Hofbräuhaus

Today Rob and I took the train to Munich and I got yelled at haha. I had my feet up on the seat as usual and some grumpy german man said in bad english "Here in germany we dont put our feet on things. This is not America." I informed him that I absolutely was not american and then I bit my lip to prevent myself from saying anthing worse haha. We spent most of the day walking around the town visiting the local market near city hall and going in and out of shops. Then we wandered over to the hofbräuhaus which is becoming a local hangout for the Heidt clan :) haha. It is massive and they are renovating it right now so it´s cleaner then usual. Personally I´m wondering what I have to do to get my own mug and then I figured that starting to drink beer could be a good start. But today wasent the day and I had a spetzie which was delicious haha. Then I bought myself a new purse because I am suprisingly disappointed with the shopping in Rome and finding Munich a must better place to shop. As much as im enjoying this amazing holiday with my family I am eager to get to Africa! I still reallzy dont know anything about it so im anxious to get in there and start working. Although i know after a few weeks I will be wishing I was back in my comfy bed in Rome :)
Ps. I will be putting more pictures up when I get back to Rome of friday and get the chance to upload them! I cant wait to show you all Lynn!

Germany

Yesterday I was exhausted so instead of going downtown I decided to walk down the appia. Then I went to the catacomb of Saint Sebastian (the patron saint of athletes) where the remains of his body are kept. The catacomb was amazing! Underneath the church the christians dug 7 miles and 3 stories of tunnels where they kept their dead during the time when the christians were persectued. The caves were amazing and there were still leftover tombs from where the bodies were kept. All of the bodies were gone from the graves where we walked but there were hundreds of tunnels blocked off that were the burial site of coffins. Saint Sebastians story was incredible as it included him being shot at by a fleet of arrows when he was executed and him surviving to come back and fight for the christians before he was sentenced to death for the second time. That night I flew to Germany to meet my uncle, his girlfriend Steffi, her son Milo (6 years old) and their new baby Lynn Sopie. She is absolutely adorable! She is only 10 days old and she is the tiniest thing I have ever seen! She is such a sweet baby and she never cries of complains. She only makes little coos and noises when she is hungry. It was really nice to finally meet Steffi and Milo after hearing so much about them and Milo is adorable! Today we hung around the house with the baby and then went to a good german restaurant for dinner. Tommorow Rob and I are going to Munich so I will have more to tell you then xoxox

St. Peters & The Vatican

Yesterday we walked all the way from Dave and Alé's place down the via appia antiqua to town. It took us about 3 hours so it was a long walk. The road is perfectly straight the whole way and takes you to the gates of Rome. Walking along you imagine the thousands of soilders marching down the appia towards Rome. Some of the road has been repaired but the majority of it is the same road that they marched on 2750 years ago.

Today I did my own thing and made my way to town on the metro. First I went to St. Peters Basilica which was absolutly incredible. It honestly was the most amazing thing I have ever seen and the best thing I have seen in Rome thus far. It is massive and every inch of it is beautifully decorated. There are tombs and statues everywhere and all the walls and the ceiling are painted. There is an incredible arch made of bronze that is believed to stand overtop of the grave of St. Peter, the first pope. The views at the top of the dome were breathtaking (and so was the hike up 550 steep stairs to the top!) and it was amazing to see all of Rome from above.

Next I went to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. I have to be honest with you the museums were a little boring and you have to walk through all of them for about an hour before you can get to the Sistine Chapel...but it was worth it. The Sistine Chapel was incredible! You hear about it and read about it but it dosent even compare to being there and looking up and seeing the beauty of it.

Then I tried to walk to Piazza del Popolo on the other side of town and I got extremely lost for about an hour and i ventured away from the touristy area so people were looking at me a little strange but eventually I made it and I wandered around the shopping area near the Spanish steps-just looking not buying :) it is far to expensive around there but its nice to look at all the big names like gucci, prade, fendi, D&G ect. all on one block. Then i made my way home on the metro and the bus and took a very dark stroll down the appia antiqa to find my house. Thank God! Its definitely not easy navigating around Rome as there is no street signs and none of the maps seen to be true....tommorow I am going to Munich, Germany to see my Uncle Rob and my cousins Nick and the new baby Lynn Sophie. She is only one week old so I am VERY excited to see her! Until then,
Ciao!

Rome Pictures

Some Florida Pictures

Feeding birds in the bird sanctuary at Busch Gardens

Josh picking oranges at Nana and Pop's neighbours house

Nothing life a wild safari with a roller coaster in the background :)

Josh and I....miss you xoxo

Rome Day 2

Today was day 2 in Rome. We did lots of sightseeing today which was amazing. Everything here has history! For example it turns out that the old cobblestone road I was telling you about that takes you to Dave and Alè's place is the Appia Antica- the oldest road in Rome. It was mentioned in the bible and was the main road that took you to Rome from the south and it is lined with ancient burial sites. This morning we headed towards the centre of Rome where we briefly saw the Colosseum and Theatro di Marcello but I will have to go back and wander around as there is so much to see in that area. Then we got out of the car and wandered around for hours seeing sites like Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, Fontana delle Tartarughe, the market at Piazza Campo de'Fiori and my favourite Fontana di Trevi where I followed the typical tradition and made a wish while throwing a coin over my shoulder. We drove past the Vatican and St. Peters and I am excited to go back there and wander around. I am going to spend a few days next week by myself wandering so it should be really fun! Talk to you then xoxox Miss you all

Rome Sweet Rome

I arrived in Rome today after an awesome week in Florida with Josh and his family. The visit was much too short and I can't believe that it is over already. We had alot of fun in Florida hanging out and playing cards with Nana and Pops and we also went to Busch gardens one day which is a theme park with a bunch of huge roller coasters and also and african safari type thing where they had rhinos, zebras, giraffes, monkeys, lions, antelopes ect. We went to the beach one day too but it was cloudy and cold. Then on thursday I boarded the plane at 6:45pm for the 8 hour flight to london and then a 2 1/2 hour flight to Rome. There I was met by my Uncle Dave Auntie Alé and my cousins Dylan and Emma (who I must add are absolutly adorable!!) I haven't seen much of Rome yet but from what i've seen it's incredible. There is history everywhere you look! The road leading to their house is a hundreds of years old cobble stone road and there are ancient ruins everywhere including a half torn down brick building right across the street from the entrance to the house. The houses in this area are also incredible! They are all castles/mansions that have been passed down for centuries because there are built on archeological ground so you are not allowed to build on it anymore. They all are very European looking and Dave and Ale's place is a beautiful spanish style gated villa with a huge backyard. Inside its beautiful with brick archways and wood finishing everywhere. It is beautifully decorated with the african furniture that they have accumulated over the years and I feel very at home here. I even have my own sleeping quarters that has a seperate entrance from the house and a private bedroom and bathroom. its dinner so i better go...alè has made something that smells yummy!!! Talk to you soon xoxo

Departure Day!

Hey Everyone!
Sorry I haven't updated this in a while. I haven't had much new news to tell you since I have been in Calgary. I am finally all packed up and ready to go and I leave for Florida tonight at 12:30. I can't believe today is finally here! Everyones has been wondering if I am nervous and to tell you the truth I'm really not. I think I am too full with excitment and anticipation to be nervous. This experience is going to be challenging but exciting and I can't wait to tell you all about it. Until then xoxox Miss you all already!

Itinerary

Hey Everyone!
I've created this blog for all of you to keep up to date on my travels. I will try to write on here any chance I get so that you can follow along with what I am doing. As most of you know Josh and I are going to Florida to visit Josh's grandparents first so I will be there from February 16th to February 21st. On the 21st I will be flying to Rome and I will be staying with my Uncle Dave, Auntie Alessandra and my cousins Emma and Dylan until I fly to Ghana on March 7th. I am in Ghana for 8 weeks from March 7th to May 2nd and then I will be in Rome one more week until May 9th. It's going to be an amazing and crazy trip and I will definitely try to best to keep in touch.
Love,
Jessi xoxo