Saturday, August 9, 2008

Fourth Stop: Sicily, Italy

It has been a long time since I posted anything about my trip to the Mediterranean with Melissa, so I am very excited about today's post. (If you haven't seen anything about our trip before, there is a link to all of the previous trip posts on the right side of my blog. It is titled : "Mediterranean Memories With Melissa And Me." Take a peek. We saw some amazing things.)

Here is a picture of both of us on the tour bus. We were very excited to be headed to a beach in Sicily! (Really, you can just totally ignore us in this picture if you want to. We took our picture at the start of each new thing we did together, so we both realize to everyone some people we may seem completely obnoxious. But we don't care.)



We had no idea what to expect as we arrived in Sicily, so we were very pleased as we took in everything (and everyone) that we saw.

As many of you already know, one of the main things that I wanted to do on my trip was to write my name in the sand along the Mediterranean Sea. So I was thrilled when I got to make this dream of mine come true. (This picture may already look familiar to you all. It looks very similar to the one from my blog header that my sweet friend Dianne made for me. Thanks, Dianne!) :)



And I have a surprise for all my sweet blogging friends. You were all in my thoughts as I was on this amazing trip, so I wrote your names in the sand too. Well, not each and every individual name, but when I wrote "Bloggy Buddies" in the sand....I meant all of you.:)



Sigh.

See, it's like all of you were there with me.:)

This is the name of the beach resort we went to. (I knew that I would not remember how to spell the name, so I took this picture.)




It was really a very beautiful beach area. All of Italy is just surrounded by the beauty of God's creation. If you look closely in this picture, you can see the mountains in the distance.



And that is not our cruise ship, by the way. Our ship was about forty-five minutes away.

Here are a few pictures of the scenery surrounding the beach area.



It was so different than the beaches that I have been to in the south here in America.



Can you imagine the view from the homes on top of the mountain?



Feel free to just ignore us once again....We were just so excited to be there.



If you are wondering to yourselves, "Why is Amy dressed in full winter garb at the beach?".....It is because I was freakishly sunburned from our day of laying out on the top deck of the ship.



I even had to pay two Euros to rent this beach umbrella to sit underneath.



Pitiful.

Some of you may already know this, but bathing suits are optional at some of the beaches in Europe. And given my spiritual gift of nosiness, I got a big kick out of this girl exercising her options.



It was very awkward too, seeing how she was the ONLY lady at the beach that chose not to wear her bathing suit top.



Thank goodness!

Well, that is all the torture I will put you through today....But not to worry, there is more where that came from next time.

17 comments:

Mia said...

YIPEE! I got here first! WOO-HOO!! It is so funny when I got up this morning and logged on I thought "It has been a long time since Amy blogged her trip I hope she does soon" and viola' there it is Italy in full color for me to see this morning!! I know that those pictures are bittersweet but thank you for posting them for us. Keep them coming : )
Resting today? Doing those exercises? Okay, good
Have a great weekend sweetie!!

Tracey said...

I was waiting for the YAH, YAH picture! I was shocked you hadn't shown any up to this point! What about the guys...any clothing...or lack of clothing surprizes there?

My Blessings From Above said...

Breath taking photos Amy! :)
Love,
Michele

Gina said...

Yay!!! I'm so excited that you are blogging about your trip again. I love the photos you took, especially the one w/ "Blogging Buddies" in the sand. :) We went to Sicily, but did not go the the beach. I can't wait to see more.

Gina

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

Just seeing bathing suits (and lack thereof) gives me pause...

I hate bathing suits and thought of putting one on!

I love the pics, Amy. What a wonderful trip and peaceful time it must have been for you. May these memories stay with you for a lifetime, bringing you calm in the midst of your chaos.

Happy weekend...

~elaine

Karma said...

They are so beautiful! They make me want to be there ri ght now! I hope that you treasure those memories FOREVER!

Naturally Frugal Mom said...

This is my first time visiting your blog...I often see your profile pic on other blogs I visit, just haven't had the time to stop and click :)
Great blog! Hope to come visit again real soon :)

valerie said...

How exciting to have our names in the sand too!
What beautiful pictures. Absolutely breathtaking!
So funny about the girl w/out a top.
I've been trying to think of who Melissa reminds me of and it's Celine Deon. Does anyone else ever tell her that? She's beautiful.
I'm so glad you were able to go on this trip. Wow...it is just amazing.
Enjoy your weekend and I hope you're feeling better every day!
Love,
Val

Dee said...

Oh it looks so beautiful! I'm so gonna use this as travel guide one day and visit all these wonderful places.

I guess somtimes it must seem so unreal that you got to go there!

Sigh.

Tina said...

Yay! I'm glad you posted about your trip again! I love it...one of these days...

How sweet of you to think of your Bloggy Buddies...

And I probably would've taken that nudey picture, too! lol!!

Glad you and Melissa didn't go crazy and get topless...way to resist that urge!

Laura said...

Hey, Amy! I too love seeing these pictures...the topless chick made me giggle. I just can't imagine! The beach does indeed look gorgeous. And you were so sweet to think of your bloggy buddies!
Keep doing those stretches and exercises, girlie!
Laura

Nicole said...

Thanks for sharing the photos! Loved seeing them. Hope the stretching is going well, and praying you are getting better everyday!

I want to pray right now...Heavenly Father please be with Amy. Please keep your loving arms around her tonight and just love on her. She's been through a lot and I pray that you send an extra sense of your presence to her this moment. We love you Lord! Amen!

Love and Hugs,
Nicole

Anonymous said...

I saved my bloggy bud name in the sand pic. I've been to Sicily! Ha! Love your pics and I have the same cover up as you. Do you shop at the the famous boutique, Le Wal de Mart? :)

Unknown said...

HI my friend. You know this is more my speed. I like all the vacation pics., but I could have sworn the girl was totally topless and not wearing a smiley face the other night when you showed me. Also the umbrella makes your legs look long. I will call you sometime soon.

Hula Girl at Heart said...

I just love hearing about your trip. And having my name on the beach was pretty sweet, too!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you are back to posting about you trip - maybe that's a sign that things are getting back to normal - whatever that is - in your life.

Pretty sure I could NEVER do the whole topless thing - but then again, it could be an inventive way to clear the beach. lol!

Take Care.

Aleisha said...

You drive down the main street in down town Naples and there are TONS of girls sitting on the rocks without their tops on. Not what I want to see, but thats their culture, I guess.