When we landed in Dublin i was shocked to find that all of the signs were written in english. Conversations going on nearby were in english. my native language was so familiar but its ubiquity was out of place. we arrived after midnight and were promptly herded to the city buses. even though the hostel was right across the street from the main bus station, there were no buses going anywhere near the hostel. we walked 15-20min down dimly lit dublin streets. we slept in bunks with a family of four from utah. we stored our packs in a cage in [View Full Entry]

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We spent the afternoon and evening on the train from Briatico to Rome. From the trainstop we had to take a shuttle to the Ciampino airport. We arrived just after midnight which is when the Departures area of the airport closes. we ended up sleeping on the concrete in a corner of a construction area, but we at least had some shelter against the rain. When the airport opened, we found our gate and flew to Spain. We thought we bought tickets to Barcelona but the truth of the matter is that Barcelona(Girona) is actually an hour north of Barcelona. We [View Full Entry]

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San Giorgio seemed more like a home after taking a vacation from it and returning. We had puppies that needed nurturing. We fed them milk and found shelter for them at night. When we first got them I put both of them in the pocket of a hood I wore, but they grew quickly. Francesco appeared one day with a man who took one of the pups home with him. Morgan cried at the way the pup that was left over searched for her sister. They were so small but at least they had had each other to keep warm. To [View Full Entry]

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Morgan and i took six hours of trains to Rome the day before Dad and Eddie were to arrive. We arrived in the afternoon and walked to our hostel(10.90/night) hotel Lodi. it was a 20 minute walk from Termini Station. We should have taken a bus but it was a nice day. The owner, Fabrizio, greeted us and showed us around. He also made us coffee and gave us grapefruit from the hotel's garden. We spent the afternoon and evening in the garden of hotel lodi talking to our Israeli roommate Rhan. He lives in paris with his fiancée writing books. [View Full Entry]

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I begin writing this account more than three months after our arrival. Sorry to those trying to keep up on what we are doing, but internet access is difficult to come by in our current situation. Because i am behind i will break our time up here into three parts: Part I - Arrival here to my father's visit Part II - My father's visit Part III - Our remaining time here in Calabria Giuseppe Riggio opened his home for us during the holidays. Noone else wanted to have wwoofers. We called him at the train stop before we reached Briatico [View Full Entry]

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We left Marsciano Dec 4 for a 20 hour train ride through Rome and Naples to Sicily. We rode the train through the night. At about 5am we reached Villa San Giovanni at the toe of Italy. i watched in wonder as the train we were on was broken apart and loaded onto a ferry to cross the water to Sicily. Apparently Italy wanted to build a bridge but it would be too costly and with the constant seismic activity in the area it would not be worth the expense so if you want to cross from the mainland to sicily [View Full Entry]

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We finished the olive harvest at San Fortunato November 27. the family took morgan, jenna and i to a great seafood ristorante tucked high in the hills(strange for seafood) called 'piccolo mondo'. They also finally showed us the chapel on the farm where the monks met for mass. We didnt have a farm lined up because we had finished the olive harvest earlier than expected. luckily though, morgan's friendliness and charm got a friend of the family to invite us to stay with her for a few days. Rosella had stopped by to help with the olive harvest once or twice [View Full Entry]

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We left Cecina on a sunday. we decided to stay in Florence(Firenze) for a night to break up the 5 hour train ride. we had booked at hotel ester just around the corner from the train station. after dropping off our packs, we explored the city. we walked along the shops to duomo(cathedral). the design is so intricate and ornate that you just stare in wonder at the placement of each block the carving of every statue and pillar. imagining the skill and manpower necessary to construct such a building without technology. we looked around inside admiring the stained glass and [View Full Entry]

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After a 14 hour train ride Morgan and i arrived in Cècina in Tuscany on the west coast of Italy. Ursula, our German hostess, met us at the train station and drove us to the farm nestled in the hills between Cecina and Riparbella. On the way to the farm there were banners and flags and balloons all along the way because apparently the Hadelich farm is next door to an Italian bicyclist who had just won a worldclass race. The farm, Podere Vallari, has vinyards and olive groves with a view of the sea in the distance. Along with the [View Full Entry]

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Austria is a paradise for those who love to ski or snowboard, love to hike, mountainbike, rock climb, and for those who like to delve into other various outside sports and activities. Austria is also the 5th most healthiest country in the world which in knowing this made the spent there more enjoyable. Joshua and I were fortunate enough to stay at a pension (Hofbauer) in Rohrmoos which is the village just above Schladming. We were the only ones staying at this bed and breakfast as October is the off season for tourists in this area. Hofbauer is family run and [View Full Entry]

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