Spring Break in Italy
We had a wonderful time on our recent family trip to Italy. It was our kids’ first true international trip, and they did great with the travel, food, sightseeing, and taking in local culture. One of our post-trip highlights has been to read our 9-year old daughter’s journal accounts of our trip! I’ve shared excerpts from her journal below, all the writing and photographs are hers. We are definitely going to ask all of our kids to journal/blog our vacations and travels from now on, just to add to our memories!
My Italy Trip journal
By: Amani Gupta
The Long Hallway
This is the street to my hotel in Venice. I know that it looks very worn down and old, but it is really pretty! The burnt colors light up in the day and night. Every time I walked by, I could tell that the colors had peeled more and more over time. Revealing its history. All of Venice is old but has lots of character and history. This is definitely a sight to remember and a city I will never forget!
The Day I Made Pasta
Mama Florence was the name. It was a place where you would take a cooking class and learn how to make home made food. The meal that I was making happen to come from the heart of Italy… PASTA! We made the dough from scratch using only flower and egg. It was really hard, because the dough became really tough. And the harder it got the more I had to knead it. We even helped make the dessert. We made many different kinds of pasta. It was amazing. When I sat down I knew that a big feast of pasta was on its way! After I licked my plate clean I knew that I was going to treasure it right into my heart!
Boy Does That Tower Lean
We took a train to Pisa, so I could see “The Leaning Tower of Pisa.” When I got there, all I could see where people posing. It looked really funny because they were all posing with their hands in the air☺. Cool local legend: when the wind blows the tower leans more, and more! When I was getting my picture done it was really hard, because it was a windy day, so the tower kept on moving! I am so happy we took the day to go visit Pisa. What a cool building. So happy I got to see it!
Colorful Gelato
Every day in Italy, my family would get gelato! The gelato shops are all over the city! The chocolate was so good that I would get it every time, even though Italy is known for its pistachio gelato. One funny thing is that when my family would get gelato late in the day, my little brother would say: “my gelato battery is running low.” He loved it even more than me. All though I only got the flavor chocolate, I knew that nothing could beat the gelato in Italy! The one thing I miss the most now that I’m back in Austin.
What’s Left of the Colosseum
What a building. It’s where all of the fights started... the Colosseum! It was built in 70 A.D. It used to be a complete circle until a major earthquake hit Rome. 2/3 parts of the Colosseum fell. Strong slaves (also known as gladiators) would fight dangerous animals until one of them would die. These animals came from all over the world. If people were looking for entertainment, this is where they would come! The emperor would pay for all the entertainment and invite the whole city to come watch. He had the best seat! It is now used as a tour area and a place to walk around! This was one of the highlights of my trip!!!
Are those houses on that Hill?
We went up this large mountain. All of the buildings were getting smaller. My family and I were heading to Positano, where we where going to eat the food of a life time. When we reached the restaurant my mouth dropped. The view was like paradise, maybe even better!! The houses were colorful and just blended so well together! At the restaurant, Mama Lola was the cook and her 2 sons ran the place. When we were done with our feast, we got to go in her kitchen and watch her cook. WOW, that was cool! We even got to roll some pasta with her. I will never forget this beautiful sight, in Positano, Italy.
Photography and Writing,
By Amani
