I wasn't allowed to try it on, and when I got back to the room and tried it...I didn't like it. Anyway, that aside, we had a really nice time together, and a really nice meal outside. When we finished eating, we made our way back to the B and B, turned on the TV and got ready for bed. Just after my shower (luckily), the power went out. We are sitting here in the dark with literally just the laptop light guiding our way, and the battery's almost dead. I'm not sure how I'm going to charge this, or my camera. Crap! I hope it's back on by morning. Anyway, for now, I'm going to sort through Ireland pictures until it dies. Speak to you tomorrow. Good Night xx

Day 300

As if I wasn't an emotional wreck already...the teachers are now making me cry. Ok maybe not literally, but if I sat here thinking about it, I would most definitely be in tears. I dropped the boys off at school today, and as we were walking up, they were asking when my last day with them was etc. Then, I take Zach to his class, and because it's pouring down, I walk him right up to the door. His teacher Mrs. Fitzgerald says "This could be the last time we see you couldn't it? You're going traveling. You've been brilliant, hasn't she Zach?" Zach says yes. Then she goes "So off to Ireland now?" So I explained we'd just been to Ireland and Italy was next, but Zach interrupted to say "and Nanny's". What a cutie. The teacher told him as it was my last day, that he could bring me in and show me all his little jobs he does in the morning. Ahhh. It was nice to see, and to be able to do, and I got a few extra hugs from him. Nothing like pulling at your heartstrings though. She shook my hand, I said goodbye, and I walked back to the car, and fitting in nicely with my mood...got soaked by the rain.

My Mom and I got ready and did laundry when I arrived back at the house, then gathered anything we needed, and headed to Braintree. We stopped at the Post Office on the way, and when we parked, we had just enough time for a quick coffee at Starbucks. We went in, ordered our drinks, and when we picked them up at the end...mine had a happy crab drawn on it. Now that's Starbucks love. Haha. I took a picture so that you could see what I mean. Every now and then, one of the girls draws me a picture, I guess to change things up. It puts a smile on your face.

We finished our drinks, and walked up to Pizza Express to meet Tina and Michelle. Tina gave me a gift. A beautiful Pearl bracelet with a really nice card that almost sent me into tears. - Yes, again. I'm a little more emotional than usual -

We had a really nice lunch, and when we said bye, there was no tears cuz I knew I'd see the two of them at the school. My Mom and I had a few stops to make on the way back to the house, so we did that, then I dropped her, picked a few things up, and went to search for candy that had to be taken in to Zach's class. Had that in hand, and a gift for Zoe when I got to the school. I found a parking spot, and by this time it had stopped raining, and warmed up. I was way too hot in my jacket. I spoke to one of the Mom's who said how nice it was to meet me, then to Steve. I ran the chocolates into the class, and shortly after coming back out, Tina came up. I told her she couldn't let Zoe leave without me giving her the gift, and she said ok.

Zoe was one of the first out, so I handed her the bag. She asked what it was, and just as she was opening it, one of the Mom's stopped to ask me if it was the last time she'd see me. I looked up to answer her, and missed the look on Zoe's face when she opened the bag and saw the necklace :( I got 2 giant hugs though, so I'm guessing that means she liked it. It was a little bear on a chain, holding a purse. One of Fifth Avenue Collection's very cute pieces.

The boys came out, Tina told me she wasn't good at goodbyes, and gave me a hug. The two of us began to well up, so she left as quickly as possible. It was much better that way. I waited around to tell Michelle I'd definitely see her on the 21st, and I got a couple of hugs from Rafi. What a cutie pie. His cast has footballs on it! I can't remember if I put that in one of my other blogs or not. I said bye to Steve, and the boys and I made our way to the car. We were some of the last people to leave the playground today.

When we got back to the house, I quickly packed while the boys changed into different clothes. I had told them I wanted to take them for a treat before dinner. It was so cute, Josh came into my room wearing dress pants, a dress shirt, and a tie! Afraid of being told off by his Mom, he left the tie at home, and changed into a pair of shorts, but he still looked great.

My Mom and I took the 3 of them to Starbucks, and I treated everyone to a frappuccino or hot chocolate depending on preference. Zach was the only one who thanked me...but of course didn't like his. That's not true, my Mom thanked me as well.

We finished our drinks, and walked to the restaurant we were meeting Heloise, my Uncle and my Aunt at. Oddly enough, they had chosen to celebrate Zach's birthday tonight, and at which restaurant? The same one we had lunch at! When we arrived, the good looking waiter said "Back again?" I shot him a bit of a glance and ignored him, but later - when no one was around - explained what had happened and we didn't want anyone knowing we'd been there for lunch cuz we didn't want to ruin anything. He understood and promised to keep his mouth shut :p

After dinner, I gave the boys a hug, and my Uncle and Aunt drove my Mom and I to our hotel. We checked in, got ready for bed, and I caught up on my blogs. It's now 9:30pm, and I have to be up at 2:45am to catch a flight to ITALY!!!!!!!!!! So I guess I better go. Good Night xx

Day 299

Woke up around 9 today, making sure I got as close to an 8 hour sleep as I could. It was still less than that, but what can you do? My Mom and I got ready, and we headed off to Peterborough.

We made a stop at Starbucks, and then drove straight to my Nan's. We walked in and said hi, sat down, and waited for my cousin Tom to come by. The 4 of us sat and talked for a bit, then Tom went home to get spruced up - it was crazy hot out and everyone just felt dirty - so my Mom and I headed to Charlie and Anna's.

We spent about an hour at their place, and left with me in tears. In fact, as I was driving away, my Mom made me pull over, and run back in for one last hug from the two of them. Still crying, but comforted from a great cousin, and his fiancee, I strolled slowly back to the car. We went back to Nan's, and waited for Tom to come 'round again. Once he arrived, we packed into the Volvo, and I drove us all to a Chinese Restaurant. We had a really nice time together, and Nan stayed out far later than usual with us. It was great. When we got back to their neighbourhood, we grabbed everything from Nan's, and drove to Tom's. We then watched the World Cup with his roommate Sam, and friend Laura. The 6 of us were sitting there pretty bored however, and after regulation time, my Mom and I decided we'd better be on our way. There weren't any tears this time, as I've been promised Tom's going to try to come out on the 22nd, and bring Nan with him, so I held them back. On our way out of town though, we stopped at my Aunt's grave, and of course, tears shed.

The two of us drove away from Peterborough for what will be the last time for a year :( It was very sad. We were making great time and expected to be back to speak to Heloise before she headed to bed. 15 minutes from the house...everything came to a stand still. An ambulance drove by us, and every car in front of us went into park. We did the same. The next half hour had me feeling as though I was in a Dane Cook skit. People were getting out of their cars, walking up to the accident...peering out their windows, using their cell phones, pacing back and forth. All I could think was "I was cleaning a dish!...Tell him what you told me...That's not what he told me" - I thought of you Tara. Eventually everything was cleared up, and knowing my Nan would be in a panic... - I ALWAYS call her when I get back to Essex, and my phone had died - I drove back to the house as quickly as possible. It had gotten so dark however, that it wasn't easy. I had to go slower than usual as it was really hard to see the road. When we did get back, everyone was in bed. My Mom and I went upstairs, and I was asleep not long after...knowing I'd have to be up in the morning to take the boys. xx

Day 298

Got to lie in a little bit longer today. Once we did get up, at about 8...we got ready and went downstairs for breakfast. After eating entirely too much, we went upstairs to watch the rest of a "Friends" episode in our room, and my Mom fell asleep. Not too long after, a knock came at our door. It was Jane. She was telling us she was going into Lisburn, and she wanted to know if we wanted a ride.

We got ready, and went downstairs. Robert drove us to the bus station. We said bye to Jane, and hopped on a bus to Belfast. When we arrived there, we went into the internet cafe/information center, in search of a specific ring I'd seen there. They didn't have my size, so we checked a couple of other shops, but there was no such luck. Once we finished there, we went to Starbucks for a quick coffee, and had a quick chat/picture with the good looking guy that got us to take the tour to the Giant's Causeway. He was gorgeous! He remembered us from previous days, to the point where he knew what our plans were after England, and after the picture was taken, I fell into his eyes...again. We said bye, and off we went to catch the bus back to Lisburn.

Robert and his two granddaughters picked us up at the station, and drove us back to the B and B so we could pack. Once we got all of our things together, we went downstairs expecting to leave right away...only to find Robert had made us a huge lunch buffet. We sat down and over indulged in that, and then it was off to Lisburn once again, but this time, it was the train station. We crossed the bridge to get to the platform we needed, and moments later, we were sitting on the train, trying to re organize our bags so that we could fit every little thing in there. We got that done just in time, and were at the airport. From the stop though, we had to walk up and down some stairs, and catch a shuttle to the terminal.

Once in the terminal, we got through security (in a rush because the guy was a bit of a tool). In fact, my Mom was hopping on one foot as the guy took her other shoe away and told her to take off her belt. Apparently he didn't want her second shoe. Through security, and reading the board that normally tells you which gate...it told us to relax and shop. So we did. Nothing big, but a couple of essentials which of course included dark chocolate, and something small to add to Zach's birthday gift. (It's his birthday today). My Mom washed her hands in a rude sink, and I had to go in after to see what she was talking about. It was, indeed, very rude looking. I couldn't stop laughing.

Eventually it was time - or so we thought - to board the plane. We were sitting at a table in the cafe, and had been keeping an eye on the board. It still said relax and shop, so we were just finishing off a plate of chips, when all of a sudden it changed to tell us which gate, and simultaneously, a lady came over the speakers to say it was the final boarding call. WHAT??? We raced down the stairs in a bit of a panic, as the seats are unreserved - you're guaranteed to be on the plane, but if you want the exit rows, you better be waiting to board early - only to wait in line. We panicked a little more when the employee at the front of the line began weighing luggage. Oh Crap! Well...we must be really strong, because we made 2 bags that were killing our backs, necks and shoulders, look so light that we didn't have to put them on the scale.

A little while later, after watching ladies unpack some of their things and stuff them into their bras etc, so that they wouldn't have to pay extra...we were walking out into the pouring rain, and onto the plane. We got the seats we wanted, and we fell asleep. 55 Minutes later, we were in England. We got off the plane, and because we didn't have to wait for luggage, we were through right away. We met up with my Uncle outside, and he drove us back to what is still my current place of residency.

My Mom and I stayed downstairs for a bit, my Uncle left pretty much right away as he was with a friend, and after showing Heloise some pictures, my Mom and I came upstairs to speak to my Dad and Brother on Skype. That started messing up and aggravating me, which resulted in us speaking on the phone instead. Now I'm going to sort some pictures, and I will be asleep VERY shortly. What a GREAT trip! I definitely recommend going to NORTHERN IRELAND and staying at the Hillview Farm Bed and Breakfast. Amazing!

Good Night xx

Day 297

I'm gonna go irish on you for a second...

Got to sleep in for a wee bit this marnin'. We were still havin breakfast by 8 terty, but t'was later than the last few days.

When we finished, one of the sons - Richard - from the B and B, drove my Mom and I to the Lisburn train station. We checked prices and times there, and then walked up, in the rain, to the bus station. Today was the first crappy day weather wise. When we arrived at the bus station, the one we wanted was already sitting in a stall waiting to leave. We found that out from the guy behind the counter, ran over, outside, and hopped on. The bus driver didn't make us pay, and he drove us to the next stop about a mile down the road. We got off there, thanked him, and went for a quick look around the Marks and Spencers, as we knew the next bus we needed wouldn't be there for a while.

When it arrived, we hopped on it, and went into Dublin. I must admit, I felt a little guilty for falling asleep on the 2 and a half hour journey. Who falls asleep on a bus journey they've never been on before? Oh well. I knew we'd be driving back the same way we came, and I was sleepy...so my eyes shut, and didn't open again until we were pretty close to the city centre.

Well...Dublin wasn't what I expected at all. To be honest...I was pretty disappointed. Had I of been staying there, I would have been extremely upset. It's a big city that, aside from the accents, you wouldn't even know was in Ireland. A lot of the people were rude and weren't helpful at all. When my Mom and I finally found what we needed - a bank, an internet cafe, a hair dressers, and a bag of candy...we hopped on a tour bus, and drove through the city. We sat on the top of a double decker bus, but passed by everything entirely too quickly. The recorded commentator would be telling you what you were passing, and before the sentence was even finished, you'd be past it. There wasn't any time to take pictures, and the ones you could take, were through rain drops on the bus window. I wasn't happy :( By the time we came to the end of the tour, it was time to go back to the Dublin bus station, and get on the bus back to Lisburn. Well, we sat on the top of that bus as well, and by the time we got back to Sprucefield, buses to Lisburn had stopped running. We were told how to get to Lisburn on foot, and we began walking. It was peeing down with rain, so after a few minutes, we approached a hotel. We just wanted to run in to let Robert know where we were and what we were doing, but as we walked up to the doors, a cab pulled in. We jumped in, and he drove us to the Lisburn bus station. Another phone call, and a quick walk up to Bachelor's Walk. Robert was picking Jane up across from a Thai restaurant on the street, so we would meet him there as well. Waiting across from there for a couple of minutes at 10pm, when you had yet to have dinner...was a little dangerous. We ended up going in for some take out.

We met up with Jane, and Robert turned up soon after. The 4 of us drove to Tesco's where Jane ran in for a couple of essentials, and then we drove back to the B and B to eat our dinner, and have a conversation. Another late night as I sit here watching what seems like a good movie - had we of seen it from the beginning - looking at pictures, and writing post cards. I'm going to be sooo sleepy tomorrow morning. Better get some things done so I can sleep. Good Night xx

Day 296

Another early day, but it was SO worth it! My Mom and I had our breakfast, and were then driven into Lisburn where we jumped on a bus to Belfast. Once in the city, we had time to go for a Starbucks before our coach arrived. We went there, got our drinks, then went to the info center to check our e-mails. Once that was done, we went back to the tour center where we'd booked our coach, spoke to the good looking guy you'll see a picture of (on my Facebook), and then we were told the coach had arrived.

We walked out to catch it, spoke to the good looking guy again, who made my knees buckle with a handshake and a wink, and then got on the bus. It was practically full, but we managed to get a great seat with a huge window. It didn't matter how tired I was, there was no way I was letting myself fall asleep.

As we drove along, the bus driver - who was very funny and knew his route/information - took us a different way to most other tour bus drivers so that we could see more. When we'd approach signs saying no coaches...he ignored them, and drove that way anyways. He's a motorcyclist, and because he knows the area, he knows which roads are safe for what. We went to a couple of different castles, saw some amazing scenery, and then came to a few of what I would say are my favourite spots. There was the rope bridge. - Normally, not something I'd cross...but because I was in Ireland, it had to be done. Crossing it the first time was ok. I was admiring the view and it was beautiful...until I accidently looked to the side. Woooooahh! That's creepy. We got to the other side, took pictures of more breathtaking scenery, and then crossed over again to walk back to the coach. From there we drove to a castle, and then it was off to the main attraction. Giant's Causeway.

When we arrived, it wasn't what we'd expected. My Mom and I were actually a bit worried/disappointed. We didn't see anything that had looked like what we'd seen in the pamphlets. We began walking and exploring, and about 10 minutes later...we were in heaven. You should have seen this place! I mean, you'll see pictures...but WOW!

We spent a good hour and a half there, climbing on volcanic rock and taking loads of pictures...then it was a walk back towards the bus to get an ice cream, a chat with the driver, and then we were off. As we drove back, there was time to sleep. My Mom and I caught a quick nap, and when we arrived back in Belfast, and caught a bus. It wasn't one that went right into Lisburn though. In fact, it's last stop was Sprucefield. The bus driver got off though, and explained to us that IF we were walkers (Knowing some people wouldn't walk as far as the parking lot), we were only about a mile away from where we wanted to be. We began walking, and when we approached a hotel on our left, we decided we'd go in to call Robert, and let him know what was going on. As we walked up to the hotel, a taxi pulled in. We decided to take it to the Ballymac hotel, where we sat and oggled/spoke to the good looking bartender/waiter. There's something about Irish men...a hidden secret. They're GORGEOUS! And their accents are amazing! Anyway, after eating dinner, my Mom and I sat there to wait for Robert. He showed up, bought us cappuccinos, and the 3 of us stayed entirely too late. Not only that, but when we returned to the house, we talked a little bit more before heading to bed. By the time we went to sleep...it was definitely needed. xx

Day 295

Well there won't be any sleeping in this holiday. That would be ok...if we weren't staying up uber late each night. This morning we got up, and we had a HUGE breakfast. Then the man - Robert - that owns the Bed and Breakfast drove us into Lisburn, - Bachelor's Walk to be exact - where we hopped on a bus to Belfast.

What happened next was very unusual for my Mom and I. After checking out City Hall, and taking a number of pictures...the two of us spent the rest of the day...SHOPPING!

We had a really nice time together, sat down for a coffee a couple of times, and walked around a lot. By the time we caught a bus back to Lisburn, (after waiting for 2 that never showed) found a pay phone, and went to Bachelor's Walk, Robert was there to collect us. He drove us back to the house where we watched the 2nd half of the football match in our room, and then went downstairs to meet up with Robert again.

He then took us out to see his horses! It was a bit of a drive, but when we got to the field, he actually took us beyond the gates, and right up to these massive, beautiful creatures. They were lovely, and my Mom and I were petting them as I took loads of pictures. All of a sudden, this one horse, sort of took a liking to me. He kept nudging me, and then I thought he was going to take a chunk out of my jacket. I moved away from him as he was sort of creeping me out, but I think all he really wanted was cuddles. He was a cutie pie. Once we finished there, we came back to the house for a coffee. We met two of Robert's sons, and after talking to him for a bit, and watching the football highlights, my Mom and I came up to our room, and went right to sleep. We were exhausted. xx

Day 294

Today was an early start. Up at 5, and ready by 5:45 to leave for the airport. Our bags were packed, and we were in the car on the way to Stansted. Tim dropped us off, and we went to check in. That was an easy process. Through security, again, no problems, and then onto the plane. My Mom and I fell asleep for most of the flight, waking up just in time to see Ireland from above. What a beautiful place!

We got off the plane, walked into the airport, then checked some things out, and hopped on a train to Belfast. We then walked around a little bit, got a coffee, and took a taxi to the bed and breakfast. We tried to figure out what we wanted to get done over these next few days, while watching some soap operas, and then, after my camera battery was charged a little, we went for a walk.

We took pictures of cows, and explored the farm a bit (where we're staying). Then we walked up the road to see if we could find a pub. Apparently we had walked in the opposite direction. We ended up at a gas station, and asked the cashiers if there was one near by - thinking, there must be as this is Ireland and they're meant to drink more than the Brits - They told us it was a wee jaunt up a busy road, and they wouldn't suggest doing it. We walked to the back of the store and were trying to pick out some sandwiches for dinner instead, when a really nice lady came up to us, told us she lived super close to the hotel/pub, and said she'd drop us there on her way to her place. She went back out to the car, we finished paying for what we were buying, and then walked out thinking "I hope this is an ok idea". When we saw that she had 4 children in the car, we decided we'd be ok. We got in, and a few minutes later, pulled up to this beautiful hotel. We walked in, and unable to choose our meals quickly, asked the barman to return to take our order 2 different times. Eventually we decided on a couple of different dishes, and wrote it down for him. We ate everything, and were soooo full once we'd finished, but we had already decided we'd walk back, so we figured it was ok that we were stuffed.

A walk that could have taken 10 to 20 minutes, ended up taking about half an hour I guess, as we were continuously moving out of the way of oncoming vehicles. When we came up to the B and B drive, horses began approaching us. They came right up to the fence and were letting my Mom pet them. I was taking pictures, but was far too scared to get too close to them. I dunno what it was, I was just afraid of them biting. I was getting my pic taken with one of them, when he nudged my arm. It was too cute but scared the crap out of me. Eventually, after admiring everything around us, we came up to the room. We've just been watching some TV, and the owner of the Bed and Breakfast just came up to see us. He's helping us make plans for the next few days, and we had a really nice conversation with him. Now that he's gone, I'm sitting here waiting for kick-off in the Uruguay vs Holland game, and my Mom is in the shower. I hope Holland win. Uruguay so don't deserve it. Anyways, this very full lady should upload her pictures to the computer, and sit back and enjoy the game. I may have an internet connection a little later, but I'll have to wait and see, so for now...Good Night xx

Day 293

This morning, after the breakfast ritual, I had 25 minutes to have Josh read 20 minutes out loud, Nathaniel finish his book, and read Zach's book with him. That didn't happen. Nathaniel ended up reading in his head and not finishing his book - He said he had one page left as we were leaving - and I didn't have any time for Zach to read to me. Because the boys also had to get their shoes on, Josh only got to read to me for about 15 minutes. Anyway, not caring too much as it wasn't my fault that they hadn't finished on the Sunday, I got them ready, and we walked out the door.

We walked up to the school, and as I dropped Zach at his class, I told him I'd see him around 1:30 for Sports Day. I walked back to the house to get my Mom, and the two of us went into Chelmsford in search of a certain dress. After getting everything we needed aside from the dress, we headed to Braintree. We got a Starbucks, washed the car, and drove to the boys school.

When we arrived, we saw where Nathaniel was sitting, ready for relays, and saw my Aunt and Uncle. We figured out that Zach was in the same group, and the rest of the afternoon was spent watching the two of them run, skip, dribble, and carry an egg on a spoon. Once their relays were done, and I'd taken loads of pictures...Nathaniel ran up to me to ask if I'd run in the "Moms" race. I told him I would, and Mr. Taylor explained where the parents and children had to go while the course for the grown ups was being set up. Everything was in order, Nathaniel had told me I had to win, the Dads had raced, and the Moms were next. I ran over to the starting line, and spoke to the lady beside me about how nervous the two of us were. We felt sick as there was a lot of pressure being put on us, but when the "Ready, Set, Go" was said, I was off. Running to the first hula hoop, I pulled it up over my head, ran to the skipping rope, skipped to the next hula hoop, put that over my head, and ran to the spoon with the egg. Without cheating - like other people in the race - I got to the finish line. I didn't come in first, but at least I did it honestly. We finished Sports Day, and my Mom and I ran to the "bank" in Colchester. We were also going in search for this same dress. I found the dress, and tried it on, but it was just a little bit too tight. I was not happy. It's one of the prettiest dresses I've ever tried on, and it's on sale! I had to undress the manequin as it was the very last one, so I'm going to try to find it online in the next size. My fingers are crossed in hopes that I will be able to, but considering I'm sitting in Ireland right now without an internet connection, I'm not sure it will be that easy. We shall see.

We came back to the house, and walked up to the pub for dinner with Heloise, the boys, my Uncle and my Aunt. We sat in the garden there, and I ran around playing tag with the boys. We had a delicious meal and dessert, and then walked back to the house. When we arrived, the boys went up to bed, and my Mom and I sat downstairs with the adults as they looked at a load of my pictures they had never seen. It was really nice. It really felt like I had done something right, as they sat their complimenting them all. Eventually, as I was falling asleep, I went upstairs and showered, then curled my hair, and went to bed for a 5 hour - maybe less - sleep. xx

Day 292

This morning, I was up, and thinking I had more time than I did...I took my time to get ready. Of course, because I did that, nothing went right. My makeup was wrong, and when I started eating a pear...well...I can't even explain the type of pain that was going on in my mouth. Anyway, running late, I jumped in the car, and I met Toni for a coffee. We had discussed last night how it couldn't be the last time we'd see each other, so there we were at Starbucks. We talked, and then she told me it was time for my gift. She didn't want me to have to be there when she bought it, but as she didn't know my ring size, she said it was a must. Well, you should see the ring she bought me. It's purple, and it's beautiful! After we walked around a bit more, and took a look in Bench, the two of us said see you later (As we knew we were going for a coffee in the afternoon), and we went our separate ways.

When I got back to the house, my Mom and I walked around the garden until it was time to go to the school for "Inflatables Day". We spent a few hours there while the boys went on the bouncy castles, and I got pretty burnt. My Mom and I left, walked back to the house, and got in the car to drive to Braintree.

When we arrived, I was parking the car, and the tire went completely flat. Great! We walked in, and met Toni for a frappuccino. After a bit, we walked around until the stores closed. When they did, we went around the centre taking pictures on all the kiddie rides. It was awesome, and difficult (as our bums are a but big for things like that) all at the same time. We walked back to the parking lot, and pumped the tire up with a foot pump. Once the job was done, we dropped Toni at her car. We said goodbye, and as I was pulling away...I broke into tears. It was not easy at all.

We drove back to the house where I went straight to my room. Soon enough Zach was knocking on my door to give me a huge hug. After talking to me for a little bit, he asked if it was ok that he go and watch the rest of "Scooby-Doo". I said yes, and thanked him, and off he went. He came up again later, and asked me to flat iron his hair...so I did. He also wanted me to cut it, but I told him if I did, I'd be kicked out of the house.

We went down for dinner, and after eating i washed my hair. Then my Mom, Heloise and I took a look at the amazing tree house Tim's building for Zach's birthday - the boys don't know about it yet - and then we popped some popcorn and put in "Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus". Now as I sit here watching and catching up on my blogs, I'm falling asleep. I may have to go up before it's over. Sorry for the delay in blogs. I'll try to keep up to date from now on. Thanks for reading. Good Night xx

Day 291

Earlier morning than I had hoped, but I was up, ready, and on my way to a car boot sale. Once we were finished there - I wasn't a huge fan - we went to Charlie's. We hung out there for a little while, but I had received a text saying the car was needed, and they wanted to know what time I'd be back in Essex.

My Mom and I left Peterborough fairly early, but we stopped at the store, and then Braintree on the way back. After our coffee, we stopped at Michelle's to drop off Emilio's bear, and then headed back to the house. My Uncle and Aunt came over with the boys, and Nathaniel asked me to take shots on him in net. I was wearing a sun dress, but that didn't stop me. I threw on some running shoes (Good look!) and went out to play with the 3 of them. They stopped for dinner, and I went upstairs to write a card for Toni. That was hard, and when I came back down, I was feeling pretty emotional, thinking the last time I would see her would be at the movies.

We said goodbye to the rest of the family once Heloise's friends arrived, and 5 of us went up to the theatre. Toni had saved us seats, and there we were, enjoying "Eclipse". She loved her bracelet I'd bought her, and we loved the movie. When it was done, Heloise's friends brought us back to the house, and my Mom and I went up to bed. xx

Day 290

Took the boys to school as per usual, and when we got there, Zach and I sat down to talk. He was sitting on my lap at the door, and asked if we could by some sweets after I picked him up. We had a conversation, and he asked if we could have a sweet picnic after school, in my room. I told him that would be fine, and when his class was let in, I went on my way. I met up with Tina, the two of us came back to the house to collect the car, and we went shopping.

First we stopped for coffee, then there was a lot of trying on clothes. I built a bear for Emilio (Michelle's soon to be one year old), complete with warming red heart and a kiss, and we were back in Kelvedon by 1. I dropped Tina off, and as I was so exhausted, I had a 45 minute nap. When I woke up, I was still super sleepy, but had to go get Zach. I walked outside, and into a wall of heat. That's when I decided to bring the car. I picked Tina up when I saw her walking down the street, and after getting Zach, the two of us drove back to the house. I put a collection of sweets into different dishes, and then asked Zach if I should get a towel, as if it was a real picnic. He said yes. We set everything up, and had a great time. Just as we finished eating all our candies, Heloise got home. I went downstairs with Zach, and the two of us read his "Zach Hood" book, until Heloise had showered, and said she'd go get the other 2 from Football. Her and Zach left, and I jumped in the car to drive to Peterborough.

I stopped for gas, then got to Starbucks and jumped out to get my drink and have a conversation. Back in the car and on my way. When I arrived, I went in to speak to my Nan. Then I met up with my Mom, Uncle and Aunt. We drove down to Charlie's and had fish and chips. Then Tom came by and asked me to go out with him and some friends. We went to play pool, and I had a really nice time, as usual. A few hours later, I was back at my Aunt's, and it wasn't too long before I fell asleep. xx