Florence

POWS:

• Unfortunately, we didn't find out about the Bruce Springsteen concert in Florence tonight until it was too late! But don't worry, we saw plenty of fans around the city showing their support.
• We saw lots of naked statues today. Carolyn wasn't prepared for so much "natural" art.

• Advice to future travelers: Don't wearing anything easily identifiable. The venders like to call you out as you walk through the market. Ex: Carolyn wore a Chicago Cubs shirt today.

• The Duomo in Florence is closed on Sundays, so we're weren't able to make the 460+ step climb to the top! See Campanile WOW for resolution to this dilemma!

WOWS:

• We need to take a minute to add a WOW from our Rome experience yesterday. This one is too good to leave out! While walking through the Campo di Fiori, we saw an old man carving vegetables into swirls with a unique cutting tool. He was very entertaining in his explanations (he even used a rubber chicken to illustrate a meal!). Needless to say, we were sold, and we each bought his fun cutting tools.

 

• When we arrived in Florence, we weren't sure which bus to get on--and we didn't have tickets. Thankfully, Virginia figured out which one we needed to go on, and we ended up getting a free bus ride. God was watching over us!
• Our hostel in Florence is absolutely perfect! They offer a cheap dinner, free breakfast, and the rooms are very clean. Check out the great view of the patio out of our window--

• Leather shopping! Carolyn loves the smell of new leather (she says it reminds her of a brand new softball glove), and we definitely experienced a lot of that today! 
• Florence is much smaller than Rome, so walking around was a less daunting task than the last few days. 

• Since we couldn't go up the Duomo, we climbed the Campanile for an amazing view of Florence. Now we just need an aerial from Pisa and Granada to complete our trip!

Contest Update:

Sisters: 0 (9 total)

Twins: 0

Other: 0 (1 total)

Vatican Day

WOWS:

• Viewing Rome from the top of St. Peter's Dome. 551 steps to the top Robin - I'm training over here too!

• Virginia's risotto at our long lunch near St. Peter's
• We got to sleep in this morning and have a pretty relaxed day today.
• Carolyn "saggin" to make sure her shorts were long enough to be permitted into St. Peter's

POWS:

• We decided late in the day that we were going to try to go to the Vatican museum and got there too late and ended up walking all the way around Vatican City trying to catch a bus back towards our hostel. But can anyone else say they walked around an entire country?! 

Contest Update
Sisters: 1 (9 total)
Twins: 0
Other: 1

ROMA

POWS:

• Rome Rewind 3d IMAX experience was meant for children... we were barely in the mood to halfway have fun after getting up at 3 am and traveling for 4 hours.

• Virginia doesn't know EVERYTHING about Rome. Carolyn bombarded me with questions like I was a guide book. I guess that means she was impressed with what I do know?!?
• We were not dressed enough sit in the front room of the pizzeria we had dinner at tonight. Everyone in jeans (or in our case t-shirts) was brought to the back room. Luckily the pizza was awesome so we didn't care!
• We did not bring any matching outfits to show everyone we belong together quite like this group:

WOWS:

• We had a LONG day with 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and probably even 5th winds. Carolyn's strongest wind came from updating our excel spreadsheet of expenses. Yay for nerd tendencies!
• Representing MTR all over Rome:

• Finding the apartment I lived in 4 years ago and having a traditional Italian multiple course lunch at a neighborhood favorite.

• Carolyn's first Italian gelato experience in Piazza Navona (this was immediately before Carolyn's excel 3rd wind)

• Throwing a coin over our shoulders into the Trevi Fountain so we will return to Rome!

• Making the best of an overcrowded tourist destination. We present "Where are Virginia and Carolyn?" Forget Waldo... if you find Virginia 1 bonus point and 5 if you find Carolyn. Good Luck!

Contest Update:
Sisters: 2 (8 total)
Twins: 0

Other: 0

The "Gaudier" side of Barcelona

POWS:

• La Sagrada Familia wasn't finished in time for our visit (we'll just have to come back in 2026)

• The origin of the word gaudy is not derived from Antoni Gaudí even though his architecture fits the definition

• Small blister on the top of my foot (Instead of 60 miles in 3 days like Robin has done, we're going for 60 miles in 10 days)

WOWS:

• Flamenco show (enough said)

• Viewing the city from Montjuic as part of our bus tour

• Virginia has more or less figured out her way around (we even rode a city bus seamlessly tonight!)
• There is a sudoku puzzle on the facade of la Sagrada Familia (hint: each column and row adds up to Jesus' age when he died)

Contest Update:
Sisters: 3 (6 total)
Twins: 0
Other: 0

Barcelona!

Today has been an exciting but exhausting day in Barcelona! The only sleep we got was a few hours on the plane (not counting the sleep Carolyn is currently getting... ), but we knew we had to push through the day and make the most of it! We arrived with all of our luggage, made it to our hostel, went on a "free" walking tour and explored today.

To share a piece of our trip each day quickly I will be sharing our Pows and Wows, which was a way that we debriefed at Montreat, the youth conference we attended in high school. So here is a quick day 1 synopsis:

Pows:

• Thinking our connecting flight to Barcelona had been canceled (thankfully only moved to a domestic gate)
• Jet Lag

Wows:

• Our walking tour through the old part Medieval Barcelona and and the fun we had hanging out with new friends primarily from Australia and the UK.

• The private balcony of our hostel room

• Buying cool new wallets made of recycled material
• Experiencing a protest in front of a government building and a pick pocketer caught at the market

• Sangria and Mojitos

A few more pictures for fun! More tomorrow!

And I couldn't forget a contest update:

Sisters: 3

Twins: 0

Other: 0

Hermanas, Sorelle, Gemelas, OR Gemelli

While shopping for last minute things in Orlando today, two salespeople inquired about my relationship with Carolyn. The first asked if we were twins and the second confirmed that we were sisters.

As we embark on a journey to Spain and Italy, we thought it would be appropriate to track the number of times someone asks about our relationship in three categories: sisters, twins, and other.

So we are going to make it a contest. We'll update here throughout our trip so you can check your accuracy. The person who guesses the closest to the accurate count in each category will be rewarded with a prize from our trip. All valid entries must be submitted by 12:45 am Wednesday, June 6 Central time, which is when we are scheduled to land in Barcelona.

Click here to take survey Include your name in your answers to be considered for a prize!

365 Overview

One of my new year's resolutions this year was to complete a Photo 365 project. Creativity is an important part of my emotional stamina and this is one way for me to think positively and creatively each day. I don't have time or energy for everyday so far this year, but want to highlight some themes and events.

Arkansas Athletics

Arkansas beat Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl

Even in the midst of Bobby Petrino's scandal

I'm proud to be a Razorback and love this Geoff Calkins column.

Keeping the Stats for the basketball team

PCA Cheerleaders

PCA's first varsity win

Last game

March Madness

Yours truly won the MTR Bracket Pool (although it does make my stomach hurt to root for Calipari.)

I Heart Algebra Campaign

To motivate and focus scholars for the Algebra EOC, we kicked off an "I Heart Algebra" campaign

Crafts

Made some Redneck Wine glasses

Carolyn's Shadowbox

Friends

Grizzlies Game celebrating Ms. Barnard, Grizzlies teacher of the month!

Michigan friends come to visit!

Dinner with friends at Sweet Grass Next Door

Making Teacher Appreciation gifts with NC ladies!

Out Trivia Team "Tested Subjects" placed 2 weeks in a row!

Redbirds opening weekend started the season with a bang!

Visiting Callie at work in Paragould

New Car

I got hit in front of the University of Memphis and insurance totaled my pathfinder...

So now I have an altima

Hanging out with Neighborhood Church kids

Parent's Night Out 

Teaching kids how to do push ups at Parent's Night Out

Family Time

The whole family cheered on Stetson Softball in Nashville Easter weekend

Spring Break in Arkansas

Crystal Bridges was amazing

And Some Famous People

Frank Warren, creator of PostSecret

Andy Grammar spoke and performed at school