A few days in Palermo...

Warning: I started writing this entry and June and it's now September; I just never finished it. I guess I wasn't quite ready to let go of Europe because my summer was boring and sad compared to my life there. But now I'm back at school and I feel confident enough that my life is good to finish it! Sorry there won't be pics, I just don't feel like it, but I'm sure you all saw them on facebook anyway!

So I think I can summarize what I did in Palermo pretty quickly. I’ve been too busy relaxing on the beach and not having any deep thoughts to have very much to write!

Over the last few days, this is what I did:

Ate fresh octopus

Went to high school end of year party

Went to mall (they have chipmunks as pets?)

Went to mcdonald’s

For some reason McDonald’s felt so much like home! Because it was McDonald’s and because they were playing American music when we got there. They did have a few items specific to Italy but I still felt all happy because that’s the first time I’ve felt like I was in America since I left.

Headed to Enna for family friend’s 18^th birthday party.

It was so nice! Turning 18 here is a big deal because you’re officially an adult.

Stopped at Sergio’s summer house

The Sicilian countryside is SO BEAUTIFUL

Went to beach (Mondello)

Made Shepherd’s pie – it was Sergio’s favorite dish that my aunt made when he lived in Pittsburgh

And then it happened. The flight catastrophe.

So as I’m sure you know, the French are famous for striking. I was warned that if I was ever taking the train, there was a chance I’d be messed up by some strike. But hey, I went through about 5 months and nothing happened, yay!

UNTIL THE MOMENT I WANTED TO GO BACK TO AMERICA.

Basically the French air controllers are striking against something or other and my flights from Rome to Paris and from Paris to Chicago were cancelled. Can we say panic time?

Lucily Sergio and his Dad helped me find flights to get back to America on the same day…it was a little pricey, but not as bad as it could have been and at this point I don’t much care about money. I couldn’t do anything about it, so I just had to spend it.

Sergio and I decided that France just didn’t want me to leave so it decided not to let me…and Italy doesn’t want me to go, but it understands when it’s time to move on. So we’ll just say that so that I don’t get mad at the French :P

I was bound to be affected by a strike at some point; I think anyone who spends a good chunk of time in France is.

Bought cool Italian sandals

Went to park and saw cool trees

Ate Chinese food with Sergio’s friends

And then today Sergio and Alice, his girlfriend, took me to the airport. Sergio’s mom painted me this cute little picture J

And now I’m just hanging out waiting to get on the plane. It was delayed 20 minutes but what else is new?

So here’s my itinerary for the next few days:

Wednesday (today) fly from Palermo to Rome (12:20-1:30).

From Rome Fiumicino airport, get a shuttle to the bed and breakfast that I booked.

Once in Fiumicino, hang out in the hotel and maybe explore the town a little and then go to bed.

Wake up around 6am to get ready to head back to the airport at 6:30, hoping to be there at 7 to have ample time to catch my 9:50 flight from Rome to New York (Newark) airport. I hope I’ll be able to sleep on the plane so I’m not too jetlagged, but I have a feeling I won’t because it’s at 10am…maybe I’ll just stay up all night tonight :p

And then I go from Newark to Pittsburgh and I should arrive around 9pm (which will actually be 3am my time I think, so that should be fun).

Keep your fingers crossed that everything goes off without a hitch!

(I'll be writing another entry to finish up how my journey ended, recount my summer, and start in on a new blog journey of junior year.)