The day before yesterday, my family went on a tour of the Colosseum, the Forum and Palatine Hill. (Classmates or my teacher, if you are reading this forgive me for saying this) I learned more than I would in 3 days of school in 3 hours.
The Colosseum’s Fun Facts:
1. It was once called an amphitheater
2. The amphitheater wasn’t used for opera or singing, it was used for fighting to the death in AD 80
3. The seats were arranged so the slaves/poor people sat at the top, which was farther and higher than the bottom were the rich people sat.
4. The exit for the people was called the vomitorium (a latin root word for vomit-vomit spilling out- people spilling out)
5. Out of the 80 exits, there were 76 with numbers and 4 without
6. The 4 exits were all opposite from each other
7. 2 of the 4 exits were used for the fighters/gladiators, the other 2 used for the sponsors and emperors
8. The 1/4 that was taken down to make churches in the dark ages
9. There are holes in another 1/4 for the people in the dark ages to see where the iron poles were that kept the structure together
10. The Colosseum was built for structure, not beauty

The Forum’s Fun Fact:
1. There is a beautiful arch called the Arch of Septimius which in the dark ages was used to shelter a barbers shop

Palatine Hill’s Fun Facts:
1. It was the emperor’s home
2. There is still ancient blue paint on one of the walls
3. The emperor’s wife and the emperor stayed in 2 different buildings

Yesterday was a wander around day. We saw the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. Not much more to say.

Today we saw the Vatican. It was pretty grand. Being Canadian having the first Canadian saint, Katari, canonized while you’re in Rome without even knowing it is cool. The museum was filled with beautiful items including sculptures and paintings. Saint Peters Basilica being even more so.

Without do, here are some pictures:

This last picture is a picture of a ancient rose. In Latin, rose means pink. This species was remade by a college. Think, how did they make it? This species is over 2000 years old! COOL!!!!!!!!
This is my last post before I get on the plane (in business class) and go home. I will sometimes post about things that are happening (if I go on other trips for example). Sadly I have go pack and get to bed because getting up at 7:00 compared to 9:00 is a big change. :(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(
BYE!!!!!!!!!!:(

My choice in title is based on the children’s story book The 3 Little Pigs. Although I(Meg) am write this post, I will be writing this in third person because I am the narrator.

The First Day

Chapter 1

Introduction

Once upon a time their was a girl named Meaghan. She was in the last week of her month long trip in Europe. Meg(Meaghan) had been taking daily trips out of where she was staying at the time. She was staying in Montepulciano. One day her family and her drove for 2 hour to a town called San Gimignano.

Chapter 2

San Gimignano

San Gimignano is a bunch of alabaster everything. There are alabaster eggs, fake birds, you name it, they have it. It still is fun to walk down the streets and see all the alabaster or bracelets. Lots and lots of tourist shops though.

Chapter 3

The Small Lunch

Meaghan and her family walked around looking for lunch. They stopped at this little… place. You didn’t live the moment, they did, so they feel bad saying this but, they say they can’t describe it. Sadly no pictures of this place. Anyway, her mom and she ordered an anti pasta (a plate of meats and cheeses) to share. When the food came the plate was about the size of Meaghan’s hand. I know that sometimes plates are overloaded with food but this one didn’t even have enough food to cover the plate. They walked out of the restaurant feeling disappointed.

The Second Day

Chapter 4

Travels

Well, the next day Meaghan traveled to Rome. Just more pizza, pasta and more things to fatten you up. The reason they want to fatten you up is because they want to eat you…

JUST JOKING!!!! Ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha! I’m funny aren’t I?

Sadly I have to go to bed now but first here is a picture from Meaghan’s adventure that does not include today:

Yesterday we woke up early (already sounds like a bad day doesn’t it), had breakfast like a normal day. Next we got in the car and drove for 2 hours. Do you wonder where we were going? We went to a hot spring. It looked like a… I can’t even explain it. Maybe 2 pictures would help:

The colour of the water was unreal. It was a light turquoise, almost. You could pick a tier (a small pool of water) and have it for yourself. The water is rich with minerals. You know when you put epsom salts/oils that make your skin feel nice in your bath, this water is naturally enriched with these. All I have to say is that it looked and felt cool (not temperature, it was warm but not hot),but it smelled like hard boiled eggs. When you came out of the water you smelled like the hard boiled eggs. Fun in the end.
Today I went to a market. We thought it would be meat and vegetables, but it wasn’t. It was mostly clothes and food. BORING!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then, we went to Arezzo the city. Just a bunch of women in high heels trying to walk up and down the the hills. Fun to watch. Don’t try it at home kids.

Some of you might not get my title. Let me explain…
It all started yesterday when we went to Siena. We had been walking around seeing some beautiful gelato(1)and having lunch(2)when it turned dark(see, part of the meaning of DARK Chocolate) and rainy. With no other way of transportation except the bus station where we got off (which was about 1 kilometer away) we decided to walk back to the bus station. On the way there we didn’t stop for the beautiful gelato but we did stop for a gelato. I had the flavors: nutella and coconut, they were good until I was standing under a awning just when a drip came down and went right into my gelato. Suddenly, it didn’t seem so appetizing. My mom -being the life saver she is- scooped off the top layer of gelato into the trash; then I ate the rest. You should not be thinking “Wow she must be big” because I walk up the mountains here and the gelato is gone in the blink of an eye. After we had a nice dinner with a waiter who knew everything, we walked home and got into bed.
1:

2: Blood pudding, head cheese and rustic salami.

Today we got out of bed, changed and into the car. We were on our way to a Baci(chocolate; hint,hint) factory when we stoped at this little town called Passignano (a lake side town). We had lunch there, then got back in the car and drove. When we got to the factory, we were only allowed to have one piece of chocolate when we started the museum tour, but all-you-can-eat after. Then we saw the factory where they make over 1500 baci a minute! Imagine coming home after a day of work and saying “I never want to see another chocolate in my life”. I think after that you should know what chocolate in Dark Chocolate means.
Feeling as sick as ever, I introduce some pictures:

Venice is great but has lots of tourists. Have you ever been on a gondola? The gondolas used to row by our room. I would sit on the balcony and listen to the singing men, accordion players or guitar players. The B and B that we stayed at was 600 years old. We walked a lot. One day we walked and saw a man playing the water glasses.
Yesterday we got into the car and drove to Montepulciano. On the way we stopped at the Adriatic Sea and I got my feet wet. The drive was 5 hours long.
Today we discovered what is Montepulciano. It is a lot of great views and standing in the clouds. Literally!
Here are some pictures:

Yesterday we went on the Wobbly/Millennium Bridge in London. Then I hopped on a train to Gatwick Airport. We got on a plane (after eating lunch and running to our gate to be on time) to Bologna. We walked around and had a really good dinner at this place called Cesarini. After that, we went looking for gelato. We found this cute little gelato shop and I got 2 flavours. They were: milk chocolate and lemon. Good mixture don’t you think?
Today we went walking around Bologna again. Then we got in the car and drove to a Lamborghini factory. My dad is a car journalist so we got to look at a museum of cars and get a exclusive tour of the actual factory with no other people other than my family and the employee showing us around. Next we got into our car(rental)and drove to Venice. We had to get to the right island so we took a water taxi. Got to our B&B and kept walking after putting our bags away. Venice is so cool! No cars, just a bunch of little islands. After dinner at a crowded little restaurant we walked. Finally we walked home.
Here are some pictures:

Yesterday and today we really did nothing. Today I went to an art gallery and Harrods. I saw Buckingham Palace. At the art gallery I tried on a corset and hoop skirt. There are pictures of that. At Harrods it was the starting of Chocolate Week so I got to try lots of different chocolates. Yesterday I met some of my family I had never met and walked down to a market. The market was too busy to enjoy.
Here are some pictures:

Yesterday and today we went on a bus and boat tour. I saw London Eye(which my hotel is right beside), St.Paul’s Cathedral, Waterloo Bridge, Bank of England, the Fire Monument, London Bridge, The Shard, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Houses of Parliament, Elizabeth Tower(which is what some of you might call Big Ben but Big Ben is referring to the chime/bell), Westminster Abbey and Trafalger Square. I also went on a Harry Potter film spots tour and saw some places they filmed the movies. I got jelly beans that are like Bertie Botts wild flavours but there called Bean Boozled. Last night I also saw Les Miserables, it was awesome! Today I did something that is really cool. I stood in the Western Hemisphere and the Eastern Hemisphere at the same time(the line in the pictures is the line separating the hemispheres(east and west).
Here are some pictures:

Yesterday we went to the Nomandy Beaches.
We went to Omaha(American), Utah(American) and Juno Beach(es). I spent the most time in Juno beach seeing what our soldiers went through on D-Day. We also went through the museum.
Today I went on my first train ride! It went under the English Channel in a tunnel.
I had breakfast in Normandy, lunch in Paris and dinner in London…What a day!
I also went on the London Eye!
Here are some pictures:

We are in Vire.
Today we went to Mont St. Michel. It was ok and that all to say.
On the way there, we stopped at a market. The market was great.
It had food and vegetables. The vegetables looked great.
Here are some pictures: