Bella Bella, Molto Bene

Wow Italy was a adventure for the record books. I have always wanted to visit this interesting boot, and I`m so glad that it was able to happen with my family. My Ideas of what this place would be like were shattered and replaced with the reality that the way we perceive a culture is often inaccurate.
Seeing my family for the first time in 3 months was wonderful. Skype, emails and letters only go so far for communication. I prefer the real face to face stuff.

Our trip started out in Rome. First off I would like to say that the Sistine Chapel is far from overrated. Everyone should really make an effort to see this in their life time. it definitely didn`t disappoint. Aside from all the sights a real high light for me in Rome was the meals. The food was pretty good, authentic and what not, but just spending hours catching up with Grace and the Padres made it all the more better. We also got the chance to meet up with McCauley Bennet`s family(and Summer) who were visiting Rome as well. It was refreshing to meet up with some more South Carolinians.

After Rome we headed north to the Cinque Terre, which translates to five villages. these five fishing villeges are located on the Italian Riviera close to Genova, and the beauty of these towns rivals anything I had seen previously. We spent some time hiking and enjoying the landscape as well as a nice change in pace after Rome.

Lastly we headed to Florence where we were all reunited with Ryan, Andrew, JD, Porter, McCauley, Summer and other Clemson friends. The combination of the tuscan landscape and the history made this my favorite stop on the trip. Seeing David in the Academia was a big highlight, as well as viewing the city from Piazza di Michelangelo and Fiesole. Mom, Grace and I enjoyed haggling with the street venders, and I am perfectly okay with saying that we all purchased leather bags. Mine very masculine of course. The day trip we took through Tuscany to Siena was very memorable as well. The Duomo there, while not the biggest, is one of the most impressive churches I have ever see. This trip really revived me and I returned to Sevilla this past Saturday ready for more adventure and wonderful experience.


I also wanted to thank everyone for praying for us while in Rome. Sorry about not getting in contact with you all after the earthquake, we really had no idea how bad it was until we reached Florence 3 days later. Thanks for your concerns.


I love all of you

-rob