Hey everyone, this is Sam here to tell you all about my tour to Italy this past week with the Phoenix Children’s Choir. As no one else in the family has done anything very interesting (Mom’s words not mine) I am writing this month.
Monday-Tuesday: Dad drove me bright and early (3:30 AM) to the Phoenix Center for the Arts where I met up with my choir and boarded a bus for a 9 hour ride to Los Angeles. (we needed to go to LA because in order to get everyone on the same plane we had to fly Berlin Air which doesn’t fly from Sky Harbor). Once we arrived at LAX we checked our luggage and went through security where I lost my watch (don’t ask) and ate in the gate where I almost suffered food poisoning from undercooked chicken (don’t ask) and boarded the plane. 11 hours later and our plane landed in Berlin where we waited 3 hours for our flight into Rome. We arrived in Rome, checked into our hotel, and enjoyed a 4 course meal with lasagna, salad, some turkey with a gravy of sorts, and tiramisu.
Wednesday: Toured Castel St. Angelo and walking tour of Rome. After a lunch of spaghetti and strawberry gelato (amazing btw) we toured the Vatican Museum which concluded with walking through the Sistine Chapel, which is BEAUTIFUL. Once we returned to the hotel our group decided to take a nap then go eat at this Italian seafood place (name escapes me) where on the way I almost got ran over by a car on the way there (not my fault I promise). Once there I dined on a whole fresh crab with pasta. (my friend got the same thing but with bass and ate the head as a dare. Not gonna lie, it was pretty awesome).
Thursday: Toured Colosseum and Roman Forum. In free time my group went to Trevii Fountain where we all threw coins in (the story goes that if you toss a coin in the fountain, you will return to Rome someday). We then had a concert in St. Peter’s Basilica for a Mass. Having never been to a Catholic Mass before it was something new and different for me. We then boarded a sleeper train for Catania.
Friday: Once we settled in to the hotel we hung out with a bunch of students of a Catanian school of language. We then went to the beach where I got sunburned (ouch!). Soon after, we went to the mayors residence for a welcoming speech and dinner with the mayor.
Saturday: We went up to Mt. Etna where we were given time to explore, eat lunch, and buy souvenirs. That night we visited an opera house and walked to a theater for a concert. Unfortunately, the building had no AC so at least 5 or 6 people in the choir either got sick or passed out on stage. Because of this and because of the concert ending late, we were allowed to sleep in on...
Sunday: After enjoying a couple more hours of sleep, we got on tour busses for some sightseeing in Catania. Afterwords, my group went Geocaching (look it up for I lack the knowledge to explain it in detail), and found a bread store where for 1 Euro we could get an entire loaf of fresh baked bread (delicious). We then found a group of girls from our choir who had the dilemma of ordering more Pizza than they could eat. Being the gentlemen that we are we decided to help them with their predicament. The choir then went to the US Naval base where we performed for our military servicemen. They then treated us to an amazing BBQ ( a hamburger has never tasted so good in my life).
Monday: We visited tourist central, Taormina, to see the Greeco-Roman theater and do what else, tourist shopping. That night we had our final concert with 2 other Catanian choirs.
Tuesday: Almost missed our flight to Berlin due to the system for baggage check going down for a good hour. Arrived in Berlin and ate some German food and did some tourist shopping.
Wednesday: Got held up in baggage check AGAIN because the Air Berlin staff in Catania accidentally DELETED OUR FLIGHTS. Thankfully it all got sorted out and before too long we were boarded and off on another 11 hour flight back to LAX. 9 hours of bus ride with a stop at Taco Bell in between (Taco Bell never tasted so good!) and we were back in Phoenix at about 10 P.M.
In short it was an amazing experience and I am so grateful that I was able to visit Italy. I now turn the Newsletter over to Mom for any other family information.
Meanwhile back at the ranch. . .School ended and Sam and I were both very glad. Gary and I went to his firm retreat in Tubac, which doesn’t look like the deserts of Arizona. I quite enjoyed it. The weather was hot during the day, but at night and in the morning it was very nice. We were all together (except Sam) for Father’s Day. Chris gave Gary a remote control helicopter for Father’s Day. We figure that Lily will really like it. I’ve been to doctors for my yearly checkups. That took up the first two weeks of the month. My back has been driving me crazy since January. After three cortisone shots and some physical therapy, it is feeling better.
I have been reading books and staying cool in the house. Sam has an online biology class that he needs to work on now. Gary works, counts money and teaches Sunday School.
