This is how we roll...July 4th!

Pasta... check Paris... check... on to the Pacific.

Dear Followers,

Tomorrow we are off to beach. We are staying in a town called Ventura. We leave at 6:00 am and it should take about 8 hours to get there. On our way we are stopping at a famous restaurant called Phillipes. It is a place that has been around for ever and we even saw it on Man vs Food.

I am excited for cooler weather and can't wait to see my cousin Jillian.

Love,

Paige Padilla

We've arrived!

Dear Followers,

After a very long day of traveling we finally arrived back in Phoenix! We had a 3 hour layover in St. Paul, Minnesota. We were given dinner vouchers and went and found... you guessed it.... Mexican. Needless to say, the Mexican food in Minnesota is definitely not as good as the Mexican food in Arizona. My Dad picked us up from the airport and had Diet Dr Pepper waiting. Sweet! When me made it back to Gilbert we enjoyed an awesome Mexican dinner made by my Dad. Then I watched American TV and caught up on i Carly. Today I am planning on relaxing, swimming and going to the new Taco Bell by our house that opened when we were out of town!. Happy Father's Day to my Dad and Grandpa and Tata and all the Dad Followers!

Love,

Paige Padilla

Paris

Dear Followers,

I am wrapping up my trip and these are a few of my favorite things...

1. Favorite dessert...Lemon Gelato

2. My favorite piece of art... David

3. My favorite city... Florence, Italy.

4. My favorite food... plain pasta with butter and cheese

One word to describe my trip... extravagant.

Love,

Paige Padilla

Paris

Paris

Eiffel Tower

Paris

Dear Followers,

Well, me made it to Paris. Now we are staying in cool apartment that overlooks the the garden of the royal place. Today I went the the Orsay museum and saw tons of famous art by all the big artists. Renoir, Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Degas and many more. I even saw Van Gogh's self portrait. After the museum we went to the grocery store. I am having canned Ravoli for dinner. I can't wait! Love, Paige Padilla

The train to Paris!

Dear Followers,

Last night we took a 8 hour train to Paris. Boy were we wrong about the train. There was no dining car or lounge. Mom and I slept in a room on bunk beds that was super small. I've attached pictures. Bye

Love, Paige Padilla

I did it!

Dear Followers,

The gelato challenge has been completed. I DID IT!

Sean Flaherty= 4 gelatos

Paige Padilla= 6 gelatos

And the winner is....

PAIGE PADILLA!

Gelato progress

Dear Followers,
Just wanted to update you on the progress of the Gelato Challenge. I am at gelato number 5! The goal has been increased to 6. It is only 5:25, so I can do it!
1. mint chocolate chip
2. chocolate chip
3. lemon
4. lemon
5. chocolate
6. will be lemon
Hope I will be able to blog again soon!
Love,
Paige Padilla

PS. Michael, If you are reading this. Happy Birthday!

Today is the day!

Dear Followers!

Today is the day... I eat 5 gelatos. It is my last day in Italy. Your support is greatly needed in the Five Gelato challenge. Off to eat gelato!

Love,

Paige Padilla

Venice...is cool too tired to post!

Last day in Firenze (Florence)

Dear Followers,

Hello. Today was my last day in Firenze. Which is the capital city of the

Tuscany region. I will miss it. Today I went to go see a famous statue called David. This statue was humongo huge but was very detailed. On his hands you could see his veins and his fingernails looked very life life. David was a man who used his brain to outsmart a much larger man Goliath. David was the work of the famous Michael Angelo. The statue is made of marble. Boy was it wonderful. We had come across much more art in the Museum la'accadmia. Then we walked around ALOT. I FINALLY was able to go on the carousel, twice. Which was a lot of fun and right next to it was a place for lunch. After a week in Italy I finally figured out to order spaghetti with only butter. I only wish I would have found it sooner. The pasta was so GOOD just like at home! I put cheese on the top, yum. The pasta here is cooked al dente and it is almost crunchy. I posted a before and after picture of my pasta. Then I had a Italian funnel cake (we alway like to sample different funnel cakes on trips) which is a waffle. The Italians put melted chocolate on top and then whipped cream and then to top it off... THEY PUT ANOTHER WAFFLE ON THE TOP! It was delicious. It was a fantastic last day in an awesome city! Tomorrow we take a 3 hour train ride to Venice. Hopefully we will have internet service and be be able to post again soon!

Love,

Paige Padilla

Pictures Day 8

Pictures Day 7

Florence

Dear Followers,

Such a great day! Today was day 6, day 2 in Florence. Today we went to the Uffizi Museum. I brought a book from home that was was scavenger hunt for Florence. One of the areas was the Iffizi Museum. So I worked on the scavenger hunt while I explored the museum. I earned all 30 points. We went to eat lunch at a pizza place and I share pizza and fries here. Can you believe it? They have fries!!! The only problem... No catsup! The museum was full of many famous painting by the most famous painters. We saw a few paintings by Michaelangelo and DiVinci and Raphael. After the museum we went shopping! It was so much fun! We were going to go on a carousel, but it was closed. It is interesting because places close in the afternoon so people can take a nap. We are going to go tomorrow. My goal for the day is to have 3 gelatos in 1 day. I had a morning gelato with 3 scoops of gelato, whipped cream and little Italian cookies (I posted a picture) After lunch I had a mint and chocolate gelato and after dinner I am having a lemon gelato. Florence is much less busy than Rome and we are enjoying our time here.

Ciao!

Paige

Pictures Day 6

Pictures Day 5 continued

Pictures Day 5

Florence

Dear Followers,

We made it to Florence! We are staying on the fifth floor of a 3 bedroom apartment that is 500 years old. Will post again (going to lunch and gelato)

Love,

Paige

Pictures Day 4

Pictures Day 3 continued

Pictures Day 3

Day 4

Dear Followers,

Today was day 4. We went to the Vatican. For those of you who don't know that is the home office for the Catholic Church and where the Pope lives. We walked to St. Peter's Square and then went to the Vatican Museum. We saw many pieces of art. We also were able to see the Sistine Chapel. Which has a really cool ceiling. I had spaghetti for lunch and then a gelato. We are going back out tonight, probably for more Italian food and gelato.

Ciao,

Paige

Day 3

Dear Followers,

Today is Day 3. We visited many interesting sites today. Including St. Maria in Trastevere church which was beautiful which had really cool music playing inside. We then went to the Pantheon which many of you know as the building with the huge pillars in front. But did you know there is a church behind the pillars. We went inside and there was more beautiful music being sung but this time it was sung by actual men! We then visited 3 fountains. The biggest was Trevi fountain where you turn your back to the fountain and throw in a coin over your shoulder in hopes to return to Italy. I had lasagna for dinner and of course gelato. In Rome you can find many things and we like to count these things...

Gelato=count 6

Priest and Nuns= we were counting but lost count

Cats=7

Ciao!

Paige Padilla

Day 2

Dear Followers,

Hello,today was day 2 in Rome, Italy 6/7/10. Today we did a lot of walking we walked all the way to the Colosseum. The Colosseum was where the Gladiators fought, lived and died. Of course we had some gelato, first I had some lemon gelato in a cone which was OK it tasted different. Then later after dinner which I had lasagna I had some nutella gelato which I was sure was just straight nutella in a cup, WEIRD HUH! Talk to you tomorrow when I get back from my next adventure.

Love,

Paige Padilla

BTW. The Gelato count=3

Day 2

Pictures Day 1

Rome

My first day in Rome was awesome! After a long flight we arrived at 10 am (9 hours ahead of Phoenix) We made it to our hotel in Rome and went exploring. But before we could explore we needed a gelato. My 1st gelato of the trip was chocolate. Delicious and off we went. It was a little warm in Rome today but the weather is much cooler than at home. While we were wandering around Rome we found little fountains of water that you can drink from. What a lifesaver. I also watched some people drinking from the fountain and learned if you cover up the end of the pipe it will spurt out a hole on the top just like a water fountain at home. The water comes out ice cold and it is great. I have a water bottle now to refill. After we found our way back to the hotel we took a quick nap and went back out exploring. We are very tired and I am looking forward to a good nights sleep and more exploring and gelato tomorrow!

Our itinerary

June 5 Phoenix to Italy with a lay over in Detroit. Sweet.

June 6-9 Rome

June 10-13 Florence (not Arizona)

June 14 Venice

June 15 Happy 15th Birthday Michael!

train from Venice to Paris

June 16-18 Paris

June 19 Paris to Phoenix with a lay over in Minneapolis.

Dear Followers,

Yes! My first post! I can't believe I am leaving Saturday (a.k.a tomorrow). I am all packed as you can see. These are all the clothes I am taking. My mom is packed too, we are ready! Coming on the trip with me is my mom, uncle, aunt, grandma, and grandpa. This trip is going to be so much fun! Hopefully, I will be entertained on the 12 hour flight! First Post, DONE!!!

Sincerely,

Paige Padilla